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