Crete had been settled by mariners from Asia who were traveling on the Mediterranean Sea. The early Greeks did not understand the natural events that happened around them, and so they attributed these happenings to the powers of gods and goddesses. Early in the settlement of Greece, each village had its own local deities. The stories later evolved into a collection of stories, called myths, with a hierarchy of gods and goddesses with human-like form. The Greeks accepted these stories as truth, as they explained the unknown to curious people. 

By 2000 BCE, the island of Crete was a network of cities, each ruled by a king. In 1600 BCE, King Minos of Knossos ruled the entire island. His people were skilled sailors known as Minoans. 

The rocky but fertile soil of southern Greece allowed the settlers of the peninsula to grow crops, and eventually they discovered that they could grow grapevines and olive trees. The geography of Greece gave its people easy access to the sea, and traveling from port to port via ship was actually easier than traveling over the mountainous land. This encouraged the settlers to develop better ships and to expand their trade. It also led to the development of tiny “kingdoms” close to the coastline. 

Some larger kingdoms emerged, and by 1600 BCE, Mycenae became the most powerful kingdom. The Mycenaeans ruled the Peloponnesus and beyond for over 500 years. The Mycenaeans and Minoans interacted with one another, and the Mycenae learned a great deal from the Minoans, who as sailors and travelers knew much more about the world around them. This interaction continued until 1450 BCE, when an earthquake and volcano destroyed the eastern part of the island of Crete and its people. The Mycenae took advantage of this opportunity and took control of Crete and its access to the Mediterranean. 

In 1200 BCE the Mycenae invaded and overtook Troy, which controlled the strait that connected the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. Only a few hundred years later, Mycenae began to decline and was overtaken by the Dorians, a culture of nomadic horsemen who brought little to Greece but tools and weapons. During this Dark Age period, which lasted until 800 BCE, trade came to a stand still, written language disappeared, and people lived in isolated villages, but oral tradition kept the early history of Greece alive. Storytellers retold the legends and myths of their past. 

Isolated villages developed into cities, cities grew, and trade increased. Leaders arose among the people in each city, and the era of the cities-states (independent, self-governing units) began. These grew and flourished, including two large, though significantly different, city-states – Sparta and Athens. Athens was the literary, cultural, philosophical center, whereas Sparta was a militaristic state. They united together temporarily against the common threat of the Persian Empire during the Persian Wars. 

During the Golden Age of Pericles, Athenians pursued beauty and democracy. The period from 460–429 BCE was a period of cultural and political change when Athens enjoyed peace and prosperity. Under the watchful eye of Pericles, a democratic system was developed; the city was beautified; and the navy was strengthened to better protect the Athenian citizens. This was a period of time when philosophy, art, architecture, literature, science, medicine and mathematics flourished. These attainments, however, came at a cost. Slaves and women had few or no rights in ancient Athens. Also, Athens’ democracy was enriched through conquest and through tribute from weaker cities. Through much of its Golden Age, Athens was at war with Sparta and that city-state’s allies. 

After the ravages of the 27 years of the Peloponnesian War, Athens ultimately surrendered to Sparta. Following defeat, life in Athens changed dramatically. The decline of democracy, the death of Socrates, and a fierce plague were all factors that contributed to the ending of the Golden Age. From 404 to 338 BCE, the cities fought among each other until Macedonia (under the rule of King Philip) conquered Greece. It wasn’t until 338 B.C.E. and the rule of Alexander the Great, the son of King Philip, that Greek society again flourished. Alexander began a 20,000-mile conquest of surrounding kingdoms and civilizations. During the 13 years of his rule, he created the largest empire in the western world and spread the ideas and arts of Greece far and wide, thus initiating the Hellenistic Age. No one individual ruler was strong enough to maintain control of the empire after Alexander’s death in 323 BCE. His generals split his empire into five pieces, and eventually the Romans conquered these lands.