What was the first Greek Civilization?

The earliest urban society in Greece was the palace-centered Minoan civilization. It reached its height on Crete c. 2000 BC. It was succeeded by the mainland Mycenaen civilization, which arose
c. 1600 BC following a wave of Indo-European invasions. A second wave of invasions in c. 1200 BC, destroyed the Bronze Age cultures, paving the way for a dark age. Classical Greece began to emerge (c. 750 BC) as a collection of independent city-states including Sparta and Athens.

The civilization reached its heights, after repelling the Persians at the beginning of the 5thcentury BC and began to decline after the civil strife of the Peloponnesian war. The Greek city-states were taken over by Philip II of Macedon in 388 BC. Greek culture was spread by Philip’s son Alexander the Great throughout his empire. In the 2nd century BC, the Romans conquered Greek city-states.

The Greeks were the first political scientists and Democrats in the world. Greece occupies a great place in the history of world civilization. The outstanding philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were the products of this civilization. The Greeks also built many temples. Homer’s ‘Iliad’ and ‘The Odyssey’ are also Greece’s great gifts to the world.