GREECE (Ἑλλάς, Hellas). Geographically located at the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula; also included the western regions of Asia Minor and many islands in the Aegean Sea. Ancient Greece was a country composed primarily of Greek speaking inhabitants (Ἐλληνες, Ellēnes) of many regions and dialects. Only a few references to Greece exist in the Old Testament. By the time of the New Testament, Greek culture, language, and customs had spread throughout the ancient world. This “Hellenization” of the ancient world accompanied the conquests of Alexander the Great and his forcible spread of Greek culture. The Greek language was the lingua franca of the Graeco-Roman World, and the language of the New Testament itself. Greece in the Bible Greece in the Old Testament: Javan. Greece in the Old Testament is traditionally related to the name “Javan,” one of the sons of Japheth listed in Gen 10:2 (see also 1 Chr 1:5). The place-name Javan shows up in the books of Zechariah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. Primarily due to the visions of Daniel, Javan is understood to be Greece—or at least its Ionian regions. Daniel 8:21 described a figure coming from the West to conquer the Persian Empire as the “king of Javan.” Daniel’s visions describe the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great (Dan 8:21–22; 11:2–3) and the break-up of his empire among his generals (Dan 8:23–25). Because of this, the Septuagint—and most English translations—translate “Javan” as “Greece,” at least in the book of Daniel. Ezekiel 27:13 describes Javan as one of three cities who traded “human beings and vessels of bronze” for the merchandise of Tyre (NRSV). Likewise, the book of Joel invokes Javan/Greece when declaring to Tyre, “You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks (הַיְּוָנִים, hayyewanim), removing them far from their own border” (Joel 3:6; 4:6 in Hebrew). There is no other information on Greece and its relationship with the people of Israel found in the Old Testament. However, by the time of the New Testament, the importance of Greece would flourish as alluded to in the visions of Daniel. Greece in the New Testament. The New Testament speaks often of the Greeks, narrates several journeys to the Greek lands, and includes many letters to Greek cities. However, by the time of the New Testament, Greece was a subject of the Roman Empire and, due in part to the extensive process of Hellenization, “Greek” became primarily a cultural term—not political. Therefore, accounts of Greeks or Hellenists can be found throughout the New Testament (Acts 6:1; 9:29; 11:20, 14:1; 16:1; Rom 1:14; 10:12; 1 Cor 1:22; Gal 2:3; 3:2). For example, the Jews question Jesus’ foretelling of His death in John 7:33 by asking, “Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?” (NRSV). The primary explicit mention of Greece as a country can be found in Acts 20, where Luke records that Paul stayed in Greece for three months (Acts 20:2–3). However, most of the epistles of the New Testament and the missionary travels of Paul involved Greece (e.g., Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, Corinth and Thessalonica). Even the Revelation of John was allegedly composed on the Island of Patmos, a Greek Island in the Aegean Sea (Rev 1:9). Additionally, the New Testament was written in Koine Greek. For a recent survey of the importance and developments of Koine Greek see Chrys C. Caragounis, The Development of Greek and the New Testament. A Brief History of Greece For a brief but thorough treatment of the geography of Greece, see Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 1–87 and Hammond, A History of Greece, 1–18. Minoan, Mycenaean, Dark, and Archaic Ages (ca. 2000–500 BC) 1. Minoan Age (ca. 2600–1400 BC): first Greek civilization on the Island of Crete 2. Mycenaean Age (ca. 1450–1200 BC): war like Greek speaking civilization 3. Dark Ages (ca.1200–800 BC): mass migrations and development of Homeric epics 4. Archaic Age (ca. 800–500 BC): development of the “polis” and emergence of democracy. Minoan Age (ca. 2600–1400 BC): First Greek Civilization on the Island of Crete. The Minoan civilization on the Island of Crete is known primarily from archaeological surveys of Crete and the main palace city of Knossos (Hammond, A History of Greece, 25–26, 31). Because the Greeks knew of a king on Crete named Minos, this Greek speaking civilization has been recognized by the term “Minoan” (Hammond, A History of Greece, 26). The Minoans developed a network of palaces and communications across Crete before their destruction by unknown means, ca. 1400 BC (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 8–19). However, the decline of their civilization has typically been associated with the eruption of a Volcano on the Island of Thera in around 1500 BC (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 18). Mycenaean Age (ca. 1450–1200 BC): Warlike Greek-speaking Civilization. Mycenaean Greeks (ca. 1450–1200 BC) were a taller, more war-like people whose civilization was centered on the Greek mainland. Like the Minoans, knowledge of the Mycenaean civilization arises primarily from archaeological evidence and the decipherment of their early Greek script: Linear B (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 24). Mycenaean civilization borrowed from the Minoan structure of palace organization and communications, but had larger prosperity on the Greek mainland (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 20–24). In fact, the traditional Greek assertion that Mycenae was “rich in gold” has been confirmed by modern archaeologists. Dark Ages (ca. 1200–800 BC): Mass Migrations and Development of Homeric Epics. The Dark Ages were a time of great migrations and developments which saw the evolution of Greek mythology and the development of the Homeric Epics: The Iliad and the Odyssey (Hammond, A History of Greece, 72–91). Most likely during the end of the Mycenaean Civilization and the beginning of the Dark Ages, Troy was sacked by a group of Mycenaean Greeks (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 49–51. This event would become immortalized in Greek minds and transcribed through the Iliad (Hammond, A History of Greece, 60–64, 88–91; Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 44–51). Archaic Age (ca. 800–500 BC): Development of the “Polis” and Emergence of Democracy. The polis, which has been often referred to as a “city-state,” represented a Greek city and its surrounding land and citizens. Athens and Sparta are perhaps the two most well-known poleis of the ancient world, primarily because their history will dominate most of the later history of Greece (Hammond, A History of Greece, 101–05, 153–57). Greek literature, religion, and architecture—which would flourish exponentially in the Classical Age (see below)—saw great evolutionary developments during the Archaic Age (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 66–88). During the Archaic Age, democracy began its slow emergence in Athens guided by the reforms of Solon in the early sixth century BC (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 121–26). The Classical Age (ca. 500–338 BC) 1. The Persian Wars (499–479 BC) 2. Initial Stages and Darius’ Invasion (546–481 BC) 3. Xerxes’ Invasion and Defeat (480–479 BC) The Persian Wars (499–479 BC). The conflict between Greece and Persia reached a boiling point towards the end of the Archaic Age (Hammond, A History of Greece, 204–09). The arrival of the Persian Wars in 499 is typically taken as the close of the Archaic Age and the beginning of the Classical Age. The wars lasted until 479 BC on the Greek mainland. Initial Stages and Darius’ Invasion (546–481 BC). The Ionian coast, in western Asia Minor, initially supported the king of Lydia in a failed attempt to overtake the Persian king Cyrus in 546 BC. Ionia revolted against the Persian king Darius in 499 BC, and Herodotus recorded the ensuing war (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 153–57). Ionia lost, but Darius was not satisfied with his victory over the Ionian coast and made plans to advance into the mainland of Greece (Hammond, A History of Greece, 208–09). In 490 BC, Darius landed forces on the plains of Marathon in order to strike a blow at the city of Athens. Athens, however, anticipated this event and met the Persians pre-emptively at Marathon. There, the Athenian army delivered a crushing blow to Darius’ army (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 158–62; Hammond, A History of Greece, 214–16). Xerxes’ Invasion and Defeat (480–479 BC). Although Darius retreated from further forays into the Greece mainland, his son Xerxes re-established the venture. In 480 BC, Xerxes’ force crossed the Dardanelles (Hellespont) on an infamous bridge of boats and invaded the Greek lands from the north (Hammond, A History of Greece, 227–30). Spartans, under King Leonidas, attempted to check the advancing Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae, a narrow pass on the Greek coast north of Attica—the region of Athens. The citizens of Athens were forced to abandon the city in the face of the Persian advance, but the Athenians turned this retreat into a strategic advantage. They trapped the Persian fleet in the naval battle of Salamis, where the great number of Persian ships was an obstacle to Xerxes’ fleet. The routing of the Persian fleet at Salamis signified the retreat of Xerxes, but of not the Persian army. An alliance of Greeks met the Persians for a final battle on the plains of Plataea in 479 BC. This alliance delivered the final crushing blow to the Persian Army, and brought an end to the Persian Wars (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 181–84). The Spartans died in a now immortalized attempt to delay the Persian advance long enough to prepare Athens for the advancing Persian Army (Hammond, A History of Greece, 234–37). The Hellenistic Age to Roman Conquest (338–146 BC) 1. Athens, Sparta, and Macedon: The Peloponnesian War to Macedonian Conquest (434–338 BC) 2. Antigonid Dynasty to Roman Conquest (323–146 BC) Athens, Sparta, and Macedon: The Peloponnesian War to Macedonian Conquest (434–338 BC). The alliance of Greeks developed during the Persian War would be transformed into the Delian League: a maritime empire with Athens at its head. Relations between Sparta and Athens eventually deteriorated, creating conflict, and the Peloponnesian War ensued from 434 BC to 404 BC. At the end, Sparta emerged victorious and the Athenian Empire was disbanded (Hammond, A History of Greece, 413–19). Relative peace ensued for the Greeks until the rising power of Macedonia under Phillip II confronted them in the latter half of the fourth century. Athens was defeated by Phillip II in 338 BC and subjected to Macedonian rule (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 438–41). Phillip II’s son, Alexander the Great, assumed his father’s throne in 336 BC and began his conquest of the rest of the known world (Hammond, A History of Greece, 597–98, 639–42). Antigonid Dynasty to Roman Conquest (323–146 BC). Alexander the Great died rather suddenly in 323 BC, and his death led to infighting among his generals (Bury and Meiggs, A History of Greece, 492). Alexander the Great’s unified kingdom was divided into four unequal quarters, and one of those generals, Antigonus, eventually claimed the rule over Greece and Macedonia, establishing the Antigonid Dynasty (Habicht, Athens from Alexander to Antony, 150). However, the power of Rome would not lay dormant for long, and by 168 BC Rome “exercised decisive power in Greece, even though it had not yet annexed any Greek territory” (Habicht, Athens from Alexander to Antony, 219). However, the lack of Roman occupation on Greek soil would last only a short while. In 148 BC, Roman armies conquered Macedonia and added it as a province to the Roman Empire; southern Greece would shortly follow in 146 BC (Habicht, Athens from Alexander to Antony, 269–70). It is in this manner, under the auspices of a province under the Roman Empire, that Greece wanders into the historical and social milieu of the New Testament. The Influence of Greece on the New Testament The main developments and advancements of Greece which impact the New Testament world were not political, but cultural. Alexander the Great would disseminate Hellenism throughout the ancient world, spreading Western ideals, culture, and language far abroad. Additionally, the Roman conquest did not stop the advancing Hellenization of the ancient world. As the Roman poet Horace said, “Captive Greece captured her savage conquerors” (Horace, Epistles, 2.1, translation mine). This quote represents the amorous nature between Greek and Roman society, and the enormous influence which the subjected Greece still had upon her Roman masters. Speaking of the Graeco-Roman world of the New Testament is to address a world politically dominated by Rome, and culturally dominated by Greece. Bibliography Biers, William. The Archaeology of Greece. New York: Cornell University Press, 1996. Bonnard, André. Greek Civilization: From the Iliad to the Parthenon. Translated by A. Lytton Sells. 3 vols. New York: MacMillan, 1957. Burckhardt, Jacob. The Greeks and Greek Civilization. Translated by Sheila Stern. New York: St. Martin’s, 1998. Bury, John B., and Russell Meiggs. A History of Greece. New York: St. Martin’s, 1975. Caragounis, Chrys C. The Development of Greek and the New Testament: Morphology, Syntax, Phonology, and Textual Transmission. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2006. Habicht, Christian. Athens from Alexander to Antony. Translated by Deborah L. Schneider. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1997. Hammond, N. G. L. A History of Greece to 322 BC. Oxford: Clarendon, 1959. Hill, Ida T. The Ancient City of Athens: Its Topography and Monuments. Chicago: Metheun and Company, 1953. Meiggs, Russell. The Athenian Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972. Rostovtzeff, Michael. Social and Economic History of the Hellenistic World. 3 Vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. Simpson, Richard H. Mycenaean Greece. Park Ridge, N.J.: Noyes, 1981. Tarn, William W., and G. T. Griffith. Hellenistic Civilization. London: Edward Arnold, 1953. Tsetskheladze, Gocha R., ed. Greek Colonisation: An Account of Greek Colonies and other Settlements Overseas 1. Leiden: Brill, 2006. Wallbank, Frank W. The Hellenistic World. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993. ZACHARY G. SMITH
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