They believed that natural phenomena like the sun, the air, and the sea had been created by superior beings dwelling in Mount Olympus, who they called gods. The Trojans, believing it to be a reward for their bravery, transported it as a trophy into the inner city and celebrated it with a great party. The Ancient Greek civilization begins its decline and the Ancient Romans start to gain power. The civilization of Ancient Greece emerged into the light of world history in the 8th century BC. A timeline created with Timetoast's interactive timeline maker. $('.chk_timeline_types:checked').each(function(elem) { It was polytheistic as they worshiped many gods. This period of Greek culture occurred between the 5th and 4th centuries BC, spanning the events of the Greco-Persian War to Macedonian hegemony, and was the age of Greece’s greatest cultural development, forming the basis of Western culture. In reality, they were leagues of cities, whose inhabitants periodically congregated around a common shrine in order to hold parties and celebrations related to common worship. There were five sports in the contest: races, jumping, discus throwing, archery, and boxing. Although the religions of the ancient Greeks and Romans are virtually extinct in their original forms, they live on in the cultures, imaginations, and even the religions of the modern western world. London: Routledge, 2003. These groups varied enough for it to be possible to speak of Greek religions or "cults" in the plural, though most of them shared similarities. The Delphic Oracle told Lyidan inquirers that "no one, not even the god, can escape his appointed fate." The Proto-Semitic people would migrate throughout the Near East into Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ethiopia and the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. It was characterized by the transition of the patriarchal regime, based on shepherding and a mysterious and primitive religion, to urban life, with commercial and industrial development and an organized religion. Some believe Achilles and Patroclus of Homer's Iliad were icons of male homosexuality. They took their name from the capital city of their land, Mycenae. In this poem, Homer describes a portion of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Perseus, who killed the Medusa, whose gaze turned anyone who looked at it to stone. This Greek cultural era took place between the 12th and 8th centuries BC. When the polis, or cities, arose, family clans were organized into social classes, where the nobility found political and economic power based on land ownership and agrarian activity. The Greeks believed that these gods and goddesses controlled everything in their lives and the environment. The gods of this ancient Greek pantheon were very human. Categories: Instead, they identified themselves through the similarity of their customs and beliefs, which is why they called themselves Hellenes and called the peoples of other races barbarians. Its relief has played an important role in the history of the Greek people. 1600 BCE Mycenaean Greece: Bronze age kingdoms in mainland Greece. At the same time, however, the Olympians regularly directed the fate of human beings and one of Zeus' many epithets was Moiragetes, "guide of fate." Artemis 11. It was pantheist as the Greeks worshiped natural phenomena, such as light, the sun, the sea, etc. They were usually the children of a god and a mortal, and include: This was what the closest and longest-lasting city-state associations called themselves. In the early days, these poems were only known in oral tradition, but when the Greeks learned the Phoenician alphabet they wrote them down. Minoan Civilization 2700 bc - 1500 bc. The Mycenaeans 1600 BC - 1100 BC. 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