Collapse of Bronze Age Greece Essay

In 400 B.C, The Athenian civilization experienced a golden age. The Athens experienced a great amount of peace and prosperity due to their contact and trade with others, and rare warring. During this time, ideas and philosophies were produced. These ideas influenced western civilizations in the areas of politics, science, art and architecture.

Throughout the Ancient Greek world, there have been many wars and standoffs. However, there has been only one which changed the course of Greek history forever; the Peloponnesian War. Caused by the growing tension between Athens and Sparta, it came and left, leaving only destruction in its wake. The defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War caused the downfall of Greece, and the end of the Classical Age.

     The ancient Greek and Roman civilizations of Europe began to progress toward a more civilized order of society. As there were no previous establishment to base their ideals on, it was understandable that there were some difficulties in their progression as a society. Although the ancient Greek and Roman governments fell, both had similar paths of creation, conquest, and destruction.

The Roman Empire took over after the Greeks fell and it thrived over the years. But when the Pax Romana came along, the empire was developing a “soft belly” which was becuase of the upper class becoming lazy and losing their edge. At this point is where they fall. The reasons for the great empire fell because of their government, military, and the natural disaster problems.

Ancient Greece had a major impact on the Western World due to many factors. Documents 1 and 2 reveal that the Western World has been impacted by political factors of the ancient Greeks, whille documents 4, and 5 show us that the Western World was impacted due to cultural reasons.

The expanse of time that the term “Ancient Greece” defines is all the way from around 7,250 BCE when the first evidence of burial sites were discovered in Argolid, Greece, during the Mesolithic Period, to around the year 30 BCE when Cleopatra died in Alexandra, Egypt (1). That is the better part of 7,200 years. Trying to fit all of that information into five to seven pages would be nearly impossible. That is why I will be focusing on the Classical Era of Greece which spans from about 500 BCE to around 320 BCE. During this time in Greece there were many conflicts and wars, but there was also much growth in the cultural aspects of their society.

There are other theories that tie into the Bronze Age collapse such as other devastating natural disasters (earthquakes in Mycenae), large social revolutions that toppled leaderships, and the possibility of a total system-wide societal collapse that ended everything within that city/empire/civilization(s). All of the factors noted above may have all played a part in the overall collapse, but none of them were the sole exact cause of why it happened. The Bronze Age Collapse was mostly likely caused by the combination of multiple factors and outside sources which brought about the downfall of multiple civilizations such as Egypt, Hatti and Mycenae. However, despite all the violence and chaos the Bronze Age Collapse brought upon the affected empires, there was some good to come out of it. The end is not always just the end, it is sometimes just the beginning. At the end of the chaos, new civilizations rose to power underneath the dust of the old ones, including the prodigious Biblical Israelites, it was also the time said civilizations entered the next major age of civilization, the Iron

This “golden age” began after the Greek victory over Persia during the Persian War (546 – 479 BCE) and came to a decline after the Peloponnesian War (431 – 404 BCE). During this time period, the Grecian states were well renowned in cultural and political status. Greece excelled in government, philosophy, art, poetry and drama. The Golden Age also marked the creation of democracy in Athens. Theaters promoted famous playwrights, architecture including the Parthenon art and sculptures was created, and famous philosophers including Plato and Socrates significantly impacted the thought processes of that time.

The civilization of ancient Greece blossomed for more than 2,500 years ago but the ideas of the ancient Greeks continue to influence the way we live today. People of ancient Greece seeked to explain the world through the laws of nature. Greece produced many magnificent achievements in areas of science, philosophy arts and government that still influence our lives.

Classical Greek culture had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Europe. Greek culture influenced the development of Roman civilization because at first Rome absorbed ideas from Greek colonists in southern Italy, and they continued to borrow from Greek culture after they conquered Greece. Ancient Greece has had an enormous amount of impact on culture in the western world. For this reason, Classical Greece is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western civilization. Rome conquered the Greek empire and its civilization, but Greek culture conquered imperial Rome. Furthermore, the Romans willingly

Throughout the course of history there have been many great and powerful civilizations. These civilizations made their way to power in many ways including military force, great wealth, and politics. These civilizations include the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Romans, and in more recent times, the United States of America. Another civilization that is often mentioned to be a part of this prestigious group is that of the Ancient Greeks. The primary reason being the Ancient Greek’s military advancement made them superior to the other ancient armies of the time allowing their civilization to grow.

To begin with, there were a few causes that led up to Greece taking over. The main cause that brought the Greeks to take over was the influence of the gods. “And as for Helen, why are you angry with her? It is not she, it is not Paris, that has brought this great city of Troy to ruin; it is the anger of the gods” (Church 15). Queen Helen was captured by Paris so, Helen’s husband, Menelaus, lead an expedition to find her. With the help of Menelaus’ brother, Agamemnon, they made it to Asia minor, to lay siege to Troy and requested for Helen’s return by Priam and

In a relatively resource-poor region, a society rose from the access of foreign sources of raw materials and markets abroad. This society came to be known as one of the largest nations in Eurasia. The rise and fall of this great nation has to do with war-fare and the conflict between city-states. Their division led to the widespread of language and culture. This is the great story of Ancient Greece and how individualism changed the view Greece had on certain issues. (Bulliet 99) From 1000 B.C.E to 30 B.C.E, Ancient Greece’s view on individualism changed the political system Greece had, over time changed the way individuals thought and made important Intellectual changes, and gradually changed the Economic system such as bartering.

Greece’s Golden Age can be defined as a time of flourishing. There are many changes that occurred during this time that changed Athens for the better. Athens made the important decision of splitting itself from Sparta, who they constantly differed with. “It is from this split that the Athenian Empire was created” (Hunt 80). This split illustrates the certainty that the Athenians possessed in terms of creating a better nation. Athens developed an empire because democracy was expensive. In order for democracy to be created, you need an empire to raise money. The Athenian empire was well-known for its excellent trading along with the arts and sciences that developed during this time. When trade flourished, the polis grew which created

Every idea has a start and a history that can be traced back in time. An incredible amount of these ideas and thoughts were started by great ancient civilizations. These ancient civilizations are the base of all modern knowledge. No ancient civilization has contributed more to this base than the civilization of Ancient Greece. The unique ways of ancient Greek agriculture have left a profound influence on the agriculture of today.