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The new language developed by the Phoenicians to facilitate their trading was based on an alphabet of 22 letters.  All Western alphabets, such as English and French and Italian and Greek and Latin, were developed using this Phoenician alphabet.  This Phoenician alphabet was one of the greatest advances in the history of mankind, perhaps greater than the invention of the wheel, because now language could begin to describe powerful concepts and abstract ideas.  This laid the foundation for the accomplishments of Ancient Greece, which in turn laid the foundation for the teaching and spread of Christianity.

The new language developed by the Phoenicians to facilitate their trading was based on an alphabet of 22 letters.  All Western alphabets, such as English and French and Italian and Greek and Latin, were developed using this Phoenician alphabet.  This Phoenician alphabet was one of the greatest advances in the history of mankind, perhaps greater than the invention of the wheel, because now language could begin to describe powerful concepts and abstract ideas.  This laid the foundation for the accomplishments of Ancient Greece, which in turn laid the foundation for the teaching and spread of Christianity.

'''Mystery:  What was the level of literacy in ancient civilizations?  What percentage of people could read and write?  Was literacy higher or lower than literacy today?'''

'''Mystery:  What was the level of literacy in ancient civilizations?  What percentage of people could read and write?  Was literacy higher or lower than literacy today?'''

At its beginning, from 3000 to 1000 B.C. Greece was not as successful or influential as the other ancient cultures.  At the end of that period the Dorians, who were tribes speaking the Doric dialect of Greek, settled Greece between 1100 and 1000 B.C.  They had a military ruling class that oppressed the local people, and they retained this rule by an aristocracy in Sparta and Crete even after the Greeks established democracy in Athens.  The simplest form of Greek architecture, consisting of a straight column without any artistic trim at the top, was created by the Dorians and is known as the "Doric order".

At its beginning, from 3000 to 1000 B.C. Greece was not as successful or influential as the other ancient cultures.  At the end of that period the Dorians, who were tribes speaking the Doric dialect of Greek, settled Greece between 1100 and 1000 B.C.  They had a military ruling class that oppressed the local people, and they retained this rule by an aristocracy in Sparta and Crete even after the Greeks established democracy in Athens.  The simplest form of Greek architecture, consisting of a straight column without any artistic trim at the top, was created by the Dorians and is known as the "Doric order".

 

The beginning of the ancient or classical Greece was around 750 B.C., and its peak was 500-336 B.C. when Greece consisted of many small city-states, each comprising a city and surrounding countryside.

The beginning of the ancient or classical Greece was around 750 B.C., and its peak was 500-336 B.C. when Greece consisted of many small city-states, each comprising a city and surrounding countryside.

Around 800 B.C., the Greeks formed their alphabet by borrowing from the Phoenician alphabet and adding vowels to it, and this sparked the progress and learning that we remember ancient Greece for.  The spread of this new alphabet provides written records pf Greek society, culture, and life which survive today.  Greece divided itself into many small self-governing communities because of Greek geography, which made travel and communication between areas difficult.  In Greece, every region is separated from its neighbors by water or mountain ranges.  Once again we see how geography shaped history: the terrain of ancient Greece led the people to create city-states.  (Earlier we saw how the geography of Egypt supported the rise and power of that civilization and prevented its boundaries from changing, even when it was conquered.)

Around 800 B.C., the Greeks formed their alphabet by borrowing from the Phoenician alphabet and adding vowels to it, and this sparked the progress and learning that we remember ancient Greece for.  The spread of this new alphabet provides written records pf Greek society, culture, and life which survive today.  Greece divided itself into many small self-governing communities because of Greek geography, which made travel and communication between areas difficult.  In Greece, every region is separated from its neighbors by water or mountain ranges.  Once again we see how geography shaped history: the terrain of ancient Greece led the people to create city-states.  (Earlier we saw how the geography of Egypt supported the rise and power of that civilization and prevented its boundaries from changing, even when it was conquered.)

Magnificent Greek literature began to appear almost as soon as the Phoenician alphabet became the standard.  Homer wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey in the 800s or 700s B.C., and they remain great works of literature to this day.  They describe adventures arising from the mythical "Trojan War" caused by the Greek gods, which included the famous gift of a "Trojan horse" to fool the enemy.  In our internet era, a "Trojan horse" is a program or download that looks helpful, but actually contains a harmful computer virus.  Greek mythology remains a powerful influence to this day, as the names for gods have inspired many common terms today, such as "Achilles heel," "Amazon", "atlas" and "titans".  Some would say that modern sports heroes, music stars, and media figures are appealing to the public in the same way as Greek mythological gods were so popular nearly 3000 years ago.

Magnificent Greek literature began to appear almost as soon as the Phoenician alphabet became the standard.  Homer wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey in the 800s or 700s B.C., and they remain great works of literature to this day.  They describe adventures arising from the mythical "Trojan War" caused by the Greek gods, which included the famous gift of a "Trojan horse" to fool the enemy.  In our internet era, a "Trojan horse" is a program or download that looks helpful, but actually contains a harmful computer virus.  Greek mythology remains a powerful influence to this day, as the names for gods have inspired many common terms today, such as "Achilles heel," "Amazon", "atlas" and "titans".  Some would say that modern sports heroes, music stars, and media figures are appealing to the public in the same way as Greek mythological gods were so popular nearly 3000 years ago.