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# Ancient Greece

# Ancient Greece

## Overview
Ancient Greece (~800–146 BCE) comprised independent city-states (*poleis*) that produced foundational contributions to Western philosophy, democracy, science, art, and literature.

## Key Facts
- Region: Greek peninsula, Aegean islands, western Anatolia, colonies across the Mediterranean
- Period: ~800 BCE (Archaic) – 146 BCE (Roman conquest)
- Major city-states: Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes
- Language: Ancient Greek (Indo-European)
- Writing: Greek alphabet, adapted from Phoenician ~800 BCE

## Major Periods
- Archaic (~800–480 BCE): Colonization, rise of the polis, early philosophy
- Classical (480–323 BCE): Golden Age of Athens, Peloponnesian War, Alexander
- Hellenistic (323–146 BCE): Post-Alexander kingdoms, cultural diffusion

## Achievements
- Athenian democracy established ~508 BCE under Cleisthenes [^1]
- Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
- Drama: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes
- History: Herodotus, Thucydides
- Olympic Games, first held 776 BCE
- Parthenon completed ~432 BCE

## Decline
Greece fell under Macedonian hegemony after the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BCE), then became a Roman province after the destruction of Corinth in 146 BCE.

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[^1]: Ober, J. *The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece* (Princeton, 2015)
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## Review Queue

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- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Region: Greek peninsula, Aegean islands, western Anatolia, colonies across th..." - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Period: ~800 BCE (Archaic) – 146 BCE (Roman conquest)" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Major city-states: Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Language: Ancient Greek (Indo-European)" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 14: "Writing: Greek alphabet, adapted from Phoenician ~800 BCE" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Archaic (~800–480 BCE): Colonization, rise of the polis, early philosophy" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Classical (480–323 BCE): Golden Age of Athens, Peloponnesian War, Alexander" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Hellenistic (323–146 BCE): Post-Alexander kingdoms, cultural diffusion" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 22: "Athenian democracy established ~508 BCE under Cleisthenes [^1]" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Drama: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "History: Herodotus, Thucydides" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 26: "Olympic Games, first held 776 BCE" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 27: "Parthenon completed ~432 BCE" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Region: Greek peninsula, Aegean islands, western Anatolia, colonies across th..." - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Period: ~800 BCE (Archaic) – 146 BCE (Roman conquest)" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Major city-states: Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Language: Ancient Greek (Indo-European)" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 14: "Writing: Greek alphabet, adapted from Phoenician ~800 BCE" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "Archaic (~800–480 BCE): Colonization, rise of the polis, early philosophy" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Classical (480–323 BCE): Golden Age of Athens, Peloponnesian War, Alexander" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Hellenistic (323–146 BCE): Post-Alexander kingdoms, cultural diffusion" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 23: "Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Drama: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 25: "History: Herodotus, Thucydides" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 26: "Olympic Games, first held 776 BCE" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 27: "Parthenon completed ~432 BCE" - what is the source?
> Ober (2015) [^1]
- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 22: "Athenian democracy established ~508 BCE under Cleisthenes [^1]" - Ober source from 2015 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
> Yes, Ober (2015) scholarship on Athenian democracy remains current and authoritative.