Greece

Greece

Greece was founded in 3000 B.C. Greece is located in Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Turkey and Albania. Greece’s area can be compared to the size of the state of Alabama. Between 3500 and 3000 B.C., society was becoming more complex. Villages built during this time were becoming larger. However, the population increased at a slow rate. During the second millennium B.C. two Greek civilizations evolved - the Minoan in Crete and the Mycenaean on the mainland. Sometime around 1349 B.C., the Mycenaean peoples conquered the island of Crete, and the Minoan civilization basically stopped evolving. Archeologists and historians discovered that Minoans first wrote in the Greek language and the Mycenaean’s first spoke it.

There was a time called the “Dark Age”. It was from approximately 1099 B.C. to 800 B.C. This is the time when things seemed to fall apart. An example is when a revolution occurs. In this case, peasants rebelled against the military rulers. It is believed that the Mycenaean’s were very strong in their armed forces, and that probably caused their own destruction. Things became unruly. People were just trying to survive. They lived in smaller communities and farmed for themselves. The population growth slowed down to probably its lowest levels.

Sometime around 800’s B.C., things began to change again. Things were starting to get better. Renaissance is another word for re-birth. That is what was happening to this country. Between 750 and 500 B.C., the Greeks had founded colonies in many parts of the Mediterranean Basin and the Black Sea. The ports of Argos and Corinth, on the eastern side of the country, grew very fast and trade with the Near East began to grow. Metals were traded with the Near East and Italy. Because things were going good and the population rose, we all know, having more people means needing more food to eat and more land to expand on. This meant more explorers were needed to settle more areas and the expansion of Greece was underway.

In the eighth century B.C., (799 to 700 B.C.), the concept of “polis” began to develop with the rich people to replace the poor people. The tyrants were often related to the rich people. The success of the tyrants created a new rule. That rule was that you don’t have to be born a prince or princess to rule a territory. After abo...

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...thousands died because of no food. In all more than 500,000 people lost their lives. During the Civil War that followed, 80,000 more died. The national economy went down the drain. With a lot of help from the United States, things started to turn around for the better.

During the 1960s the military took control of the government. The people began feeling like they were losing their freedom. Military leaders and politicians decided to “clean house”. They agreed that the way to do that was with a new constitution and a vote of the people to get rid of the monarchy. Instead a president was given considerable powers and they were not abused. In the 1970s through the 1980s democracy was finally in place.

The European Union began its presence in the 1990s. Many of the European Union’s richer countries worried about Greece’s poorer status. But all of the many countries, including the United States, are richer because of their contact with Greece and its rich history.

One of the most recent events was the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Over 11,000 athletes, from around the world, came together to compete in many different sporting events. It was a huge success and fun to watch on TV.