How it all Began

Long Ago, When Civilization first

started in Greece, the land was
divided into small, isolated regions
because of mountains, waterways,
and other landforms. The sea
connected the people and allowed
trade. The First Civilization was of
the Minoans. They had writing,
plumbing, and good architecture.
The Mycenaean civilization came
next. They conquered the Minoans,
adopting their writing and
architecture. In 1100 BCE the
civilization declined for unknown
reasons. Invasions Began, trade
stopped, and writing ceased to exist.
All the villages became isolated once
again; this was known as the Dark
Age.



The Great City-States

Slowly, the small isolated villages of
the Dark Age began to trade again.
These villages grew bigger and soon
became city-states. The two largest
city-states were Athens and Sparta.
Athens had the most successful
democracy of Greece and the
economy was
based on
farming. Sparta
had the most
successful
oligarchy of
Greece and life
was based on the
Army and
protection.



A common Enemy Makes
Everyone Friends

There was a time when Persia was
very strong and was focused on
conquering Greece. At First Persia
went after some of the smaller city-
states, and Athens Protected them.
Later, When Persia Came after
Athens for Revenge, All of the city-
states, including SPARTA, THE RIVAL OF
ATHENS, came together to protect
Greece and return the favor. ALL
THE CITY STATES FOUGHT IN THE PERSIAN
WAR TOGETHER AS A TEAM. Although
they lost some wars, the Spartans,
Athenians, and other city-states
stayed together and won in the end,
showing that coming together and
putting aside differences can help to
achieve great things.






The war between the city-
states

After the Persian war, Athens grew
strong again. One Athenian who
helped this was Pericles, a persuasive
speaker who had a goal to beautify,
protect, and strengthen the
democracy of Athens. Also, after the
Persian war, the Dalian League was
started. The Dalian League was an
alliance between city-states to help
protect against the Persians. Athens
took over the Dalian League and
turned it into an empire, making
Sparta feel threatened. Athens
refused to free the city-states,
starting the Peloponnesian War.
Athens faced some problems such as
the plague, the slaves running away,
and the Persians helping Sparta. At
the end, the Athenians were trapped
and forced to surrender.








The Conquering King

Alexander the Great took the
throne when he was only 20 years
old, after his father, King Philip,
was murdered. Alexander the Great
was from Macedonia, and his
fathers goal was to destroy Persia
with the help of his skilled,
professional army. Alexander the
Great conquered many lands
during his rule, including Tyre,
Egypt, and Persepolis. Alexander
turned back from his journey to
India, and died from the fever on
the way back. His empire fell apart
but the Greek
culture that
Alexander was
remembered
for stayed in
THE LANDS
FOREVER.


What Happens in Athens
By Ishani Singh
Come Watch a Comedy-
ON Saturday in the agora
right after the Olympic games
Next Wednesday come to the
Parthenon to see the first
predicted solar eclipse during
a reading of Greek Myths