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Ancient Greece is the era in Greek history that stretched for about a thousand years. Historians believe that this culture was responsible for the underpinning of Western Civilization. So much so that it made commanding influence in the Roman Empire to say the least. Now, ancient Greece not only formed the geographical peninsula of contemporary Greece but also plugged in areas of Hellenic culture that matured at those times in the hands of the Greek.

Conventionally, you will find that the Greek period is traced back with the date of the earliest Olympic Games in 776 BC. But several historians beg to differ as they have now lengthened the term back to about 1000 BC. On the other hand, end of the ancient Greek era came into effect with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. However, Hellenistic or the incorporation of Greece into the Roman Republic in 146 BC followed soon.

Throwing light on Greek history, you will know that the Greeks had actually migrated southward into the Balkan peninsula owing to influences initiated in the late 3rd millennium BC. The period from 1600 BC to 1100 BC speaks of the sovereignty of King Agamemnon and not to mention the wars in opposition to Troy as reflected in the epics of Homer. Inscriptions and writings by historians along with writers like Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato and Aristotle have survived to tell the tales of these times.

Monarchy was prevalent in ancient Greece. The coercion of the monarchs led a small class of landowners to shape a warrior aristocracy that took to small inter-city wars to cast out the monarch. This gave rise to a mercantile class in about 680 BC. Greek politics was highlighted in the face of Athens and Sparta’s rivalry. However, Sparta formed a permanent militarist regime under a dual monarchy while in Athens monarchy was abolished in 683 BC, which gave way to a moderate system of aristocratic government.

The Persians made war and it wasn’t long before they established control over Ionia that consisted of eminent centers like Miletus and Halicarnassus. The Ionian Revolt followed in 499 BC much with the help from Athens and some of the other Greek cities. It was the Greeks, under the Spartan Pausanius that eventually crushed the Persian army at Plataea. Winning battles and wiping out the Persians, Athens regained overall power. 

As regards the Greek society, there were two kinds -the free and the slave. Unlike the slaves the free people had protection of the law under their belt. The slaves were the most deprived bunch of people. They were ripped of any power or status and not even the right to have a family and possess property. As a matter of fact by the 5th century BC, the slaves constituted about one-third of the sum inhabitants in a number of city-states. Four social classes on the basis of wealth existed in Athens while in Sparta the male citizens earned the title of “equal” once they were through with their education.

In the face of architecture, the Greeks excelled enormously. Low apartment buildings or single-family homes featured in the city lives of ancient Greece. There were residences, public buildings, and temples next to the agora. The male members of the house were responsible for sustaining the family by earning while the women were more or less engaged in household work. Agriculture was the chief means of livelihood for the Greeks.

As regards the clothing, these men and women were dressed in loose Peplos and Chitons. Multihued designs formed a part of the tunics and these were sported with a belt. Cloaks, hats and leather boots in wintry weather and sandals in summers are what the Greeks wore.

Ornaments and cosmetics were also common amongst the ladies. Religion played quite a role in Greek civilization. The Greeks were very religious people and they worshipped many Gods. Truth be told, their God were in the likes of the different elements of nature. What’s more these Gods were honored by means of contests in music, drama, and poetry. Festivals were also prevalent like for instance the huge Panhellenic festivals, which were held at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia.

Education was under wraps except for Sparta. Public schools sprouted during the Hellenistic period in more than a few city-states. Besides formal education, they were also trained in singing and playing instruments. Not just that, they were also qualified as athletes in favor of military service.

Ancient Greece has indeed made great strides on all fronts and it well remains as a standing example for all of us.

Our present civilization is indebted to our predecessors who with their might and mind have laid the foundation of human civilization throughout the world. We will now discuss some of the ancient civilizations in brief.

The History Of Ancient Greece

The Greek civilization is the foundational civilization of the western world. Ancient Greece is not limited to today’s Greek peninsula, all the places where the Greeks established Hellenic culture in ancient times comes under this purview.
 
Ancient Greek empire influenced the spheres of science, technology, architecture, art, language, education, polity, and philosophy. Ancient Greece stimulated Renaissance in Western Europe. Greek classicism was revived to elevate literature in the 18th and 19th century Neo-classical period in Europe and in the Americas.

The Mighty Roman Empire

The Roman Empire is the base structure of European civilization. Though the Romans were the conquerors they learned a lot from the Greek heritage. Usually the name of Ancient Rome is uttered together with ancient Greece as contenders of “classical antiquity”. Ancient Roman civilization has a huge influence on European law, war, art, architecture and language, which is still continuing its legacy. 

 The Roman Empire spread its rule on the vast landmasses of Western Europe and areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. During the 12th century Roman Empire transformed from a monarchy to an oligarchic republic to a huge empire.

The traditional date of the fall of Rome is 476 B.C after the vast empire was broke into independent kingdoms in the west and the eastern empire came to be known as the Byzantine empire, governed from Constantinople.

Ancient China

China has preserved the earliest written evidence of civilization of 13th century B.C Shang dynasty. The evidences are written inscriptions, prediction records on animal bones and shells called “oracle bones”. The last of the nine capitals of Shang is modern Anyang of modern day Henang. The Zhou dynasty emerged as the new power in 2nd millennium B.C. The Zhou king Wu with the help of his uncle, the duke of Zhou defeated the Shangs in the battle of Muye. The Zhou king established the concept of “Mandate of Heaven” to strengthen his rule and this concept lived long through the gradual succession of the dynasty.

Initially the area of modern Xian, near the Yellow river was the capital of Zhou dynasty but gradually they expanded their rule to the Yangtze River valley. This is the first ever record of north to south migration of Chinese population.

However, the 8th century episode of Spring and Autumn periods was the history of decentralization of Zhou power in the hands of local leaders who rose to power. China now had hundreds of small states. The arena of intellectual thoughts saw the rise of many intellectual movements like the Hundred School of thoughts, Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism and Mohism.

In the 5th century B.C these few states battled with each other. This period is known as the Warring states period. King Ying Zhen , the king of Qin annexed, assimilated  and unified several states and proclaimed himself as the First Emperor of China.

Ancient India

As per Sanskrit literature Ancient India revolves round the rich history of the classical Hindu age termed as “golden age”. This age began during the 500 BCE with the Mahajanapadas, the sixteen monarchies and republics, which occupied the territory of Indo-Gangetic plain stretching from Afghanistan to Bangladesh. Four great Mahajanapadas were Magadha, Kosala, Kuru and Gandhara.

Ancient India had a grand oral literary tradition starting with the Rig Veda, compiled in circa 1500B.C. The epics Ramayana and Mahabharata belong to the classical period. Indian history embraced the well-recorded written form from 6th century B.C after the birth of Buddha and Mahavira.

Amongst the sixteen Mahajanapadas, Magadha rose to eminence and became famous under the legendary rule of king Ashoka of the Maurya dynasty. The south was under the rule of the Chera, Chola and the Pandya dynasties.

After Ashoka, the Gupta Empire integrated the north India (320-550 BCE). Gupta period saw immense progress in law, order, art, mathematics, education, Sanskrit drama, grammar, logic, metaphysics, medicine and astronomy. The Gupta Empire declined with the invasion of the Hunas.

The south Indian Tamil people of the Sangam age traded with the Greco Roman world from the coast of Malabar. They had connections with the Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Arabs, Jews and Chinese.

India was the richest subcontinent of the world till the Mughal period.

The Ancient Civilizations Of Sub- Saharan Africa

The ancient civilization of Egypt is the most famous African civilization mothered by the river Nile. It spanned over three and a half millennia. The inception of the civilization was the unification of Nile valley polities around 3500 B.C and ended in 30B.C with the Roman conquest.

Egyptian civilization balanced nature and human resources effectively with the gift of fertility from Nile.

Ancient Civilization Mesopotamia

The name Mesopotamia is derived from the Greek words for “between” and “river”. Ancient Mesopotamia was spread in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins and the area in-between. Mesopotamia is referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization” as it is the place where first literate societies evolved in the 4th millennium B.C. The time span of ancient Mesopotamia is from 4th millennium BCE to the rise of the Achaemenids in 6th century BCE.

Mesopotamia homed ancient civilizations like the Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian empires.

Ur Nammu (king of Ur), Sargon (Established the Akkadian empire) and Hammurabi (Established the Babylonian empire) and Tiglath Pileser (established the Assyrian empire) are some prominent names in the pages of ancient Mesopotamia.

The History Of Phoenicia

The ancient Phoenician civilization is a maritime trading civilization, which was centered on the ancient Cannan and did spread across the Mediterranean with its vital concentration on the lands of modern Lebanon during the first millennium B.C.

The language of the Phoenicians is Phoenician, a member of Canaanite language of the Semitic family. The most important historical sources are the inscriptions. The Phoenician Punic colonies of North Africa are also a valuable source to know about the ancient Phoenicians.

The Ancient Civilizations Of The Americas

The Aztecs

The Aztec civilization is a colorful civilization of Mexico. The Aztecs were Mesoamerican people who called themselves Mexicas, who lived during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries in central Mexico.

Mandatory education and a complex yet rich mythology are the chief texture of the Aztec civilization. Practice of human sacrifice was in vogue.

The Chronicles Of The Olmec

The Olmec people are the ancient pre-Columbian people of south central Mexico, which roughly corresponds to modern days Veracruz, and Tabasco. The span is roughly from 1200 B.C to 400B.C and the Olmec people are thought to be the predecessor of every principal Mesoamerican Civilization.

The Inca Civilization

Inca empire was the biggest pre-Columbian empire of America and one the chief empires in the world. It rose to prominence in highlands of Peru during 1200 BC. Cuzco was the political, administrative and military center.

The official language was Quechua, though seven hundred local languages were spoken.

The Inca leadership promoted worship of Pachamama or Mother Earth. The Incas believed Inti or Sun God to be the chief God.

The Inca Empire was divided in a stratified society. The empire was divided in “senorios”(dominions) and the ruler was the Inca. The economy was based on the collective property of the land. The Inca was undertaken as a massive civilization project based on a mythology of harmony between human, God and Nature.

The Incas declined with the coming of Spanish Conquistadors.

Maya Civilization

Maya Civilization is Mesoamerican civilization, which reached the zenith of art, architecture, mathematics and astronomy. The Maya people developed a fully written system of language. The famed period of 250 to 900 BCE of Maya Civilization is known as Classic period in Mesoamerican chronology. The spread of civilization was from the northern Central America to the southern parts of Mexico. It was a vibrant and lively civilization.

Here ends the chronicle of the famous ancient civilizations of the world.

Colors of every shade enrich this vast expanse of world culture. The myriad cultures with their widely differing languages, religions, literatures and lifestyles provide an interesting study of the populace residing in different parts of the world. 

The Culture of Europe

Europe has been the seat of many revolutionary cultural movements of which some like the Renaissance Movement has also gone on to shape the course of events around the globe. A prime reason for the spread of the European cultural threads has been the colonialist ruling of the Europeans.

This is particularly evident from the fact that there are people in USA who speak European languages like Spanish, English, French and Portuguese. The influx of the culture of Europe can be seen in some of the countries of Asia, Africa and Australia too, most notably in the arts and architectural spheres.

The culture of Europe as a whole is a unique fusion, imbibing practices and thoughts from various sources and evolving into an eclectic entirety. A trip here and you will be bowled over by the flavor of world culture nestled in a single continent. However, the advent of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the European Union in recent times has seen a trend towards a unification of these varied cultures. 

The Culture of Asia and the Middle East

World culture is not something compartmentalized and exclusive; there are similarities between even apparently widely dissimilar cultures. For instance, like Christianity in Europe, religion and spiritualism too have been the basis of cultural development in both Asia and the Middle East.

Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity have played dominant roles in shaping the literature, arts and philosophy of Asia. And amongst the various countries of Asia, India and China, the seats of two of the most ancient civilizations of the world, have exerted quite an influence on the course of development in this continent.

To elaborate, during the 20th century the “Ahimsa” or the principle of Non-violence propagated by Mahatma Gandhi and the Communist ideology preached by Mao Zedong won the admiration and criticism of the world at large. The Hindu and the Buddhist philosophies too, emanating from this region, have gone to mesmerize the West, with the result that there have been a constant stream of Westerners visiting India and East Asia to learn more about these ideologies.

The Middle East is the cradle of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Christianity was born in Judea at the end of the 1st century and from there it spread wings to Europe, Asia and the American continent via Greece and Rome. 

The Culture of USA and Canada

Anglo America (USA and Canada) share sundry cultural similarities, partly because people in these two countries speak a common language, English that is, and also because there is hardly much of a geographical boundary between the countries. However, Canada is considered one of the most ethnically diverse countries of the world. And this has led to the growth of an amazingly multi-hued culture with traces of English, French, Irish, Scottish and aboriginal elements.

World culture is an endless stream of influences and counter-influences between the varied cultures and this is evident in the American culture as well. For instance, while American music is a soulful blend of rock and roll, hip hop, jazz and country, Native American delicacies like turkey, potatoes, corn and squash and European dishes like apple pies and pizzas mingle delectably in American cuisine. In its turn, Hollywood movies continue to dictate fashion and lifestyle trends all around the world.

Be it African or Asian, American or European, the wholesome palate of world culture is a truly dynamic entity where change is the only constant.