Ancient Greek civilization - 386 BCE, Sparta, Decline | Britannica

ancient Greek civilization

Table of Contents

Introduction & Top Questions
The early Archaic period
- The post-Mycenaean period and Lefkandi
- Colonization and city-state formation
  - The Olympic Games
  - Overseas projects
  - The beginnings of the polis
- Early Archaic Greek civilization
  - The sources
  - Society and values
    - Bacchiadae and Eupatridae
    - Symposia and gymnasia
    - Formal relationships
    - The Lelantine War
The later Archaic periods
- The rise of the tyrants
  - The decline of the aristocracy
  - Changes in warfare
  - The early tyrannies
- Sparta and Athens
  - Sparta
    - The distinctiveness of Sparta
    - The Rhetra
    - The helot factor
    - The Peloponnesian League
  - Athens
    - The distinctiveness of Athens
    - Solon
    - The Peisistratid tyranny
    - The reforms of Cleisthenes
- The world of the tyrants
  - Intermarriage between the great houses
  - Poetry and art
  - International influences
Classical Greek civilization
- The Persian Wars
  - The Ionian revolt
  - Causes of the Persian Wars
    - Economic factors
    - Political factors
  - Athenian support of Ionia
  - The position of Sparta
    - Sparta’s foreign relations
    - The role of Cleomenes
  - The Battle of Marathon
  - The administration of democracy
    - The appointment of archons
    - The system of ostracism
  - The last Persian Wars
    - Greek preparations for war
    - Greek alliances
    - Thermopylae
    - Salamis
    - Plataea
- The Athenian empire
  - Emerging Athenian independence
    - The fortification of Athens
    - The ambition of Pausanias
  - The Delian League
    - Paying tribute to Athens
    - Strains on Greek unity
  - Mounting Athenian aggression
    - Cimon’s actions
    - Athens’s moves against other Greeks
    - Athens’s moves northward
    - Sparta’s responses
  - The reforms of Ephialtes
    - Legal reforms
    - Political reforms
    - The rejection of Cimon
  - Athenian expansion
    - Friction between Athens and Corinth
    - The subjugation of Aegina
    - The scale of Athenian ambition
    - Sparta’s resistance
    - Peace with Persia
  - Revolts of Athens’s tributary states
    - Economic sources of resentment
    - Political and legal sources of resentment
    - The Euboean revolt
  - Greek communities in Italy and Sicily
- The Peloponnesian War
  - Causes
  - The initial phase, 431–425
    - Pericles
    - Sparta’s role
    - Continuing strife
    - Mytilene and Plataea
    - Speculation and unease
  - The years 425–421
    - Spartan calls for peace
    - Cleon’s influence
    - Spartan recovery
  - Athenian aggression outside the Peloponnese
    - Entanglement with Persia
    - Harsh treatment of Melos
    - The Sicilian disaster
  - The second phase of the war, 413–404
- Greek civilization in the 5th century
  - Intellectual achievements
    - The effect of the Persian Wars on philosophy
    - The rise of democracy
    - Hippocrates and the fluidity of genres
    - Greek tragedy
  - The liturgy system
  - The roles of slaves and women
    - Slaves
    - Women
  - Military technology
The 4th century
- To the King’s Peace (386 bce)
  - Dionysius I of Syracuse
  - The Corinthian War
  - The King’s Peace
- From 386 bce to the decline of Sparta
  - Spartan adventures
  - The Second Athenian Confederacy
  - Theban expansion
  - Athens and Thebes
- The rise of Macedon
- Macedonian supremacy in Greece
- Alexander the Great
  - Alexander and the Greeks
  - Alexander in Egypt
  - To the Persian Gates
  - The conquest of Bactria and the Indus valley
  - The final phase
- Greek civilization in the 4th century
  - Historical writings
  - Architecture and sculpture
  - Social and commercial exchanges
  - Organized settlements
Conclusion

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Athens: Acropolis

The history of the Olympics: From ancient Greece to now

How did a corpse win an ancient Olympic event?

Ancient Greece: From Philip II to the Roman Empire

Ephesus, Turkey: Temple of Artemis

Greek expansion

Theseus slaying the Minotaur

For Students

Athens: Acropolis

ancient Greek civilization summary

Read Next

Plato (left) and Aristotle, detail from School of Athens, fresco by Raphael, 1508-11; in the Stanza della Segnatura, the Vatican. Plato points to the heavens and the realm of Forms, Aristotle to the earth and the realm of things.

Plato and Aristotle: How Do They Differ?

Well-balanced of stones on the top of boulder

What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Black and white photo of people in courtroom, hands raised, pledging

Order in the Court: 10 “Trials of the Century”

Aristotle (384-322 BC), Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist. One of the most influential philosophers in the history of Western thought, Aristotle established the foundations for the modern scientific method of enquiry. Statue

Philosophers to Know, Part I

Aristotle statue located at Stageira of Greece

Aristotle at 2,400

Discover

Saint Lucia Day. Young girl wears Lucia crown (tinsel halo) with candles. Holds Saint Lucia Day currant laced saffron buns (lussekatter or Lucia's cats). Observed December 13 honor virgin martyr Santa Lucia (St. Lucy). Luciadagen, Christmas, Sweden

7 Winter Solstice Celebrations From Around the World

Coriander leaves, fresh green cilantro on wooden background, herbs

Why Does Cilantro Taste Like Soap to Some People?

Indian hijras participate in a religious procession in Gandhinagar, India, some 30 kilometers from Ahmedabad, on March 22, 2017. Hijra is a term used in South Asia which refers to transgender individuals who are born male. (gender identity, gender expression)

6 Cultures That Recognize More than Two Genders

The impeachment trial of Pres. Andrew Johnson, illustration from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, March 28, 1868.

What If the President Is Impeached?

The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. (Civil War, Pennsylvania)

9 Worst Generals in History

Nativity Scene, Adoration of the Magi, Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Montenegro

Why Is Christmas in December?

Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time

The autonomy guaranteed to the Greek cities by the King’s Peace in 386 represented in principle an advance in interstate diplomacy; but then as now the word autonomy was elastic, and Sparta by its behaviour soon made clear its intention to interpret it in the way most favourable to itself. That is, it applied the old criterion of “what is best for Sparta.” Its first move, in 385, was to break up the polis of Mantinea into its four constituent villages. This move was intended to dismantle the physical polis of Mantinea as well as its democracy; in the particular ...(100 of 64077 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.