Classical Era of Old World Civilizations: 1000-400 BC
Greece. After a period of decline during the Dorian Greek invasions (1200-1000 bc), Greece and the Aegean area developed a unique civilization. Drawing upon Mycenaean traditions, Mesopotamian learning (weights and measures, lunisolar calendar, astronomy, musical scales), the Phoenician alphabet (modified for Greek), and Egyptian art, the revived Greek city-states saw a rich elaboration of intellectual life. Homer’s epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, were probably composed around the 8th cent. bc. Long-range commerce was aided by metal coinage (introduced by the Lydians in Asia Minor before 700 bc); colonies were founded around the Mediterranean (Cumae in Italy in 760 bc; Massalia in France c 600 bc) and Black Sea shores.
Philosophy, starting with Ionian speculation on the nature of matter (Thales, c 634-546 bc), continued by other “Pre-Socratics” (e.g., Heraditus, c 535-415 bc) reached a high point in Athens in the rationalist idealism of the classic dialogues of Plato (c 428-347 bc), a disciple of Socrates (c 469-399 bc; sentenced to death for alleged impiety), and in the teachings of Aristotle (384-322 bc), who made key contributions in many fields, from natural sciences to logic, ethics, and metaphysics. The arts were highly valued by the Greeks. Architecture culminated in the Parthenon (438 bc) by Phidias (fl 490-430 bc). Poetry (Sappho, c 610-580 bc; Pindar, c 518-438 bc) and drama (Aeschylus, 525-456 bc; Sophocles, c 496-406 bc; Euripides, c 484-406 bc) thrived. Male beauty and strength, a chief artistic theme, were enhanced at the gymnasium and celebrated at the national games at Olympia. Ruled by local tyrants or oligarchies, the Greeks were not politically united, but managed to resist inclusion in the Persian Empire (the Persian king Darius was defeated at Marathon in 490 bc, his son Xerxes at Salamis in 480 bc, and the Persian army at Plataea in 479 bc). Local warfare was common; the Peloponnesian Wars (431-404 bc) ended in Sparta’s victory over Athens. Greek political power waned, but Greek cultural forms spread throughout the ancient world from the Atlantic to India.
Hebrews. Nomadic Hebrew tribes entered Canaan before 1200 bc, settling among other Semitic peoples speaking the same language. They brought from the desert a monotheistic faith said to have been revealed to Abraham in Canaan c 1800 bc and to Moses at Mt. Sinai c 1250 bc, after the Hebrews’ escape from bondage in Egypt. David (r 1000-961 bc) and Solomon (r 961-922 bc) united them in a kingdom that briefly dominated the area. Phoenicians to the N established colonies around the E and W Mediterranean (Carthage, c 814 bc) and sailed into the Atlantic.
A temple in Jerusalem became the national religious center, with sacrifices performed by a hereditary priesthood. Polytheistic influences, especially of the fertility cult of Baal, were opposed by prophets (Elijah, Amos, Isaiah).
Divided into two kingdoms after Solomon, the Hebrews were unable to resist the revived Assyrian empire, which conquered Israel, the N kingdom, in 722 bc. Judah, the S kingdom, was conquered in 586 bc by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II. But with the fixing of most of the biblical canon by the mid-4th cent. bc and the emergence of rabbis, Judaism successfully survived the loss of Hebrew autonomy. A Jewish kingdom was revived under the Hasmoneans (168-42 bc).
China. During the Eastern Chou dynasty (770-256 bc), Chinese culture spread E to the sea and S to the Yangtze R. Large feudal states on the periphery of the empire contended for preeminence, but continued to recognize the Son of Heaven (king), who retained a purely ritual role enriched with courtly music and dance. In the Age of Warring States (403-221 bc), when the first sections of the Great Wall were built, the Ch’in state in the W gained supremacy and finally united all of China.
Iron tools entered China c 500 bc, and casting techniques were advanced, aiding agriculture. Peasants owned their land and owed civil and military service to nobles. Cities grew in number and size, although barter remained the chief trade medium.
Intellectual ferment among noble scribes and officials produced the Classical Age of Chinese literature and philosophy. Confucius (551-479 bc) urged a restoration of a supposedly harmonious social order of the past through proper conduct in accordance with one’s station and through filial and ceremonial piety. The Analects attributed to him are revered throughout E Asia. Mencius (d 289 bc) added the view that the Mandate of Heaven can be removed from an unjust dynasty. The Legalists sought to curb the supposed natural wickedness of people through new institutions and harsh laws; they aided the Ch’in rise to power. The Naturalists emphasized the balance of opposites–yin, yang–in the world. Taoists sought mystical knowledge through meditation and disengagement.
India. The political and cultural center of India shifted from the Indus to the Ganges River Valley. Buddhism, Jainism, and mystical revisions of orthodox Vedism all developed c 500-300 bc. The Upanishads, last part of the Veda, urged escape from the physical world. Vedism remained the preserve of the Brahman caste. In contrast, Buddhism, founded by Siddarta Gautama (c 563-c 483 bc)–Buddha (“Enlightened One”)–appealed to merchants in the urban centers and took hold at first (and most lastingly) on the geographic fringes of Indian civilization. The classic Indian epics were composed in this era: the Ramayana perhaps c 300 bc, the Mahabharata over a period starting 400 bc.
N India was divided into a large number of monarchies and aristocratic republics, probably derived from tribal groupings, when the Magadha kingdom was formed in Bihar c 542 bc. It soon became the dominant power. The Maurya dynasty, founded by Chandragupta c 321 bc, expanded the kingdom, uniting most of N India in a centralized bureaucratic empire. The third Mauryan king, Asoka (reigned c 274-236 bc), conquered most of the subcontinent. He converted to Buddhism and inscribed its tenets on pillars throughout India. He downplayed the caste system and tried to end expensive sacrificial rites.
Before its final decline in India, Buddhism developed into a popular worship of heavenly Bodhisattvas (“enlightened beings”); and produced a refined architecture (the Great Stupa [shrine] at Sanchi, 100 ad) and sculpture (Gandhara reliefs, ad 1-400).
Persia. Aryan peoples (Persians, Medes) dominated the area of present Iran by the beginning of the 1st millennium bc. The prophet Zoroaster (born c 628 bc) introduced a dualistic religion in which the forces of good (Ahura Mazda, “Lord of Wisdom”) and evil (Ahriam) battle for dominance; individuals are judged by their actions and earn damnation or salvation. Zoroaster’s hymns (Gathas) are included in the Avesta, the Zoroastrian scriptures. A version of this faith became the established religion of the Persian Empire and probably influenced later monotheistic religions.
Africa. Nubia, periodically occupied by Egypt since about 2600 bc, ruled Egypt c 750-661 bc and survived as an independent Egyptianized kingdom (Kush; capital Meroe) for 1,000 years. The Iron Age Nok culture flourished c 500 bc-200 ad on the Benue Plateau of Nigeria.
Americas. The Chavin culture controlled N Peru from 900 bc to 200 bc. Its ceremonial centers, featuring the jaguar god, survived long after. Chavin architecture, ceramics, and textiles influenced other Peruvian cultures.
Mayan civilization began to develop in Central America as early as 1500 bc.