History of Greece

Greece has got a long history. It starts in Neolithic years in 2800 AD, and a first landmark is in 2000 AD when the Minoan civilization was developed. In the 9th century the Trojan War took place and then appears the Greek writing.

This is Homer’s time. The 5th century is the time of the classic years, with popular philosophers in Greece such as Parmenithis, Socrates, Anaxagoras, and famous artists such as Fedias, Ictinos and Parassios. In 336 AD Alexander the great starts a new era in history. In 146 AD there is the Roman occupation. Then the Greek history follows the new calendar since the birth of Christ. The Byzantine period follows from 330 to the year of 1453 when the Turks occupy Greece. In 1821, Greece is free and since then a lot of political forms have governed the country, the most recent ones that of A.Papandreou in 1981 and the present government of Karamanlis. Greece now belongs to the European Union.

One of the most popular cultural aspects of the ancient times is Drama. Drama was born in Attica, in the 6th century. At that time, the theatre was an important social activity and the plays they performed were called ‘tragedies’. This activity dates back to 535 AD, when Thespis, the tragedy poet, used to teach ‘tragedy’ during the Dionysos celebrations in Athens. Thus, the first theatre was built near Lavrio in Attica.

As the Greek theatre developed it included more kinds of plays such as satiric ones and comedies. The poets now were replaced by actors who ‘pretended’ and gained more interest from their audience. Today, there is Epidavros theatre in Athens that stages performances of the plays of Aristophanes and other ancient playwrights and is well known for its classic repertoire all over the world. It is worth a visit during the summer, when the most of the performances take place.