Greece [antikvár]

Preface 'Fair Greece,' wrote Byron, 'Immortal, though no more; though fallen, great.' For evidence of this immortality and greatness one need look no further than the culture of the whole Western world, which has its roots in the civilization of the Ancient Greeks. Around 5000 bc the Cretans began to develop a new and unique culture, which reached its highest levels of sophistication with the Minoans at around 2000 and later in Mycene. This culture displays a refinement which was only ever previously evidenced in Egypt. The 'geometric' style was developed originally on the Greek mainland around 900 bc. This rapidly became more realistic and developed into classical Greek art, which flourished around the 5C bc and developed into Hellenism (c.300-100). The Greek techniques of architecture, sculpture and painting (which we can now see only in vase paintings, as almost all the frescos have been lost) have been imitated time and again, though only equalled during the period of the Renaissance; they also served as the inspiration for the baroque and classicism; romanticism and abstract art, too, have not entirely shaken off the precepts of Greek antiquity. All European art, in fact, is based on Greek principles, and it is no wonder that reverent visitors return again and again to gaze at the Acropolis and the countless archaeological sites spread over the mainland and islands. But successive civilizations have received more from the ^ ancient Greeks than buildings and statues: innumerable sagas and ^ myths have given us an image of their spiritual and cultural life, ^ and their view of the world. It is the country where Socrates, Plato and Aristotle philosophized about the origin of the world and of thought; men like Pythagoras and Euclid achieved great feats of scientific understanding. Greece was the land where theatre originated, and the first Olympic Games took place in the stadium at Olympia. Homer is the father of all forms of 1.