1. Ancient Greece

2. Introduction Greece is on a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea. Some of the first civilizations in Europe began in Greece. The Greeks, like the Phoenicians, were a maritime people. Their way of life depended on the sea. Greece had many mountains and few rivers. The soil of Greece was rocky and poor. The Greeks could not grow enough food. So they became traders and developed colonies. Their way of life spread to their many colonies.

3. Early Greek Civilizations The first Greek civilization, the Minoan, began on the island of Crete. Around 1500 B.C., the Minoans were destroyed by a volcano. For a long time, people didn’t know if the Minoans really existed. People thought the Minoan civilization was just a myth, or legend. Then archaeologists found the ruins of the Minoan civilization. The Mycenaean civilization followed the Minoans. Around 1200 B.C., the Mycenaeans attacked Troy, a city across the Aegean Sea. Homer, a Greek poet, told the story of this battle in two epic, or long story, poems. The poems are called the Iliad and the Odyssey.

4. Athens and Sparta By around 500 B.C., Athens and Sparta were the most famous city-states of ancient Greece. The Athenians and the Spartans had much in common. They spoke the same language and believed in the same gods. They both enjoyed sports. In other ways, Athens and Sparta were not alike. Athens had a direct democracy. The people ruled themselves. They could vote on issues facing the city. The Athenians enjoyed going to the theater. They also went dancing.

5. Athens and Sparta Athens was famous for philosophy. A philosopher is someone who likes to think and learn about like and its values. Socrates was a Greek philosopher who gained wisdom by asking many questions. Two other well- known philosophers from Greece were Plato and Aristotle. Life in Sparta was different. Spartans did not have the same freedoms that the Athenians had. In Sparta, everyday life was centered around the army. Boys were taken from their homes at the age of seven. From then on they were taught to be warriors. They learned some reading and writing. But the main goal was to build their strength. The young boys lived under harsh rules.

6. The Peloponessian War During the Persian Wars, Athens and Sparta joined together against the Persians. But by 431 B.C., Athens and Sparta both wanted to rule Greece. That year, Sparta attacked Athens, beginning the Peloponnesian War. The leader of Athens was Pericles. He gave a speech praising the city of Athens, as well as those who died in battle. The Peloponnesian War lasted 27 years. Athens had a strong navy. Sparta had a strong army. In the end, Sparta won the war and gained control of Greece.

7. Alexander the Great

8. Macedonia was a kingdom north of the Greek city-states. It adopted much of the Greek culture. Around 357 B.C., King Phillip II of Macedonia began to take over the Greek city- states. He then planned to attack Persia. But Phillip was killed before he could attack. In 338 B.C., Philips’s 20-year-old son, Alexander, decided to carry out his father’s plan. Alexander wanted more than Greece and Persia. He wanted to conquer the world.

9. Alexander the Great Alexander first gained complete control of Greece. He then crossed into Asia and won battles in the western Persian Empire. Then he took control of Egypt. From there, he traveled east, conquering the rest of Persia. He continued all the way to the Indus River. But his tired army refused to go any further. Alexander and his army left India and headed home. In just over ten years, Alexander conquered and ruled one of the largest empires the world had ever seen. He died in Babylon three years later.

10. Alexander the Great Without Alexander, the empire fell apart. But Greek culture spread throughout the vast lands. Many people admired the Greeks. They wanted to be like them. Greek culture remained strong for 300 years, until the rise of Rome.