GREEK PERIOD Greek CIVILIZATION started around 2000 B.C. By 1600 B.C.

, the Greek people had built fortified cities in the major valleys and many people were educated. Greece then had several wars, including the Trojan War around 1200 B.C., which threw them into what is known as the Dark Age. During the DARK AGE, knowledge of writing was lost and most people lived in isolated villages. The Dark Age ended in about 800 B.C when the Greeks started to write again with an alphabet based on that of the Phoenicians.

During that time, many city-states emerged and struggled with each other for power for hundreds of years after that. In 480 B.C., the Greeks UNITED to defeat the invading Persians, but the alliance didnt last long.
Around 477 B.C., two city-states, ATHENS AND SPARTA, became the dominant powers in that region and constantly fought each other for power. Greece had its GOLDEN AGE in Athens around 477 - 431 B.C. In 334 B.C., ALEXANDER THE GREAT, leader of the country of Macedonia to the north, conquered the Greeks and started what is called the HELLENISTIC AGE. Greece unwillingly remained under Macedonian control until the Romans conquered both Macedonia and Greece around 140 B.C. The ROMANS then spread the knowledge of the ancient Greek philosophers throughout their empire. The Roman Empire lasted as a unified empire until 395 A.D. when it was split into the eastern and western empires. Greece became part of the eastern or BYZANTINE EMPIRE and Greek literature became the basis for learning in Byzantine institutions, especially in Constantinople, its capital. When Constantinople was destroyed by the Turks in 1453 A.D., the Greek literature stored there spread to the rest of Europe and helped start the RENAISSANCE.

SETTLEMENT LOCATION
Located in southeastern Europe, Greece is defined by a series of mountains and surrounded on all sides except the north by water.

AGRICULTURE
Only 20-30% of ancient Greeces land was arable. The most important crops were olives, grapes, and barley. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS were those of a simple, self-sufficient agricultural system.

CROPS: The Greeks used OLIVES for eating and to make olive oil, used for cooking and as a lubricant.
They made wine from GRAPES. The common drink of everyone was a mixture of wine and water. BARLEY was used to make bread and was a staple part of the Greek diet. Demeter was the mythological goddess of grain. LIVESTOCK: The ancient Greeks kept CHICKENS, PIGS, SHEEP, and GOATS (for milk and meat). They would only eat the meat of animals who had been sacrificed in the name of a god. Generally, they did not eat a lot of meat, but instead depended upon FISH and LEGUMES (beans, chickpeas, and lentils) for protein.

ARCHITECTURE Hellinic period

THE TERM HELLENIC IS USED TO DESCRIBE THE EARLY GREEK CIVILIZATION. ESSENTIALLY A COLUMNAR AND TRABEATED STYLE. SPANS WERE LIMITED BECAUSE OF TRABEATED STYLE. IN 600BC THE USE OF MARBLE WAS LIMITED. WALLS WERE CONSTRUCTED FROM ALL KIND OF RUBBLE AND ASHLAR, NO MORTAR WAS USED. STONE WALLS WERE BEAUTIFIED WITH MARBLE STUCCO.

`THEY DIDNT USED VAULTS OR DOMES.

EXTERIORS OF BUILDINGS WERE DESIGNED WITH COLONNADES. COLUMNS WERE MADE MORE ELEGANT AND DELICATE.

Hellinistic period
THE TERM IS USED TO DESCRIBE GREEK CIVILIZATION WHEN IT WAS INFLUENCED BY THE MIDDLE EAST. THE ARCHITECTURE HAD A RELIGIOUS CHARACTER AFTER 4TH CENTURY B.C PUBLIC BUILDINGS APPEARED TOWN PLANNING AND CIVIC SENSE DEVELOPED. ARCHES STARTED APPEARING ON WALL OPENINGS. 3 ORDERS WERE USED.

HELLENISTIC CITIES
GREEK CITY PLANNING WAS NOT ALWAYS AS ASYMMETRICAL & EVOLUTIONARY IN FORM AS THE AGORA IN ATHENS. THE GREEKS WERE PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF PRODUCING REGULAR, ORTHONONAL TOWN PLANS AND FREQUENTLY EMPLOYED THEM FOR COLONIAL CITIES, AS MAY BE SEEN AT PAESTUM (POSEIDONIA), WHICH A STREET PATTERN FROM THE MIDSEVENTH CENTURY BCE THAT PRODUCED HUGE, ELONGATED, RECTANGULAR BLOCKS.

WHILE MANY CITIES GREW ORGANICALLY OVER TIME, OTHERS WERE REBILT, OFTEN AFTER SUFFERING WAR DAMAGE, ACORDING TO THE NEW, MORE REGULAR TOWN PLANNNING PRINCIPLES. SUCH WAS THE FACE IN THE 5TH AND 4TH CENTURIES BCE, WHEN A NUMBER OF TOWNS WERE PROVIDED WITH GRID BLOCKS & CAREFULLY CONSIDERED OPEN SPACES AND ORTHOGAL AGORA.

THE GREEK ORDERS

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

RELIGION

The Greeks were POLYTHEISTIC and did not all worship the same gods. Some small villages worshiped the main gods and their own village gods. There were hundreds of Greek gods (perhaps around 1,000). Some of the most famous gods were Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Athena, Demeter, Hermes, Ares, and Hades. ZEUS surpassed all other gods in spirit, wisdom and justice and his wife HERA was the queen of the gods.

DAILY LIFE
The daily diet included CEREALS (like wheat and barley), GRAPES, and OLIVES -- commonly called the MEDITERRANEAN TRIAD. The Greeks typically made grapes into WINE and olives into OLIVE OIL, so they would keep without refrigeration. Grains and cereals were commonly used for BREAD and PORRIDGE. Diets were supplemented with VEGETABLES and HERBS from kitchen gardens as well as BERRIES, and MUSHROOMS. The poor usually ate FISH, while oysters, sea urchins, octopus, and eels were considered DELICACIES and only eaten by the wealthy.