Biblical Profile: The Greeks

The Greeks

Greek civilization played a major role in the ancient world, and Greek culture was a primary influence on the world into which Jesus was born and in which the New Testament was written.

Mycenaean Civilization (1450–1200 BC)

The Mycenaeans lived during the “heroic age” that Greeks later immortalized in the epics of Homer. Their civilization was centered at Mycenae, about thirty miles south of the site of Corinth. The Mycenaeans traded extensively and were successful in war. The Greek gods and myths familiar from later literature have their roots in Mycenaean Greece. Mycenaean documents were written in Linear B, a syllabic script.

Mycenaean civilization ended violently around 1200 BC at the hands of Dorian Greek invaders. The several hundred years which followed have been called the “Greek Dark Ages”—Linear B usage ceased, and there are no written records.

Archaic Age, City-States (850–546 BC)

Eventually Greek towns and villages began organizing into city-states that controlled entire areas. This era also saw a rise of cooperation and a shared sense of identity among the Greeks; for example, the first Olympic games were held in 776 BC.

As trade with the surrounding world increased, the Greeks made contact with the Phoenicians and adopted their script. Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey, chronicling the shared memories and myths of the earlier Mycenaean civilization and their gods.

Many of the city-states looked to a dictator (Greek tyrannos, “tyrant”) to provide political stability. In many places there was also a written constitution that provided a basis for authority in law. Athens, for its part, developed an oligarchy led by the Areopagus Council. Later, Solon, an Athenian statesman, instituted reforms and created the context in which democracy bloomed in later decades.

Persian Wars, Classical Period (546–336 BC)

In 546 BC, the Greek colonies in Asia Minor fell under the rule of Cyrus the Great of Persia. Ionia unsuccessfully attempted to revolt around 500 BC, prompting Darius I to invade the Greek mainland in 492 BC. In the wars that followed, Greek forces were badly outnumbered, but they often outmaneuvered the Persians with superior skill and strategy. In the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, the Greeks soundly defeated the Persians. Ten years later, the Persian army under Xerxes famously crossed the Hellespont while the vast Persian fleet sailed into Greek waters. The Persians burned Athens, but in the end the Greeks were victorious, and Xerxes withdrew.

After the Persian Wars ended, Athens was rebuilt and entered into a remarkable period of greatness. Pericles led Athens to establish a full democracy. Vast buildings were erected on the Acropolis. Athens became wealthy, and Athenian sea power grew. It was a golden age of spectacular achievement in art, thought, literature, and architecture.

Macedonian Empire, Hellenistic Civilization (336–146 BC)

Philip II of Macedon, with ambitions of empire, overwhelmed Athens and Thebes in 338 BC and united Greece into the Macedonian Empire. After Philip was assassinated in 336 BC, his son Alexander took his place. Alexander brutally destroyed a rebellious Thebes in 335 BC, then set out to conquer Babylon and Persia, which he did with lightning speed (cp. Dan 8:5-8). When Alexander suddenly died in 323 BC, his vast territories were divided among four generals. After a period of conflict, three major divisions emerged: Egypt; Asia Minor, Syria, and Babylon; and Macedonia and Achaia.

Alexander’s conquest spread Greek culture and influence around the ancient world. The resulting conflict between Greek culture and Judaism eventually contributed to the Maccabean revolt in Judea in the 160s BC.

Roman Rule (168 BC–AD 330)

Rome expanded its power and influence into Greece beginning in 198 BC. In 168 BC, Rome defeated the Macedonians at the battle of Pydna, and in 148 BC, Rome annexed Macedonia as a province. Then, in 146 BC, Rome destroyed Corinth. Greece was now firmly in the grip of Rome, as it continued to be until Constantine made Byzantium the capital of the Roman Empire in AD 330. Greek culture and Roman rule formed the context for the earthly life of Jesus and the beginning of Christianity.

Passages for Further Study

Dan 8:5-8