A History of Ancient Greece GREEK LITERATURE

The great British philosopher-mathematician Alfred North Whitehead once commented that all philosophy is but a footnote to Plato . A similar point can be made regarding Greek literature as a whole. Over a period of more than ten centuries, the ancient Greeks created a literature of such brilliance that it has rarely been equaled and never surpassed. In poetry, tragedy, comedy, and history, Greek writers created masterpieces that have inspired, influenced, and challenged readers to the present day. To suggest that all Western literature is no more than a footnote to the writings of classical Greece is an exaggeration, but it is nevertheless true that the Greek world of thought was so farranging that there is scarcely an idea discussed today that was not debated by the ancient writers. The only body of literature of comparable influence is the Bible. The language in which the ancient authors wrote was Greek. Like English, Greek is an IndoEuropean language; but it is far older. Its history can be followed from the 14th century BC to the present. Its literature, therefore, covers a longer period of time than that of any other IndoEuropean language Scholars have determined that the Greek alphabet was derived from the Phoenician alphabet. During the period from the 8th to the 5th century BC, local differences caused the forms of letters to vary from one city-state to another within Greece. From the 4th century BC on, however, the alphabet became uniform throughout the Greek world. CLASSICAL PERIOD There are four major periods of Greek literature: preclassical, classical, Hellenistic-Roman, and Byzantine. Of these the most significant works were produced during the preclassical and classical eras. A History of Ancient Greece Author: Robert Guisepi Date: 1998

Economy

And And

Society Society

In In

Classical Classical

Greece Greece

Title: Economy Author: Robert A. Guisepi

The economic and social structure of classical Greece, including the colonies it sent out around the Mediterranean, had many features in common with other agricultural civilizations. It particularly resembled other civilizations in which an invading, warlike group settled down to agriculture. Thus, while 8th-century Greece depended clearly on farming, it had an aristocracy based on ownership of large estates and special claims to military service. At the same time many farmers were independent, owning their plots of land and claiming some political and social status just as tribal soldiers had once done. But - again in a common pattern - the Greek economy evolved, particularly as trade rose and cities grew. Social structure became accordingly more complex, and inequalities widened in many ways. There were also, however, distinctive features in the Greek pattern. Because mainland Greece was so rocky and mountainous, discouraging easy grain growing, many city-states came to depend unusually heavily on seagoing trade (and colonies). Frequent wars and colonization produced abundant opportunities to seize slaves, and classical Mediterranean society maintained greater dependence on slavery than was true of Indian or Chinese civilizations in the same period. Correspondingly, while Greece developed many craft products, somewhat less attention was paid to the improvement of manufacturing technology than either China or India displayed. This reflected Greek concern for science as a philosophical system rather than a collection of useful empirical data. It also reflected widespread slavery, which reduced the need to think about better ways to produce because many of the hardest tasks were done by cheap, coerced labor. The pronounced aristocratic tone persisted in society as well as politics, based on the importance of the landed elite. Despite important differences among political forms, aristocratic assemblies and officials formed the most coherent single city-state theme in Greek politics. Aristocrats had the time to devote to political life as the Greeks defined it, and they argued that they brought special virtues, of education and disinterest, to the political process. Aristocratic cultural patronage also helped give shape to Mediterranean art, literature, and the education of aristocratic youth (boys above all). The aristocratic tenor of Greek society showed in the ambiguous position of merchants. Greece progressively became involved with growing trade. Yet aristocratic suspicion of merchant values persisted, particularly among conservatives who blasted change in the name of traditional austerity. Sparta, which had unusually fertile land, tried to downplay trade altogether. The deliberately cumbersome coinage discouraged commerce, while aristocratic estate-owners concentrated on directing a semi-slave population of farm workers. Even in bustling Athens, most merchants were foreigners (mainly from the Middle East). Overall, merchants held higher status in the classical Mediterranean than in Confucian China, but their standing was less firm than in India.

Sport in Greece Greece has risen to prominence in a number of sporting areas in recent decades. Football in particular has seen a rapid transformation, with the Greek national football team winning the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship.Greek athletes have also achieved significant success and have won world and olympic titles in numerous sports during the years, such as basketball, wrestling, water polo, athletics, weightlifting, with many of them becoming international stars inside their sports. The successful organisation of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games led also to the further development of many sports and has led to the creation of many World class sport venues all over Greece and especially in Athens. Greek athletes have won 143 medals for Greece in 15 different olympic sports at the Summer Olympic Games,including the Intercalated Games, an achievement which makes Greece one of the top nations globally in medals per capita. Football League system The first league of professional football in Greece was established as the Panhellenic Championship in 1927. The league ran until 1959, when it was replaced by the Alpha Ethniki which ran until 2006 when it was then replaced by Super League Greece. Angelos Charisteas puts Greece 10 up in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final against hosts Portugal. Association football is the most popular sport in Greece. Its national governing body is the Hellenic Football Federation founded in 1926, which is member of FIFA and UEFA. The Greek national football team rose to prominence in the UEFA Euro 2004, when they were crowned European champions in one of the biggest shocks in international football history. [1] Ranked 13th in the world as of 2009,[2] they have qualified two times for the FIFA World Cup in 1994 and 2010, three times for the UEFA European Championship in 1980, 2004 and 2008, and one time for the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2005. Greece has great tradition in youth teams, which have been successful; the Under-21 team were runners-up in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 1988 and 1998, the Under-19 team were runners-up in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2007, while the Under-17 team were runners-up in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in 1985, took the third place in 1991 and the fourth place in 1996 and 2000.

Basketball . Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.[ Greece has a long tradition and history of success in basketball, which is very popular in the country. Greece was one of the eight founding members of FIBA in 1932 and the national governing body is the Hellenic Basketball Federation, member of FIBA Europe. The Greek national basketball team is considered among the world's top basketball powers; ranked 4th in the world,[4] they are the current FIBA World Championship silver medalists since 2006 and the EuroBasket bronze medalists since 2009. They have been crowned European champions twice, in 1987 and 2005, and they have also won two more medals at European level, the silver in 1989 and the bronze in 1949. At the Olympic Games they have been placed 5th in three occasions. The 1987 gold medal was the first win for a Greek national team in a major tournament in any team sport, thus basketball became extremely popular in Greece after that achievement. The youth national teams of Greece have also enjoyed great success, having won a lot of medals in the respective World and European tournaments. Volleyball Volleyball is a notable sport in Greece controlled by the Hellenic Volleyball Federation, member of CEV. The major achievements of the Greek men's national volleyball team are two bronze medals, one in the European Volleyball Championship and another one in the European Volleyball League, a 5th place in the Olympic Games and a 6th place in the FIVB World Championship. The Greek league, the A1 Ethniki, is considered one of the top volleyball leagues in Europe and the Greek clubs have made significant success in European competitions. Olympiacos is the most successful volleyball club in the country having won the most domestic titles and being the only Greek club to have won European trophies; they have won two CEV Cups, they have been CEV Champions League runners-up twice and have also played in many final fours in the European competitions, making them one of the biggest volleyball clubs in Europe. Iraklis, Panathinaikos and Orestiada have also made it to the final in continental tournaments. Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores the most goals by getting the ball past the opposing team's goalkeeper into the net. Gameplay involves swimming, players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a net defended by a goalie. Water polo, therefore, has strong similarities to the land-based game of team handball. The frequency of 'man-up' (or 'power play') situations also draws comparisons with Ice hockey. Olympic Games Main article: Greece at the Olympics The Olympic Games are a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating, although they occur

every four years within their respective seasonal games. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 5th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. The IOC has since become the governing body of the Olympic Movement, whose structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter. Greece was home of the ancient Olympic Games, first recorded in 776 BC in Olympia, and hosted the modern Olympic Games twice, the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics; the country also hosted the 1906 Intercalated Games, at the time regarded as Olympic Games but not officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee today. The nation has competed at every Summer Olympic Games, one of the only four countries to have done so, and most of the Winter Olympics Games. During the parade of nations Greece is always called first, as the founding nation of the ancient precursor of modern Olympics, and its national governing body is the Hellenic Olympic Committee. Kickboxing Kickboxing is one of the smaller sports in Greece, but has its followers, and is the sport that Greeks have being the most dominant at compare to any other sport. Greece's 'Iron' Mike Zambidis is the current World Kickboxing Champion, and is a 13 time World Kickboxing Champion. Kickboxing however is much more popular amongst Diaspora Greeks in Melbourne, Australia, producing many greats such as former 8 time World Champion, Stan 'The Man' Longinidis, former 7 time World Champion Tosca Petridis, former World Champion 'King' Arthur Tsakonas, as well as Louie 'The Ice' Iosifidis, Evangelos Goussis, Nick 'Thunderkick' Talakouris and many others. Paralympic Sports Paralympic Sports have significant grown in Greece since the late 70s. The first participation of athletes with a disability at Paralympic Games was in 1976. The organisation of the Paralympic Games in Athens led to significant growth. The Hellenic Team participated in 17 of the 19 sports and won 20 medals (3 Gold, 13 Silver and 4 Bronze). At the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games the Greek Team made its most successful appearance ever with 24 medals (5 Gold, 9 Silver and 10 Bronze). Greece has won in total 68 medals at the Paralympic Games, participating only recently. Weightlifting Weightlifting has been probably the most successful individual sport for Greece, with the national team regularly winning gold medals in the Olympics and the rest international competitions. Greek weightlifters have won a total 15 medals in the Olympics with 6 of them being gold,5 silver and 4 bronze medals. In the World Weightlifting Championships Greek weightlifting team has won a total 111 medals (70 in men and 41 in women) with 26 of them being gold.Greek weightlifters have set many world and Olympic records during the years which forced the sporting world to name the Greek weightlifting team of the mid 90's, the "Dream Team" of the sport.Some of the greatest weightlifters in the history of the game include Greek legends such as:

Pyrros Dimas, is a Greek from Northern Epirus weightlifter, three-time Olympic champion, multiple world and European champion. He is considered worldwide one of the greatest athletes in the history of this sport Sailing and sea sports

Greece has two bordering seas, the Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea, so it not surprising that sailing is a popular sport. Greek athletes have won 7 medals in sailing and 2 in Rowing at the Olympic games and also numerous gold medals in the world and European championships.Some of the most notable Greek athletes in the sports of sailing and rowing include world and olympic champions such as :

Nikolaos Kaklamanakis,a Greek Gold-medal winner who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Anastasios Bountouris, a Greek sailor who competed at six Olympics between 1976 and 1996. He is the first Greek to compete at six Olympic Games, an achievement so far matched only by shooter Agathi Kassoumi. Politics of Greece

The Politics of Greece takes place in a large parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Hellenic Parliament. Since the restoration of democracy the party system is dominated by the liberal-conservative New Democracy ( - Nea Dimokratia) and the social-democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( - Panellinio Sosialistiko Kinima). The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The 1975 constitution, which describes Greece as a "presidential parliamentary republic", includes extensive specific guarantees of civil liberties and vests the powers of the head of state in a president elected by parliament. The Greek governmental structure is similar to that found in many Western democracies, and has been described as a compromise between the French and German models. The prime minister and cabinet play the central role in the political process, while the president performs some executive and legislative functions in addition to ceremonial duties. Voting in Greece is compulsory but is not enforced Greece Literature has always been rich in diversity and quality. The history of the Greek literature goes 2500 years back, when it originated with the Iliad and the Odyssey composed by Homer in the 700 BC. Ancient Greek literature is more profound compared to the modern literature produced in Greece. Greek literature can be classified into epics, poems, plays, historical accounts and philosophical essays. Legal and political speeches, significant in literary value are also considered a part of the Greek literature. Ancient Greek Literature The Greek epics are an example of ancient Greek literature. They are still available in their original form due to the fact that they were vigilantly preserved. The most renowned works are Homers Iliad and Odyssey. The Greek epics, which are lengthy narrations about a hero in the form of poetry, also include the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is considered as a western epic. The other important epic written in Rome by Virgil in the 19 BC is the Aeneid. Early Greek Literature also contains the outstanding works of Ascheylus and Sophocles.

Modern Greek Literature The revival of the Greek Literature occurred in the 19th century during the era of revolt against the decree of the Ottoman Empire. It had temporarily died away under the Turkish Rule. Greek literature in the 20th century mirrors the fruition of European modernism. It is characterized by traits like symbolism, surrealism and experiments in narrative techniques. Greek Literary Works The most important Greek literary works are the epics Iliad and Odyssey, poetry of Hesiod, Sappho and Archilochus, the Greek tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes, the historical accounts by Herodotus and Thucydides and the philosophical treatise by Aristotle. Other literary works worth mention are the comedies by Menander and the historical accounts by Polybius. Greece Literature, with its immense resources and tremendous affluence, has influenced the history of World Literature to a considerable extent. English and European literature often derives sources and influence from the Greek works. Classical and Pre-Classical Antiquity This period of Greek literature stretches from Homer until the 4th century BC and the rise of Alexander the Great. Alfred North Whitehead once claimed that all of philosophy is but a footnote to Plato. To suggest that all of Western literature is no more than a footnote to the writings of ancient Greece is an exaggeration, but it is nevertheless true that the Greek world of thought was so far-ranging that there is scarcely an idea discussed today not already debated by the ancient writers. The earliest known Greek writings are Mycenaean, written in the Linear B syllabary on clay tablets. These documents contain prosaic records largely concerned with trade (lists, inventories, receipts, etc.); no real literature has been discovered. Several theories have been advanced to explain this curious absence. One is that Mycenaean literature, like the works of Homer and other epic poems, was passed on orally, since the Linear B syllabary is not well-suited to recording the sounds of Greek (see phonemic principle). Another is that literary works, being the preserve of an elite, were written on finer materials such as parchment, which have not survived. Epic poetry At the beginning of Greek literature stand the two monumental works of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The figure of Homer is shrouded in mystery. Although the works as they now stand are credited to him, it is certain that their roots reach far back before his time (see Homeric Question). The Iliad is the famous story about the Trojan War. It centers on the person of Achilles, who embodied the Greek heroic ideal. While the Iliad is pure tragedy, the Odyssey is a mixture of tragedy and comedy. It is the story of Odysseus, one of the warriors at Troy. After ten years fighting the war, he spends another ten years sailing back home to his wife and family. During his ten-year voyage, he loses all of his comrades and ships and makes his way home to Ithaca disguised as a beggar. Both of these works were based on ancient legends. The stories are told in language that is simple, direct, and eloquent. Both are as fascinatingly readable today as they were in ancient Greece. The other great poet of the preclassical period was Hesiod. Unlike Homer, Hesiod speaks of himself in his poetry; it remains true that nothing is known about him from any external source. He was a native of Boeotia in central Greece, and is thought to have lived and worked around 700 BC. His two works were Works and Days and Theogony. The first is a faithful depiction of the poverty-stricken country life he knew so well, and it sets forth principles and rules for farmers. Theogony is a systematic account of creation and of the gods. It vividly describes the ages of mankind, beginning with a long-past Golden Age. Together the works of Homer and Hesiod comprised a kind of Bible for the Greeks; Homer told the story of a heroic relatively-near past, which Hesiod bracketed with a creation narrative and an account of the practical realities of contemporary daily life.