The ancient Greeks were the first to develop a system of philosophy that emphasized rational thought and debate. They also gave us some of the earliest examples of literature and theatre, as well as art, architecture, and science.
The world’s first democracy was established in ancient Greece. The word democracy comes from the Greek word demos, which means “people,” and Kratos, which means “rule.” It was first used by Athens to describe its government in 508 BC during a time when Athenians were debating whether to continue fighting Persia or surrender.
The first recorded Olympic Games took place in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. They were held every four years until 394 AD when they were abolished by Roman Emperor Theodosius I due to religious concerns over paganism.
The first coins were minted in ancient Greece in 650 BC by King Alyattes of Lydia (in present-day Turkey), who used them for trade with neighboring countries like Phrygia and Caria (modern-day western Turkey).
In about 580 BC, Herodotus wrote one of the first histories of ancient Greece — his work is called “The Histories”. He also wrote about Persian history in “The Persian Wars” (about 480 BC).
Ancient Greek mathematicians created many of the basic concepts of geometry and number theory still used today, including the idea of infinity and irrational numbers like pi (π).
