Minoan And Mycenaean Civilization

Before the rise of the classical Greek culture, it is known that two related civilizations preceded Hellenic Greece: the Minoan and Mycenaean (was also known as the early Aegean civilizations). The Minoan or Cretan were the oldest non-Greek civilization that had an influence on mainland Greece. The Minoan society lasted about 1,350 years, from 2600-1250 B.C., and reached its peak during the period from 1700 to 1450 B.C. The center of Minoan civilization had brilliant palaces as evident by the kings wealth and power. Inside the palaces, there were workshops that produced daggers, pottery, and decorated silver vessels. The Minoan’s were also a peaceful civilization, and had no defensive walls to protect themselves. Because they had no fortifications,

The “Greek Dark Ages” took three hundred years to reverse and was known as the extensive damage done to the Mycenaean civilization. The Greek had no significant evidence of growth during this time. This transition between Mycenean and unborn Hellenic civilization was a time of warfare, migration, and poverty. One group of Invaders, called the Dorians penetrated the Peloponnesian peninsula in the south and founded Sparta. Another group of invaders called the Ionians settled in Attica (where Athens is located). Both of the Invaders settled in Greece. After the Dark Age ended, crafts, myths, art, and religion were adopted to the Greek culture. Expansions in trade and increase in population eventually led to the Greeks settling on the coast of Asia minor, the islands of Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, southern Italy, and to the west of Sicily. Settlements functioned as their own city states and also kept ties to homeland

Many of the Greeks city states submitted but not the Athens and Sparta. In 499 B.C., the Ionian Greeks of Asia Minor rebelled against the Persians, resulting in the Athens sending twenty ships to assist in the revolt. Furious, Darius I (king of Persia), sent a small army to fight the Greeks in Attica on the plain of Marathon, twenty miles north of Athens. The battle here was known as The Battle of Marathon, where the Persians had been defeated by the Greeks. It was the first time the Greeks had beaten the Persians, meaning the Persians were not invincible. Ten years later, Persian ruler, Xerxes, Darius’ son organized a huge invasion force to take revenge on Greece. The Persians encountered the Spartans at the mountain pass of Thermopylae. At this battle, the Spartans fought but lost to the Persians. Northern Greece had been conquered by Persians. Later, in The Battle of Salamis, general Themistocles lured the Persian fleet into the narrowest entry to the Bay of Salamis and because the Persians were unable to deploy their numerous ships, the Athenians won in a decisive victory. A year later after the defeat at the Bay of Salamis, the Spartans had defeated the Persians in the land Battle of Plataea. The wars that the Greeks had won, made them realize their distinguishing attribute, that they could defeat the most powerful military powers. After the Battle of Plataea, the Delian League was founded.