古希腊英文简介

Without the Greeks, who would have given us science, technology,

democracy, politics, drama, and history? All of these words, as well as

the ideas they represent, originated in ancient Greece.

WHERE WAS ANCIENT GREECE?

Greece is a mountainous

peninsula

that

juts

into

the

Mediterranean

Sea.

It includes hundreds of rocky islands off the coast. But the people of

ancient Greece settled over a much wider area, from southern France to

Asia

Minor

(now

Turkey).

Everywhere

they

went,

they

brought

their

language

and traditions with them.

WHEN DID GREEK CIVILIZATION BEGIN?

The first Greek civilization developed on the Mediterranean island of

Crete

around

2200

BC

.

This

civilization

was

called

Minoan

after

a

legendary

ruler of Crete named Minos. The Minoans lived by farming, fishing, and

seafaring. Their rulers built huge, brightly painted palaces. A

magnificent

palace

at

Knossos

may

have

belonged

to

King

Minos.

The

Minoans

invented a way of writing, but no one today can read it.

Soon after 1500

BC

, Minoan civilization collapsed. Mycenae, a city on

mainland Greece, rose to power. The Mycenaeans built palaces fortified

with massive walls, and they rode in chariots. They must have been rich

because beautiful objects of gold were found in their graves. The

Mycenaeans were warriors. They fought each other, and they went to war

in distant places, such as Troy in Asia Minor.

These wars were disastrous for Greece. From 1000 to 750

BC

, farming,

craftwork, and trade suffered. People even forgot how to write!

HOW DID GREECE REBUILD?

Slowly, Greece recovered. The Greek people organized themselves into

self-governing communities called city-states. Each city had homes,

workshops, temples devoted to the Greek gods, markets, schools, sports

arenas, and meeting places.

A city-state also controlled the surrounding countryside. In villages

and

on

farms,

Greek

families

grew

olives,

grapes,

and

grain

for

food.

They

raised sheep and goats for hides and wool.

Along the coast, people lived by fishing or by trading with other

Mediterranean

lands.

They

sold

olive

oil,

wine,

timber,

and

craft

products.