Custom «The Earliest Evidence of Human Life» Essay Paper Sample

The earliest evidence of human life in Greece has its history between 10,000 and 120,000 B.C, during the Paleolithic period. However, civilization did not begin until the period between 7,000 and 3,000 B.C. This was during the Neolithic period. After civilization begun during this period, it quickly flourished and the remains of the then settlement and burial chambers discovered in certain Peloponnese, Thessaly, and Macedonia. Urban centers started developing between 3,000 and 1100BC during the Bronze period. Today, there is evidence all over Greece of the ancient Greece for instance in the Cycladic island, Greek Mainland and Crete. Greece has a truly remarkable history, in that it has shaped and influenced civilization, education, and science in the world as it is today.

Civilization in Greece begun on the island of Crete, where the dominant community was the Minoans. The island was surrounded by people they discovered as enemies, and thus had to take measures to protect themselves. Around 3000BC, they invented how to make Bronze. Instead of building walls to protect themselves from the attacks of the enemies, they built a navy, which could prevent people they considered as enemies from landing on the island (Duiker and Spielvogel 1). The Greeks in the mainland learnt about the making of bronze, and perfected this skill. This is one of the evidences that Greece was among the first nations to built navies and protect them a mechanism widely used by almost all countries in the world today.

A more developed and sophisticated society developed during the Minoan period estimated to be in the second millennium BC. The Greece people developed scripts, which opened communication between East Mediterranean Regions and the Minoans. This led to the exchange of cultures and development of trade ‘between these countries. The Greece invented production of jewels and they became the major exporter of these commodities as well as exporting skilled craftworks, wine, and oil. The jewels in use today are a modification of the jewels developed by the Greeks during this period. The Greeks imported raw materials and other food items in exchange of their exports. This marked the earliest forms inter-country trade, which in widely practiced across the world today Duiker and Spielvogel 50).

In the 490 BC, Persia, one of the greatest military powers then attacked Greece with the intention of colonizing it. Persians met a group of Athenians, which easily defeated them. They tried again in the 480BC but again they failed. This ensured the Persian Culture could have formed the foundation of European culture but this did not happen. However, other cities started the Peloponnesian wars, which led to the fall of Athens. Consequently, the Greek culture started weakening in many parts, and it succumbed to the Romanian attacks in 197BC. Despite the fall, the Romans greatly admired the Greek culture especially the cities. To this effect, Romans started adopting the Greek culture meaning that the culture did not completely disappear. The Romans passed on this culture in all the cities and countries it conquered.

The Romans formed a strong cultural, economic, and military state in Greece, which flourished for over one thousand years. The Romans took advantage of the strategic position of Greece to spread Christianity all over Europe. They build churches and monasteries form, which they could teach the gospel. These buildings give evidence that Roman colonized Greece in the past. Emperor Constantine named t Constantinople as the capital of the whole Roman Empire after moving it from Rome. He then renamed this empire Byzantine Empire. However, Greece (Byzantine) faced its downfall in 1204 when crusaders seized Constantine and divided Greece amongst themselves. During the period after 1453, Greece faced its absorption in the vast Ottoman Empire. Several attempts to liberate Byzantine form the Ottoman Empire were unsuccessful.

Greece remained under the Ottoman Empire until 1821, when the Greek War of independence had begun. The war that lasted until 1826 saw the ousting of the Ottoman Empire from the Greeks. Greek attained its independence after a long, bloody battle in 1830. The fight for the independence of all the Greek-speaking people went on until the end of the Second World War. Greek occupies a strategic position between the East and West. Therefore, it was considered as a vital link, and in 1952, it became a NATO member. It became a member of the European Union in 1981. There is evidence every in Greece mainland and its island of the long and tumultuous history. Archeological sites, artifacts, and museums from the Paleolithic period continue to attract thousands of visitors from all around the world. Castles, churches, monasteries, and other monuments characterize the period, which Greece was a roman colony.

Greeks history is significant in the world today. Its language is still in use across the world. For instance, the words sigma and omega are Greek. Its expressions and words used in the everyday life like wine, taxi, and history are also Greek. There is also the cultural heritage of politics, arts, and architecture that other countries borrowed from Greece. Moreover, most of the Philosophical ideals held in the world today like mathematics, astronomy, and geography have their origin in Greece. Great Greek scholars and philosophers like Pythagoras, Plato, and Pericles shaped the modern thinking. Greece is commonly referred to as the birthplace/origin of the western civilization. The Greeks created a way of life admired and copied by other people in the west. They also tried democracy and begun the Olympic Games.