Εμφανίζονται 5 τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Πληροφορίες για τον τόπο για το τοπωνύμιο: "ΕΛΛΑΣ Αρχαία χώρα ΕΛΛΑΔΑ".
Total results on 2/4/2001: 1000 (the maximum) for Greece, 933 for Hellas.
Μουσεία, Συλλογές, Πινακοθήκες <
Αρχαιολογικοί Χώροι & Μνημεία, Βυζαντινοί Χώροι & Μνημεία
Νεώτερα (μετά το 1830) Μνημεία & Αρχιτεκτονικά Σύνολα.
A name originally given to a district and city of Thessaly in
the division Phthiotis, then further extended to the whole of Thessaly, and finally
adopted as a general appellation for all Greece. Hellas is a peninsula, the easternmost
of the three that project from the south of Europe into the Mediterranean Sea.
Its western coast is rough and mountainous, while its eastern shores abound in
gulfs, bays, and harbours. From this geographical cause Greece for a long time
knew little or nothing of Italy and the West, but sustained very close relations,
political and commercial, with the countries of Asia Minor --a fact of immense
importance in her historical development. Because of her long line of coast, she
first received, in great measure, the quickening which comes from immigration
and the contact with new ideas that inevitably follows; so that Greece, largely
by reason of her physical conformation and position, most readily responded to
the influences of oriental culture, and thus became the cradle of European civilization.
Hellas is divided into two parts by the Gulf of Corinth, which
would have completely severed them were it not for the narrow Isthmus of Corinth.
This, until it was cut by the modern canal (August, 1893), united the southern
division (Peloponnesus) with the northern (Hellas Proper). Hellas as a whole is
marked off from the rest of Europe by a mountain chain, an extension of the Balkans,
known in ancient times as the Haemus. From this range ran the chains from north-northwest
to south-southeast, which form the skeleton of Greece. What may be called the
backbone of the country is the range that first separates Illyria from Macedonia
and Epirus from Thessaly, and then continues down through the whole peninsula.
The most important single chain is Pindus (7111 feet), with its branch Othrys.
Various single peaks are Olympus in Thessaly (9750 feet), Ossa, Pelion, Tymphrestus
(7606 feet), Parnassus (8036 feet), and Helicon, all in Hellas Proper; with Cyllene,
Aroania, and Erymanthus in the Peloponnesus, whose two important spurs are the
Taygetus and Parnon. The Ionian Isles, Corcyra, Cephallenia, Leucas, and Zacynthus,
off the western coast, follow the same direction as the mountain chains of the
Peloponnesus and the mainland.
The rivers of Greece are small streams, little more than brooks,
flowing usually south or west. In Hellas Proper there are four principal rivers,
all having their source on Mount Lacmon of the Pindus range. The Aous flows into
the Adriatic, the Peneus and Haliacmon into the Thermaic Gulf, and the Achelous
into the Gulf of Patrae. In the Peloponnesus, the important streams rise near
the north of Taygetus, the Eurotas flowing south and the Alpheus west.
The Hellenes were a branch of the family to which most
of the European peoples belong, and which is variously described as Aryan, Indo-Germanic,
and Indo-European, whose original home is uncertain, being by some placed in Asia
and by others in Europe. It is generally held, however, that the original inhabitants
of Greece entered it from the north at a very remote period, probably during the
Stone Age; that they were in the nomadic stage of development; and that they came
on in successive waves of immigration, each of which pushed farther south the
people who had already preceded it. Even after the whole of Hellas had been covered
by these early tribes, succeeding waves followed, overspreading the territory
occupied by others. Such a wave of later immigration was that which is known to
the legendary historians as "the return of the Heraclidae." This pressure
from behind had the effect of driving out many who had settled in the mainland
into the adjacent islands, and ultimately to far distant lands, such as the coasts
of Asia Minor, Sicily, the shore of the Euxine, and the north of Africa. Hellas
in its wider sense is, therefore, to be understood of the united settlements of
Hellenes in all parts of the then known world, and it was in this sense that the
Hellenes themselves understood it, since to them the word always had an ethnic
rather than a territorial significance. The name Hellenes in Homer refers only
to the Thessalian people mentioned above; and in fact the Homeric poems have no
general designation for the Greeks as a whole. They are called Danai (Danaoi),
Argivi (Argeioi), and Achaei (Achaioi), and it was not much before the time of
Herodotus, Thucydides, and Scylax that the terms Hellas and Hellenes received
their full extension of meaning. The Orientals spoke of the Greeks as “Ionians”;
the Italians called them Graeci, from one of the ancient tribes of Epirus, the
Graikoi--a word older than Hellenes, but disused and then revived by Sophocles,
according to Eustathius.
The time which elapsed from the appearance of the Hellenes in
Thessaly to the siege of Troy is usually known by the name of the Heroic Age.
Thucydides informs us that the commencement of Grecian civilization is to be dated
from the reign of Minos of Crete, who acquired a naval power and cleared the Aegean
Sea of pirates. Among the most celebrated heroes of this period were Bellerophon
and Perseus, whose adventures were laid in the East; Theseus, the king of Athens;
and Heracles. Tradition also preserved the account of expeditions undertaken by
several chiefs united together, such as that of the Argonauts, of the Seven against
Thebes, and of the siege of Troy.
It is learned from Thucydides that the population of Greece
was in a very unsettled state for some time after the Trojan War. Of the various
migrations which appear to have taken place, the most important in their consequences
were those of the Boeotians from Thessaly into the country afterwards called Boeotia,
and of the Dorians into Peloponnesus. At about the same period the western coast
of Asia Minor was colonized by the Greeks. The ancient inhabitants of Boeotia,
who had been driven out of their homes by the invasion of the Boeotians, together
with some Aeolians (whence it has acquired the name of the Aeolian migration)
left Boeotia and settled in Lesbos and the northwestern corner of Asia Minor.
They were not long afterwards followed by the Ionians, who, having been driven
from their abode on the Corinthian Gulf, had taken refuge in Attica, whence they
emigrated to Asia Minor and settled on the Lydian coast. The southwestern part
of the coast of Asia Minor was also colonized at about the same period by Dorians.
The number of Greek colonies, considering the extent of the mother country, was
very great; and the readiness with which the Greeks left their homes to settle
in foreign lands forms a remarkable feature of their national character. In the
seventh century before Christ the Greek colonies took another direction: Cyrene,
in Africa, was founded by the inhabitants of Thera, and the coasts of Sicily and
the southern part of Italy became studded with so many Greek cities that it acquired
the name of the Great, or Greater, Greece (Magna Graecia).
The two States of Greece which attained the greatest historical
celebrity were Sparta and Athens. The power of Athens was of later growth; but
Sparta had, from the time of the Dorian conquest, taken the lead among the Peloponnesian
States, a position which she maintained by the conquest of the fertile country
of Messenia, B.C. 688. Her superiority was probably owing to the nature of her
political institutions, which are said to have been fixed on a firm basis by her
celebrated lawgiver Lycurgus, B.C. 884. At the head of the nation were two hereditary
kings, but their power was greatly limited by a jealous aristocracy. Her territories
were also increased by the conquest of Tegea in Arcadia. Athens rose to importance
only in the century preceding the Persian Wars; but even in this period her power
was not more than a match for the little States of Megaris and Aegina. The city
was long harassed by internal commotions till the time of Solon, B.C. 594, who
was chosen by his fellow-citizens to frame a new constitution and a new code of
laws, to which much of the future greatness of Athens must be ascribed. We have
already seen that the kingly form of government was prevalent in the Heroic Age.
But, during the period that elapsed between the Trojan War and the Persian invasion,
hereditary political power was abolished in almost all the Greek States, with
the exception of Sparta, and a republican form of government established in its
stead. In studying the history of the Greeks, one must bear in mind that almost
every city formed an independent State, and that, with the exception of Athens
and Sparta, which exacted obedience from the other towns of Attica and Laconia
respectively, there was hardly any State which possessed more than a few miles
of territory. Frequent wars between themselves were the almost unavoidable consequence
of the existence of so many small States nearly equal in power. The evils which
arose from this condition of things were partly remedied by the influence of the
Amphictyonic Council and by the religious games and festivals which were held
at fixed periods in different parts of Greece, and during the celebration of which
no wars were carried on. In the sixth century before the Christian era, Greece
rapidly advanced in knowledge and civilization. Literature and the fine arts were
already cultivated in Athens under the anspices of Pisistratus and his sons; and
the products of remote countries were introduced into Greece by the merchants
of Corinth and Aegina. See Commerce.
This was the most splendid period of Grecian history. The Greeks,
in their resistance to the Persians, and the part they took in the burning of
Sardis, B.C. 499, drew upon them the vengeance of Darius. After the reduction
of the Asiatic Greeks, a Persian army was sent into Attica, but was entirely defeated
at Marathon, B.C. 490, by the Athenians under Miltiades. Ten years afterwards
the whole power of the Persian Empire was directed against Greece; an immense
army, led in person by Xerxes, advanced as far as Attica, and received the submission
of almost all the Grecian States, with the exception of Athens and Sparta. But
this expedition also failed; the Persian fleet was destroyed in the battles of
Artemisium and Salamis; and the land forces were entirely defeated in the following
year, B.C. 479, at Plataea in Boeotia. Sparta had, previous to the Persian invasion,
been regarded by the other Greeks as the first power in Greece, and accordingly
she obtained the supreme command of the army and fleet in the Persian War. But,
during the course of this war, the Athenians had made greater sacrifices and had
shown a greater degree of courage and patriotism, so that after the battle of
Plataea a confederacy was formed by the Grecian States for carrying on the war
against the Persians. Sparta was at first placed at the head of it; but the allies,
disgusted with the tyranny of Pausanias, the Spartan commander, gave the supremacy
to Athens. The allies, who consisted of the inhabitants of the islands and coasts
of the Aegean Sea, were to furnish contributions in money and ships, and the delicate
task of assessing the amount which each State was to pay was assigned to Aristides.
The yearly con tribution was settled at 460 talents (about $542,800), and Delos
was chosen as the common treasury. The Athenians, under the command of Cimon,
carried on the war vigorously, defeated the Persian fleets, and plundered the
maritime provinces of the Persian Empire.
During this period the power of Athens rapidly increased; she
possessed a succession of distinguished statesmen--Themistocles, Aristides, Cimon,
and Pericles--who all contributed to the advancement of her power, though differing
in their political views. Her maritime greatness was founded by Themistocles,
her revenues were increased by Pericles, and her general prosperity, in connection
with other causes, tended to produce a greater degree of culture than existed
in any other part of Greece. Literature was cultivated, and the arts of architecture
and sculpture, which were employed to ornament the city, were carried to a degree
of excellence that has never since been surpassed.
While Athens was advancing in power, Sparta had to maintain
a war against the Messenians, who again revolted, and were joined by a great number
of the Spartan slaves (B.C. 461-455). But, though Sparta made no efforts during
this period to restrain the Athenian power, it was not because she wanted the
will, but the means. These, however, were soon furnished by the Athenians themselves,
who began to treat the allied States with great tyranny, and to regard them as
subjects, and not as independent States in alliance. The tribute was raised from
460 to 600 talents, the treasury was removed from Delos to Athens, and the decision
of all important suits was referred to the Athenian courts. When any State withdrew
from the alliance, its citizens were considered by the Athenians as rebels, and
immediately reduced to subjection. The dependent States, anxious to throw off
the Athenian dominion, entreated the assistance of Sparta, and thus, in conjunction
with other causes, arose the war between Sparta and Athens, which lasted for twenty-seven
years (B.C. 431-404), and is usually known as the Peloponnesian War. It terminated
by again placing Sparta at the head of all Greece. Soon after the conclusion of
this war, Sparta engaged in a contest with the Persian Empire, which lasted from
B.C. 400 to 394. The splendid successes which Agesilaus, the Spartan king, obtained
over the Persian troops in Asia Minor, and the manifest weakness of the Persian
Empire, which had been already shown by the successful retreat of only ten thousand
Greeks from the very heart of the Persian Empire, appear to have induced Agesilaus
to entertain the design of overthrowing the Persian monarchy; but he was obliged
to return to his native country to defend it against a powerful confederacy, which
had been formed by the Corinthians, Thebans, Argives, Athenians, and Thessalians,
for the purpose of throwing off the Spartan dominion. The confederates were not,
however, successful in their attempt; and the Spartan supremacy was again secured
for a brief period by a general peace, made B.C. 387, usually known by the name
of the peace of Antalcidas. Ten years afterwards, the rupture between Thebes and
Sparta began, which led to a general war in Greece, and for a short time gave
Thebes the hegemony of Hellas. The greatness of Thebes was principally owing to
the wisdom and valour of two of her sons--Pelopidas and Epaminondas. After the
death of Epaminondas at the battle of Mantinea, B.C. 362, Thebes again sank to
its former obscurity. The Spartan supremacy was, however, wholly destroyed, and
her power still further humbled by the restoration of Messenia to independence,
B.C. 369. From the conclusion of this war to the reign of Philip of Macedon, Greece
remained without any ruling power. It is only necessary here to mention the part
which Philip took in the Sacred War, which lasted ten years (B.C. 356-346), in
which he appeared as the defender of the Amphictyonic Council, and which terminated
by the conquest of the Phocians. The Athenians, urged on by Demosthenes, made
an alliance with the Thebans for the purpose of resisting Philip; but their defeat
at Chaeronea, B.C. 388, secured for the Macedonian king the supremacy of Greece.
In the same year a congress of Grecian States was held at Corinth, in which Philip
was chosen general-in-chief of the Greeks in a projected war against the Persian
Empire; but his assassination in B.C. 336 caused this enterprise to devolve on
his son Alexander.
The conquests of Alexander extended the Grecian influence over
the greater part of Asia west of the Indus. After his death the dominion of the
East was contested by his generals, and two powerful empires were permanently
established--that of the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucidae in Syria. The dominions
of the early Syrian kings embraced the greater part of Western Asia; but their
Empire was soon divided into various independent kingdoms, such as that of Bactria
and Pergamus, in all of which the Greek language was spoken, not merely at court,
but to a considerable extent in the cities. From the death of Alexander to the
Roman conquest, Macedon remained the ruling power in Greece. The Aetolian and
Achaean leagues were formed, the former B.C. 284, the latter B.C. 281, for the
purpose of resisting the Macedonian kings. Macedonia was conquered by the Romans
B.C. 197, and the Greek States declared independent. This, however, was merely
nominal; for they only exchanged the rule of the Macedonian kings for that of
the Roman people; and in B.C. 146, Greece was reduced to the form of a Roman province,
called Achaea, though certain cities, such as Athens, Delphi, and others, were
allowed to have the rank of free towns. The history of Greece, from this period,
forms part of that of the Roman Empire.
Greece was overrun by the Goths in A.D. 267, and again in A.D.
398, under Alaric; and, after being occupied by the Crusaders and Venetians, at
last fell into the hands of the Turks, on the conquest of Constantinople; from
whom it was again liberated in 1828. See the articles Athenae; Byzantinum Imperium;
Sparta; Macedonia; and the following works of reference.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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