Geography and sources of Greece
Geography of Greece:
The country of Greece is located at the southeastern end of the continent of Europe and is bordered on the east by the Aegean Sea, which has a number of approximately 483 islands and separates Greece from Asia Minor, and Greece borders on the west the Adriatic Sea and has 116 islands and separates Greece from the Italian peninsula, while the south It is bordered by the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and the Adriatic Sea is considered an extension of the Mediterranean Sea, while to the north it is bordered by mountainous regions, peoples and tribes (Thrace, Illyria, Macedonia).
The location of the countries of Greece plays an important role in the connection of the civilization of Greece with the civilizations of the ancient world in both Asia and Africa (such as Pharaonic, Phoenician, Assyrian, Babylonian) and those relations were represented in both political and economic (commercial) terms.
The nature of the land of Greece:
The mountains, plateaus, and hills represent about two-thirds of the country of Greece. That nature played a role in the Greek man’s challenge to the environmental conditions in which he lives, as it imposed on them the printing of isolation in the sense that these mountains and plateaus became a political boundary that divides the land of Greece into small administrative areas called the city-state (police city).
Each city had its own political system, and it also led to an increase in separatism and the spirit of independence, which played a major role in the conflict between Greek cities with each other, as each city tries to impose its political system at the expense of the other city, and despite the disadvantages of this system, each city can take care of its internal affairs. Whether it is (political, economic, social) at the best level.
The climate of Greece:
The climate of Greece falls into the Mediterranean climate, hot, dry, moderate, rainy, winter, which led to the diversity of agricultural crops, despite their mountainous nature, between citrus crops, vineyards, and olives.
Main regions and Greek cities and alliances:
In the north, Thessalia, which borders the Olympians, is the seat of the Greek gods and has fertile land suitable for wheat cultivation.
In the west, Epirus, which means continent, and from the month of its kings, King Pyrrhus
And in the center of Greece is located many independent Greek cities and alliances such as Acarnania and also the city of Aetolia (which formed a political alliance that played an important role in its struggle with the Pact and the City of Achaea), which continued until the fall of Greece and the destruction of the alliance by the Romans.
And also the city of Locris, Phocis, as well as the Thermoblay plain, which witnessed a great struggle between the most famous Greek cities, Athena, which led Greece against the Persians under the clause of war and empire.
And also the city of Boeotia, the city of Euboea, the city of the region of Attica, which was led by the city of Athens, the city of Arcadia, the city of Elis, the city of Argos, and the city of Laconia.
Sources of Greek History
To study any history and civilization related to any people, it is necessary to study the literary and documentary sources of those civilizations, which are considered by the scholars of ancient civilizations in general, and the history and civilization of Greece constitute a special limit during his study. And literary figures for Greece and among the most important of these authors and early writers of the Greek civilization (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Diodorus)
Herodotus (484 - 425 BC):
He was born in the city of Halicarnassus in Asia Minor at the beginning of the fifth century B.C. He emigrated to Samos, then Athens, then to a revolutionary city in Italy until he died there, and one of his most famous books is the book of stories or investigations (Historia) so he was known as the father of history and there is another title called the father of lies and the reason for that The title is his style and the source of his information, where he left the reader to believe it or not. His book talks about the Persian wars between the Greeks and Persians in the two rounds 490 and 480 BC, which was based in its writings on the accounts of those who witnessed that war and among the most important figures that he talked about is the Athenian leader Themistocles and his achievements in the second round In the war.
Theories (460 -395 BC)
He was born in Athens and lived in the second half of the fifth century BC and was called the father of scientific history because of his choice of accurate criteria in documenting historical information. The most famous of his writings is the Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta from 431 until 404 BC, which ended with the victory of Sparta and the destruction of the Athenian Empire.
Xenophon (430-354 BC)
He was born in the city of Athens in the last third of the fifth century B.C. One of his most famous books is Hellenica Subjects, and he continues in the history of Theodidis on the conflicts of the lands of Greece. This is a book called Cyropaedia, which narrates the history of Cyrus and the formation of the Persian Empire as his book Anabasis, meaning The journey up the river and tells of Cyrus' military campaign and his accession to the throne.
Diodorus (60-30 BC)
He was born in Sicily in the last century B.C. His most famous work is the historical library called (Bibliotheca historical), and it is divided into forty books and recorded in it the history of the world from its inception until his time in which he lives and talks about the history of the world's population and their civilization since ancient times.
The writings of geographers that talked about Greek history
Geographical writings are considered complementary to historical writings. Geography studies the land and place on which the historical event occurred. One of the most famous geographers is:
Strabo ((64-24 BC)
He is considered one of the most famous geographers in the ancient classical sources, and his complete works reached us. So Strabon made many trips in which he collected his historical information and traveled to Rome, Egypt, and other cities
Pausanias (110--180 AD)
He was born in the second century AD and was born in Asia Minor. His most famous book, Description of Greece, includes ten books on Athens, Corinth, and Laconia, and he made several trips and listed many myths related to the historical events of the regions and monuments he visited.