Like Frogs Around a Pond

Although today many people glorify ancient Greece as the birthplace of western civilization, the Greeks were just one of many interconnected civilizations in the Mediterranean. The quote below is from a philosophical dialogue written by the Greek philosopher Plato. He writes that the Greeks, along with other peoples, live around the Mediterranean Sea like frogs around a pond.

"I believe the earth is very large and that we [the Greeks] who dwell between the pillars of Hercules and the river Phasis live in a small part of it around the sea, like ants or frogs around a pond, and that many other people live in many other such regions" (Plato, Phaedo 109a-b)

To the east lay the great Near Eastern civilizations of Anatolia, Sumer, Mesopotamia, and eventually the Persian Empire. The Phoenicians, who were also known as skilled seafarers, traveled the Mediterranean alongside the Greeks. The Egyptian civilization in Egypt had a profound influence on Greek art and culture, and in Italy the Greeks encountered the traditions of the native Italians and Etruscans, who would later influence the Romans. These are just some of the many Mediterranean societies that exchanged ideas, goods, and people throughout history.

Greece was a main stop for any ancient seafarer traveling from east to west in the Mediterranean Sea. These travellers meant that Greeks came in contact with many other peoples from throughout the Mediterranean. Likewise, the Greeks themselves traveled to many other places.

The ancient Greeks were in contact with many other peoples around the Mediterranean. As early as the Mycenaean Age, there is evidence of trade between the Greeks and Near Eastern peoples. Wealthy Mycenaean graves sometimes contained goods, such as metalware, jewelry, and artwork, that came from the Near East. Many imported items were sold in the market or agora of port cities. Although goods were also traded over land, this was difficult because of the mountainous terrain. Sea trade was therefore very important in the history of Greece.

The Ulu Burun shipwreck, found off the coast of Turkey and dating to the late 14th century BCE, may have been destined to visit one of the Mycenaean Greek palaces. The cargo found in this shipwreck is from all over the Mediterranean. Finds include a scarab of Nefertiti from Egypt, a gold medallion from Phoenicia, a cylinder seal from Babylonia and Assyria, a Mycenaean-style sword, pottery and oil lamps from Cyprus, ivory, and even a wax tablet for writing. Although we don’t know exactly where this ship originated or where its crew was from, this demonstrates the interconnected nature of the Mediterranean even in the earliest days of the Greeks.

Another example of trade comes from the historian Thucydides, who wrote during the Classical Period. In his work, The History of the Peloponnesian War, an important Athenian politician named Pericles describes the glory of Athens. Pericles declares, “All things from all parts of the earth are imported here [Athens], and we enjoy the commodities of all other nations with no less familiarity than our own” (Thucydides 2.38). This quote demonstrates how the Athenians, with their well-built harbour and powerful navy, imported goods from all over the Mediterranean.

Just as each city-state had access to different natural resources, so too each Mediterranean people produced different items for trade as a result of their physical environments. Try it: Examine the satellite imagery map below. Compare and contrast different areas of the Mediterranean. How does geography vary across the Mediterranean Basin? What impact may this have had on trade?

The Greeks fought each other as well as the other inhabitants of the Mediterranean. In the Mycenaean Age, we have evidence that the Greeks often participated in small scale raids on other Greek or foreign territories. For example, in The Odyssey, the poet Homer describes how a hero named Odysseus sailed around the Mediterranean. Many times, Odysseus and his crew participate in raids and steal cattle. In the classical period, when large city-states such as Athens, Sparta, and Thebes were well-established in Greece, there were also wars amongst the Greeks. A famous example is the Peloponnesian War, which was between the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta, and the Delian League, led by Athens.

In another poem, The Iliad, Homer describes part of the famous Trojan War. The Trojan War was a mythical battle that centred on a feud between the Greeks and the Trojans. Many historians believe that this story reflects a larger series of invasions that took place at the end of the Mycenaean Age in Greece. During this time, there is evidence of destruction at several sites around eastern Mediterranean. Many believe that this destruction was caused by a mysterious group called the Sea Peoples, who raided all around the eastern Mediterranean at this time. Another possibility is that natural disasters, such as earthquakes, had already weakened some cities, who were then vulnerable to attack.

Another example of conflict with external forces are the Persian Wars. In the early classical period, a war broke out between the Greeks and the Persian Empire. In this war, many Greek city-states came together to fight the Persians who were invading Greece by land and sea. In this conflict, the small city-states of Greece were able to repel the great Persian empire. In response, the first historian Herodotos (whose bust is shown on the left) wrote his book called The Histories.

The period between c. 750 to 550 BCE is sometimes called the age of Greek colonization. During this period, some Greek city-states sent out groups throughout the Mediterranean to find places to settle. The sponsoring city was called the metropolis, or mother city. The new city was called a colony. The colony was usually in an area with good access to natural resources, like land for growing crops, and the colony and metropolis often maintained a close trading relationship and alliance. Often a colony would grow and become a major city-state itself.

Areas where the ancient Greeks established colonies include Macedonia and Thrace in the north and northeast, areas of Illyria along the Ionian Sea in the north west, in southern Italy and Sicily (sometimes called Magna Graecia or “Great Greece”), and the Black Sea area. There were some Greek colonies as far as the Iberian peninsula and North Africa.

The lands where the Greeks set up colonies were not empty. They were the homes of local peoples who had their own customs and cultures. When the Greeks arrived, they sometimes traded with local peoples or formed alliances. But often local communities were removed from the best pieces of land by force or by unfair treaty. It is important to remember that a lot of what we know about these encounters is based on Greek sources, which preserve only one side of the story. As historians, we need to ask ourselves: What voices are missing from this story? Whose perspectives did the Greek historians leave out, and why? What worldviews are represented in these sources and what can we learn from them?

In these encounters, Greek and local cultures mixed and created hybrid cultures. A hybrid culture had features of both cultures as well as aspects unique to a particular context. While Greek texts provide one story about colonization, archaeology and modern history is adding more detail to our understanding of what happened in these encounters. Traditional research has emphasized the impact of Greek culture on the colonized areas, showing the influence of Greek architecture or philosophy, for example. This perspective represents the Greeks as civilized and advanced while other cultures are depicted as inferior. This privileging of Greek culture has contributed to modern misuse of the ancient past in order to justify modern beliefs. Instead, many contemporary scholars emphasize the ways that Greeks learnt from other peoples and adapted their customs to the Greek context. When there is contact between cultures, both groups are impacted in positive and negative ways.

The ancient Greeks did not live in isolation. They were connected to each other and to the other peoples of the Mediterranean through trade, conflict, and colonization. By situating the Greeks in the geography of the wider Mediterranean, we can gain a better understanding of Greek history and culture. The Mediterranean Sea was a means of transport and connection. Goods flowed around the Mediterranean on the boats of seafarers, who brought along their languages, stories, and philosophies. A full understanding of the history and culture of the ancient Greeks must take into account also the wider natural and human geography of the Mediterranean basin.