Greek and Persian Wars | Intrepid Voyagers: The Greeks (Lecture 3)

Lecture 3: Though the Greeks did not leave exact historical records about the Bronze Age period in which their culture and civilization developed, the myths and epics they left behind offer key insights into their origin and their establishment of great cities along the coast of Asia. By the end of the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greeks were using their knowledge of shipbuilding and navigation to launch expeditions into Asia. As more Greeks headed east, they used Athens as a starting point for the foundation of such cities as Ephesus and Miletus; Rhodes and Halicarnassus were colonized by Dorian Greeks related to the Spartans. In time, these colonies far outshone their mother country in terms of population and cultural advancement. These Ionian Greeks were heavily influenced by the older cultures of Asia and Egypt, but they added their own distinctive skeptical rationalism to the mix. It was this unique world that Cyrus encountered as a result of his conquest of Lydia.

Recommended Reading:
Camp and Fisher, The World of the Ancient Greeks.
Hanson, The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece.