A brief history of Greece for travellers

Greece is often tipped as ‘the cradle of Western civilisation’ – and it’s easy to see why. The country has had a long and often tumultuous history, with ancient empires, great thinkers, artists and architects all leaving their mark on the mainland and its tangle of islands. Here Jacqui Agate delves into the country’s past and reveal how you can experience it for yourself...

Long before Aristotle or Alexander the Great, there was the Cycladic culture, the Minoans and the Mycenaeans. This trio of ancient civilisations existed during Greece’s Bronze Age: the oldest is the Cycladic culture, whose roots date back to around 3200 BC. 

Modern Greece owes much to these early peoples. The Mycenaeans produced the first written Greek – symbols scrawled on a clay tablet – and the Cycladic culture left behind striking sculptures and patterned earthenware discs called ‘frying pans’.

There came a difficult period in Greece’s history between 1200 and 1100 BC. At the end of the Bronze Age, Mycenaean society was upturned by militant seafaring folk known as the Sea People. 

After their invasion, Mycenaean palaces were destroyed and poverty was rife – this slice of history became known, quite aptly, as the Dark Ages. It wasn’t until around 800 BC that things began to look up, with the rise of great city-states such as Athens. 

From 800 BC Greece thrived, with colonies spawning across the world and an ensuing bounty of art and culture. Then, in 490 BC, the Persian Empire was overthrown by Athens, and Greece’s glittering Classical period truly began. This was the era that gave us the Acropolis of Athens, the musings of Aristotle and tragedies by writers such as Sophocles.

But despite this cultural renaissance, not all was well. The Peloponnesian War, a brutal conflict between the city-states of Athens and Sparta, raged on. And, in 338 BC, Classical Greece was conquered by Philip II of Macedon.

Even if you’re not a history buff, you’ve probably heard of Alexander the Great (son of Philip II of Macedon), who continued his late father’s work by building a mighty and far-reaching empire from 336 BC. 

In this era, Greece was a world power, whose language and culture spread to many corners of the globe. This influence would last right up until 146 BC, when Greece came under Roman rule.

Happily, the Romans prized Greek culture and Athens in particular became a centre for learning. In return, the Romans populated the city with regal landmarks, and you can still visit the remains of these today. 

There was another shift in the 4th century AD, with the rise of the Byzantine Empire, whose hub was in Constantinople. Byzantium cemented Christianity as the state’s official religion and left behind dazzling churches filled with mosaics and religious art. 

A rather messy period in Greece’s history began in 1204. The Crusades were a string of religious wars, during which time Christians sought to gain power over Muslim-controlled holy sites.

The Crusaders seized Constantinople in the 13th century and Greece was predominantly carved up between the fort-building Venetians and the Franks. This was a time of religious tension and strained relations between ruling bodies. 

Constantinople was conquered again in the 15th century, this time by the Ottomans, who eventually claimed nearly all of Greece. Sadly, the Greeks suffered greatly under the Ottoman regime and some fled to the mountains or other European countries. All the while, rebellion bubbled. Eventually tensions culminated in the Greek War of Independence, which began in 1821. 

The Greek fight for independence lasted for almost a decade and eventually the ‘Great Idea’ – to establish a wide-reaching Greek state and take back ancient territories including Constantinople – was born. The Greeks made significant gains, but their defeat in an attempt to seize Asia Minor after World War I hurt them greatly and they were thrust into a period of uncertainty. 

The decades that followed weren’t kind to Greece either, with political unrest, civil war and a coup all rocking the country. In more recent history, the Eurozone crisis has taken its toll too.

But Greece has long opened its arms to visitors and the future looks bright. It’s also a country that wears its history on its sleeve, so travellers will find that echoes of the past are never far away. 

There’s no better place to get to grips with Greek history than Athens. The city’s crowning jewel is the Acropolis, with its ancient theatres and temples including the mighty Parthenon.

Elsewhere, the National Archaeological Museum houses precious relics spanning multiple millennia, while collections at the Museum of Cycladic Art date back to 3000 BC. 

Rhodes, the largest island in the Dodecanese, is a sure bet for history buffs. The walled Old Town contains opulent mosques and a fascinating archaeological museum, and all is crowned by the Palace of the Grand Masters, originally built in the 14th century.

Make for Lindos and you’ll find a wonderfully preserved acropolis and a slew of Byzantine-style houses. 

Many civilisations left their mark on Greece’s largest island. The impressive Palace of Knossos was built by the Minoans back in 1900 BC, while visitors are drawn to the Venetian harbour and quaint streets of Hania city. 

The Heraklion Archaeological Museum, with its huge store of Minoan artefacts, also comes highly recommended. 

One of the richest regions for history lovers, The Peloponnese covers a great swathe of southern Greece. It’s home to crumbling cities such as Corinth and Olympia, once occupied by ancient Greeks and Romans, and the hilltop palace of Mycenae, which thrived in the second millennium BC and was immortalised in epic poems by Homer. 

Corfu Town, the capital of Corfu island, is celebrated for its Venetian influences. Top sights include hulking Venetian fortresses and the dinky Byzantine Museum, with its impressive collection of icons. 

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