Editing Greeks (section)

===Classical===
{{Main|Classical Greece}}
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The [[ethnogenesis]] of the Greek nation is linked to the development of Pan-Hellenism in the 8th century BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Burckhardt|1999|loc=p. 168: "The establishment of these Panhellenic sites, which yet remained exclusively Hellenic, was a very important element in the growth and self-consciousness of Hellenic nationalism; it was uniquely decisive in breaking down enmity between tribes, and remained the most powerful obstacle to fragmentation into mutually hostile ''poleis''."}}</ref> According to some scholars, the foundational event was the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]] in 776 BC, when the idea of a common Hellenism among the Greek tribes was first translated into a shared cultural experience and Hellenism was primarily a matter of common culture.<ref name=Roberts1/> The works of [[Homer]] (i.e. ''[[Iliad]]'' and ''[[Odyssey]]'') and [[Hesiod]] (i.e. ''[[Theogony]]'') were written in the 8th century BC, becoming the basis of the national religion, ethos, history and mythology.<ref>{{harvnb|Zuwiyya|2011|pp=142–143}}; {{harvnb|Budin|2009|pp=66–67}}.</ref> The [[Pythia|Oracle of Apollo at Delphi]] was established in this period.<ref>{{harvnb|Morgan|1990|pp=1–25, 148–190}}.</ref>

The [[Classical antiquity|classical period]] of Greek civilization covers a time spanning from the early 5th century BC to the [[death of Alexander the Great]], in 323 BC (some authors prefer to split this period into "Classical", from the end of the [[Greco-Persian Wars]] to the end of the Peloponnesian War, and "Fourth Century", up to the death of Alexander). It is so named because it set the standards by which Greek civilization would be judged in later eras.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Ancient Greek Civilization|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=18 February 2016|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.|location=United States|id=Online Edition|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Greece|access-date=21 June 2022|archive-date=17 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117213744/https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Greece|url-status=live}}</ref> The Classical period is also described as the "Golden Age" of Greek civilization, and its art, philosophy, architecture and literature would be instrumental in the formation and development of Western culture.

While the Greeks of the classical era understood themselves to belong to a common Hellenic [[genos]],<ref>{{harvnb|Konstan|2001|pp=29–50}}.</ref> their first loyalty was to their city and they saw nothing incongruous about warring, often brutally, with other Greek [[Polis|city-states]].<ref>{{harvnb|Steinberger|2000|p=17}}; {{harvnb|Burger|2008|pp=57–58}}.</ref> The [[Peloponnesian War]], the large scale civil war between the two most powerful Greek city-states [[Classical Athens|Athens]] and [[Sparta]] and [[Delian League|their]] [[Peloponnesian League|allies]], left both greatly weakened.<ref>{{harvnb|Burger|2008|pp=57–58: "''Poleis'' continued to go to war with each other. The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) made this painfully clear. The war (really two wars punctuated by a peace) was a duel between Greece's two leading cities, Athens and Sparta. Most other ''poleis'', however, got sucked into the conflict as allies of one side or the other&nbsp;... The fact that Greeks were willing to fight for their cities against other Greeks in conflicts like the Peloponnesian War showed the limits of the pull of Hellas compared with that of the polis."}}</ref>
[[File:Alexander the Great mosaic.jpg|thumb|[[Alexander the Great]], whose conquests led to the [[Hellenistic Age]]|alt=]]

Most of the feuding Greek city-states were, in some scholars' opinions, united by force under the banner of [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip]]'s and [[Alexander the Great]]'s Pan-Hellenic ideals, though others might generally opt, rather, for an explanation of "[[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonian]] conquest for the sake of conquest" or at least conquest for the sake of riches, glory and power and view the "ideal" as useful propaganda directed towards the city-states.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fox|first=Robin Lane|title=Riding with Alexander|year=2004|work=Archaeology|publisher=The Archaeological Institute of America|url=http://www.archaeology.org/online/interviews/fox.html|quote=Alexander inherited the idea of an invasion of the Persian Empire from his father Philip whose advance-force was already out in Asia in 336 BC. Philips campaign had the slogan of "freeing the Greeks" in Asia and "punishing the Persians" for their past sacrileges during their own invasion (a century and a half earlier) of Greece. No doubt, Philip wanted glory and plunder.|access-date=27 December 2008|archive-date=2 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102011552/http://www.archaeology.org/online/interviews/fox.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In any case, Alexander's toppling of the [[Achaemenid Empire]], after his victories at the battles of the [[Battle of the Granicus|Granicus]], [[Battle of Issus|Issus]] and [[Battle of Gaugamela|Gaugamela]], and his advance as far as modern-day [[Pakistan]] and [[Tajikistan]],<ref>{{harvnb|Brice|2012|pp=281–286}}.</ref> provided an important outlet for Greek culture, via the creation of colonies and trade routes along the way.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2008 |title = Alexander the Great |encyclopedia= Columbia Encyclopedia|publisher= Columbia University Press |location=United States |id=Online Edition }}</ref> While the Alexandrian empire did not survive its creator's death intact, the cultural implications of the spread of Hellenism across much of the [[Middle East]] and [[Asia]] were to prove long lived as Greek became the ''[[lingua franca]]'', a position it retained even in [[Roman era|Roman times]].<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2008|p=xiii}}.</ref> Many Greeks settled in [[Hellenistic Greece|Hellenistic]] cities like [[Alexandria]], [[Antioch]] and [[Seleucia]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Morris|first=Ian|title=Growth of the Greek Colonies in the First Millennium BC|date=December 2005|work=Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics|publisher=Princeton/Stanford University|url=http://www.princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/morris/120509.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/morris/120509.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref>