Historic Overview Of Greece

Greece and history are practically synonymous with each other. One of the most ancient civilizations in the world, Greek history dates back to the Bronze Age in 1300 BC. During this time, the mighty Mycenaean, Minoan and Cycladic civilizations flowered .

With an intermittent Dorian invasion and a concurring "dark" period, Greece once again got back on track by 800 BC, with the emergence of city-states, and witnessed a cultural and military renaissance of sorts. Athens and Sparta were the two jewels in Greece’s crown, and southern Italy became a part of Greater Greece too and the Classical or Golden Age ensued. Architecture flourished with the commission of the Parthenon, and timeless classics like Oedipus were written during this time.

But unlike the culturally inclined and peace loving Athenians, the Spartans were an aggressive race and eventually in 401 AD they defeated their neighbors in the Peloponnesian Wars. Victory wasn’t too sweet or durable, because Philip in the north – father of Alexander the Great – was busy amassing an empire and conquered the two war torn city states. The glorious reign of Alexander ensued, and was followed by the Hellenistic Rule merging Macedonia and Greece.

By around 205 BC, those crafty Romans were at it again, and conquered both Greece and Macedonia. The Greek Renaissance movement started under the rule of Emperor Hadrian but this was halted in the 3rd century AD by the Goths who invaded the terriotory and razed it to the ground.

By the 6th century the Byzantine Empire evolved and Greece itself faded into oblivion and passed through a dark period, as the middle eastern influences and Christianity were the all powerful influences. The Frankish leaders interrupted the Byzantine rule in the 13th century and they divided the peninsula into local fiefdoms. But this empire was taken over by the Ottoman Empire by 1460 and remained under their domination till the 19th century. Under Turkish rule another dark age followed, with Greek merchants and artisans exiled for good.

However, despite invasion, a sense of Greek nationality persisted in the villages, owing to factors like a common Orthodox religion. A War of Independence erupted by the early 19th century. Unfortunately, it was fraught with divisions and internal power struggles and even after independence came, a non Greek monarch was installed by Russia, France and Britain in the country. The new Otto of Bavaria wasn’t too popular, but ruled till 1864 when George I enforced a democratic constitution and shoved Otto to the sidelines.

During WWI, Greek troops fought on the Allied side and after the war, Prime Minister Venizelos sent forces to 'liberate' the Turkish territory of Izmir with a large Greek population. Many Greek residents were killed as the army was repulsed by Kemal Ataturk's troops. A vigorous population exchange between the two countries followed in 1923. More than 100,000 Christian immigrants entered Greece, burdening its already not too thriving economy.

By 1936, the Communists had gained major domestic support. In the same year a fascist dictator, Gen. Metaxas came to power and tried to establish a Nazi Third Reich of sorts in Greece. But when he resisted German dominance, Greek was occupied by the Nazis in 1941 and years of starvation and misery followed for the people. After the Nazi defeat, some kind of normalcy returned – although by now Greece fell under the influence of the USA. The Americans were only concerned with crushing the leftists in Greece, so they funded the country with the Marshal Plan program, and simultaneously supported a right wing royalist govt.

In the 60s, Greece became entangled with the affairs of Cyprus and its Greek population, causing major enmities with Turkey, which supported the Turk Cypriots. This continues to be a burning issue for the country, which is today a multi-party democracy headed by a Prime Minister – just like the good old days of Socrates and the Golden Age …