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Classical Greece: 2,000 BC – 300 BC
• In ancient times, Greece was NOT a united
country
• It was a collection of separate lands
• The Indo-European group that moved to India
were the Aryans
• The Indo-European tribe that settled in the
Greek main lands were the Mycenaeans
• Settled around 2,000 B.C.
The Mycenaens dominated Greece from about 1600 –
1000 B.C.
• Were extremely wealthy due to the trade routes
they set up through out the Mediterranean Sea
– Interacted with many cultures
• Some time in 1500 B.C., the Mycenaens came into
contact with the Minoan civilization.
• The Minoans influenced the Mycenaens in many
ways.
– Language
– Writing
– Art
*The combination of these two Greek civilizations
formed the foundation of Greek culture*
• During the 1200’s, the Mycenaeans fought a ten
year war against Troy.
– Troy was an independent trading city located in
Anatolia
• According to legend, the Mycenaeans besieged
Troy in order to save Queen Helen
– It is said that she was kidnapped by a Trojan Prince.
• For many years, historians believed that the Trojan
War was fictional
• Archaeologists in Turkey proved that the stories of
this war were based on real cities.
• Further excavations proved that events of the war
actually took place.
– Do not know the actual reason why the war happened
• Not long after their victory in the Trojan War, the
Mycenaean civilization collapsed
• Raiders and Vandals attacked and burned down
many of the Mycenaean cities.
• A new civilization of Greeks moved into the war
torn country side.
– The Dorians
• The Dorians were far less advanced than the
Mycenaeans.
• When the Mycenaean empire collapsed, so did the
trading economy  Effected all Greek civilizations
• There was almost no record keeping during the
Dorian Age (1150 – 750 B.C.)
– This means that there is little information about the time
period.
• Due to the lack of writing, the Greeks learned about
their history through spoken word.
– Storytelling
• According to tradition, the greatest storyteller of the
time was a blind man named Homer
Not this Homer 
• Homer is believed to have been alive and popular
between 700 – 750 B.C.
• Homer composed epics
– Narrative poems that praised heroic deeds
• The story of the Trojan War was the focus of Homer’s
greatest epics
– The Iliad
• The heroes of the Iliad were warriors
– Achilles vs. Hector of Troy
• Homer always talked about arete in his epics
arete means virtue, value, and excellence
– Greeks could display arete on the battlefield or in
athletic contests
• Olympics
• The Greeks developed a rich set of myths and
traditional stories about their gods.
• The works of Homer and another epic, Theogony by
Hesiod are the sources of much Greek mythology.
• The Greeks used myths to explain the unexplainable
– Nature  changing of seasons and weather
– Human passions
• The Greeks gave their gods human feelings.
– Love, hate, and jealousy
• They lived forever  Immortal
• Most of the Gods had purposes and responsibilities
• Lived on Mount Olympus
Examples:
Apollo- medicine, music, truth
Aphrodite- love, beauty, lust
Ares- war
Athena- reason, strategy, wisdom
Hades- underworld, wealth
Hermes- thievery, mischief
Zeus- King of Gods, God of thunder
• During the Dorian age, Greek civilizations
experienced a decline.
• Two things changed life in Greece
– 1. Dorians and Mycenaeans alike began to
identify less with the culture of their ancestors
• More with the area in which they lived
– 2. The methods of governing areas changed.
By 750 B.C., the polis was the fundamental political unit.
A polis was made up of a city and its surrounding
countryside
– Included many villages
Most poleis were fewer than 10,000 citizens
Usually held city meetings on the hilltop acropolis 
meeting place
Greek city states had many different forms of
government.
• Monarchy: A single person runs the
government; usually a king or queen
• Aristocracy: Wealthy landowning families.
• Oligarchy: A government ruled by a few
powerful people
• In many of the Greek city-states, repeated clashes
occurred between rulers and the common people.
• Powerful and wealthy nobles sometimes seized control of
the government by appealing to common people for
support.
• These rulers were called tyrants.
– Looked upon as leaders who would work for the interests
of the ordinary people
– Often set up programs for the people  jobs and housing
Democracy begins
In 621 B.C., a nobleman named Draco developed a
legal code based on the idea that all people living in
Athens were equal.
Draco’s code was harsh against criminals
Enforced debt slavery.
– People worked off debts as serving as temporary
slaves.
• In 594 B.C., a man named Solon came into power and
outlawed slavery in Athens
• Solon organized all Athenian citizens into four social
classes according to wealth.
• All citizens, regardless of class, could participate in
political decisions and meetings.
• Also, he started a law that any citizen could bring charges
against wrongdoers.
Around 500 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes
introduced further reforms to laws in Athens.
Broke up the power of the nobility by organizing citizens
into ten groups based on where they lived instead of wealth.
He increased the power of the assembly by allowing all
citizens to submit laws for debate.
Created a council of Five Hundred men
– This council proposed laws and reviewed decisions
• Cleisthenes’ changes to the Athenian government
allowed citizens to participate in a limited democracy.
• There was a catch to the democracy!
• Remember the 500 people chose to be in the council?
– Excluded slaves and women  only property owners