THE CLASSICAL PERIOD 

Around 1200 b.C. the Doric people descended upon the Peleponessos. They came from northern Greece and were attracted by the enormous wealth of the Greek peninsula.. The Doricconquered the original population by means of iron weapons as well as bringing horses to the battlefield. After their victory they settled down in Sparta and its surroundings.

The Ionic people conquered Athena as well as Attika. The Spartan people developed themselves especially strategically while the new inhabitants of Athena focussed on cultural development. For many ages these two groups of people were in war with each other, both aiming for the absolute power over Greece. It never became a unity but around 700 b.C. a relatively quite period began. This was the beginning of the Ancient Greek Period.

The social and cultural developments from the period of 700 b.C till around 100 b.C. exerted enormous influence on the European society. Therefore the Ancient Greek Period is seen as the cradle for western civilization. The very high level of civilization can be mostly explained by the way the Greek society was functioning.

The first conditions needed for the spiritual development of a society are political stability as well as economic prosperity.

Just like the original people the new people lived to a large extend based on trade. They lived in cities and therefor took more active part in social life. When the economy of the nation would have been based on agriculture, this would not have been the case. In an agricultural civilization the people would have lived more isolated form each other and the control would have been in the hands of a small group of people. Most farmers would have been working for this small group of people with the power. The business people however were independent and therefore had more freedom of action.

The oversea trade and the exploitation of colonies brought the ancient Greek a period of enormous wealth. Due to the fact that their primal needs were provided in abundance the people could develop themselves on a cultural level. Their spiritual development was stimulated by their trade with different cultures. Because of the mixture of Oriental traditions, the remains of the Minoan civilazition and their natural urgency to discover and understand the world, the Greek way of thinking was born.

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