Greece
"The Best of Southern Europe"
Introducing Greece
Climate
Government & Economy
Imports and Exports
Major Cities
- The official capital of Greece and is has a population of 789, 166.
- It is the largest city, and has a high rate of tourism.
- Motto- Freedom or Death.
Delphi
- Rich with mysterious culture of Ancient Greece.
- Very interesting architecture.
- Population is unclear due to being so small.
Santorini
- Very famous for the style of buildings.
- The population is 6,500-7,000 people.
- Can also see an excavated sight of a Minoan city that was destroyed from a volcanic eruption in ancient times.
Meteora
- Literally means "suspended in the air."
- The population is 21,991.
- Has a high rate of tourism because of its natural canyons.
Crete
- A small Island far off the coast of Greece.
- Has a population of 623,065.
- Is well known for the Palace at Knossos.
Must See Famous Landmarks
The Parthenon
Palace of Knossos
Delphi
Common Foods
Pericles- An Athenian Hero
The Parthenon, it is one of the greatest architectural achievements in the modern and ancient world. It took only 15 years of hard and strenuous labor to build. In today’s economy, it would be the equivalent to $104,328,431.02 in United States dollars. Who was the true master mind behind this genius plan? Who made it possible? And how did he get all this money to build this great achievement? This man was a man who was born into fame through his father, a rich general, and his grandparents who were famous politicians. This man would be the one and only Pericles. Pericles was self-determined, highly regarded, and was, and still is, a role model to many politicians today.
Pericles planed out the Parthenon with the architects, builders, and stone masons. He didn’t want to be like a supreme dictator, but some people viewed him like he was when he was in charge of the construction. For 15 years, more and more people ostracized Pericles on the Parthenon, and how he was trying to trick the Athenian people. But that was not the case. 20 years earlier, the Persians invaded Athens and burned to the ground, including the old Parthenon. There were piles of rubble on top of the acropolis (where the Parthenon was) and people said it was a memorial to the people who died in the battles with Persia. Pericles made a classic bluff and said that they rebuild the Parthenon to make a proper memorial. What he really wanted to is rebuild it for the goddess, Athena. After construction all those people who said he was a terrible man and talked behind his back loved him for what he did and he made the classical age of Greece.
How did the Athenians afford the Parthenon? Well they were in the classical age. The classical age is the best days of Athens. So in the golden age, right after the battles with Persia, they had a huge abundance of gold, jewels, and other precious items. They traded with other city-states and countries to get higher class items. Pericles was like was like the Bill Gates of Athens, he was huge for making good financial decisions for Athens and for being in charge of the construction of the Parthenon.
Why is Pericles important? Pericles was important because he saved the Athenians from wasting their money and quite possibly a financial crisis. He invested the Athenians money in the beautiful Parthenon and didn’t make the Athenian economy go straight into bankruptcy. Pericles also was one of the first people in 5th century Athens that didn’t get voted into exile for having too much power. Why would they vote people into exile? That’s how their democracy worked. Once a year the Athenian politicians got together and voted a fellow politician into exile because they felt that they had too much power in the government. For example, there was an Athenian general named Themistocles that made a plan for the Battle of Salamis and Marathon. They both were very successful and gave the Athenians part of their wealth. But the Athenians felt that Themistocles had too much power and voted him into exile.
Sadly in 429B.C. Pericles died in Athens from a plague that also killed 1/3rd of the population. After that the Peloponnesian war broke out and Athens was taken over by tyrants. They eventually did revolt and become free again but that took a very long time. In conclusion, Pericles was a role model to every leader. He pulled off building the Parthenon, he made a huge impact on history, and he was a huge planner which made Athens a successful city-state.
Religions of Greece
Short Story of History
The Greeks. They are a very successful in ancient times and modern times. But why are they historically important, or how did they put an impact on history? These people formed today's governments, these people practically were the mother of math and philosophy. But why is their history important? They changed Europe by defeating the almighty Persia; they built endless wonders of the world. But how why is there history change the world? Right now we would be over ruled by a government overseas if it wasn't for the Greeks. By far, this is why the Greek History is important.
It was the year 497 BC, one of the most important years in Greek history. It was the beginning of one of the hardest times in Greece. That year was the start of the Persian wars. The Persian Empire Spread from Turkey all the way to India. It was one of the biggest battles that triggered the War. This was the battle of Marathon. This particular battle, was Athens, now day capital of Greece, verse Persia. At the time Athens was a small village that wasn't rich. It was horrifying fact to know an army that was so big and the probability of yours wining was not high at all. But when the day had come the Athenian men fought hard. One of the generals sent out a boy named Phidipedese, the boy who technically invented the marathon. This boy had felt the terror and pressure that in 2 days, he ran 140 miles to Athens’s neighbor, Sparta, to plea for help. But it was the waste of the Athenians time, the answer was no. The Athenians had almost given up all hope. But they had to keep fighting to the last man was dead. They only had one last choice, Get into battle flanks and run strait at the enemy. You would think they would just surrender instead of practically doing suicide, but they went for it. All you would probably feel is pressure. The only thing you could do is push forward and keep on jabbing. After the long harsh battle, the Athenians won. They had something the enemy didn't have, pride and love for their country. The Athenians where shocked and happy they won, but they were also still scared because they knew that Persia wanted revenge.
About 7 years had passed, and the Athenians had discovered an abundance of silver. They wanted to divide it among themselves, but a great Athenian general named Themistocles, an important man that fought at the battle of Marathon. He proposed a very complex bluff stating that they should use the silver on boats from the ancient world’s finest ship builders, Corinth, and use these boats to destroy their local neighboring rival, Aegina. These boats where called Triremes. They carried 170 men and where extremely light weight which gave them extreme speed. The public agreed that these boats would be very useful, so they sided with Themistocles plan. During this time, the great Darius of Persia died and his son Xerxes took power. “On my father’s behalf, and on behalf of all my subjects, I will not rest until I have taken Athens, and burned it to the ground.” Xerxes gathered men from every corner of the Persian empire, and rumors had it that it was more than 2 million men. 3 years later, another 2 more battles occurred. The first one was the battle at Thermopylae. The Spartans, Greece’s most furious fighters, were slaughtered along with a couple other city-states men. Yes this was a terrible loss, but the Persians did much worse. After that battle, which lasted 7 days, another battle happened. This battle was called the battle of Salamis. Themistocles’s ships came and fought this water battle. A lot was at stake. In order to fight this battle, every single person had to evacuate Athens. This was the first time ever, recorded in their history, that a full evacuation was ordered. They had to leave their houses and all there possessions and meet at a village called Troyon while the men had to go on to 200 triremes and fight the Persians at sea. The Persians invaded Athens. When Xerxes’s army came in, it was a disaster. He actually burned Athens symbol, the acropolis, and a few other temples to the ground. Historians say that you could see the smoke all the way from the neighboring island, Salamis. The fear in the Athenians eyes where probably horrifying. At night Themistocles got reports from scouts that the Persians had a fleet of ships 4 times the size of his. But Themistocles plans were laid. They would fight in the Straits of Salamis which is off the Athenian main land and Salamis’s Coast. It is very narrow and with all those Persian ships, they couldn't manipulate. However, he has to trick them into going there because the Persians aren't stupid. So what the Athenians do is send a servant to Xerxes with a traitorous message. “The Greeks are afraid and are planning to slip away. They are squabbling with each other, and will offer no opposition. You have at this moment an opportunity to unparalleled success.” Xerxes couldn't wait much longer. He had to kill the Athenians for good. So he got his fleets together and throughout the night makes his troops row. When they get to the Straits of Salamis, he tries to block them up. But as dawn rose, the Persians finally realized Themistocles plan. The Greek Triremes crushed the Persian ships without mercy. There was a boy named Escalips who lived to tell the tale. “We hear from every part his voice of exhortation. Advance he sons of Greece, from slavery save your country, save your wives, and save your children! Say on this day the common cause of all demands your valor!” Xerxes himself who was sitting in his golden throne on shore saw this horrific battle. At the end of it all the result was the Persians lost 200 ships, but for the Greeks it was a great victory. The Persians could not guarantee the safety of their king and while everything was at peace they must return to Persia immediately. In other words it’s a huge victory for the Greeks.
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