Military of Ancient Greece

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. The Greeks went through many, many years of colonizing, invasions and other rough times before they were able to become the envy of the ancient world. Early Greek historians say that the first civilized Greeks were the Minoans that sailed from the island of Crete to settle other islands off the coast of the mainland that would later be called The Peloponnesian Peninsula. After about 600 years the Minoans were wiped out by the invasions of barbarians and tidal waves that destroyed much of their civilization. After that came the Mycenaean Age in which the Mycenaeans settled the Peloponnesian Peninsula. The Mycenaean’s created many warlike kingdoms that governed themselves. These were called city-states. These city-states would be heavily fortified because they were constantly at war with each other trying to gain more land for their own individual kingdoms. These kingdoms shared the same language and they also worshiped the same gods. About 600 years after the start of the Mycenaean Age, Greek barbarians from the north called the Dorian’s invaded causing the Greek Dark Age. During this Dark Age the great city-states and kingdoms of the early age were destroyed, writing and technology were lost, and there was constant warfare. After 300 years of this Dark Age that encompassed turmoil and confusion, Greek civilization was reestablished. This age was known as the Hellenistic