Troy Map
Ancient Greek Mythology, Religion, Art
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Before 3500 BCE Greece looked like much of the rest of Europe: mud-brick houses and simple painted pottery. Because of Troy, however, the influence of the East began to take hold and a new sort of civilization began to develop, characterized most obviously by stone fortifications on various hilltops with clusters of farms and merchants in the surrounding area. These citadels were serviced by new crops like olives and grapes, there was new technology for the creation of hard metals, and new animals grazing in the pastures.
It should not be said that Troy is specifically responsible for this incredible transformation, but it was in a position to facilitate it. Through Troy passed many of the raw materials needed by civilizations in the East, through Troy passed techniques and ideas that helped the development of the West. Troy became a major center of commerce and an inspiration to the backwards farmers on the Greek peninsula.
Before long, Greek powers were imitating Troy. No longer typical Neolithic settlements, the Greeks soon developed larger citadels similar to what their traders found in Troy. Cities were built in a similar manner, eastern deities were incorporated into local pantheons, metal and goldsmiths attempted to imitate the handiwork of what came out of the East. The Aegean region was being transformed permanently, and in ways that would have momentous effects on the later history not only Greece, but all of Western Civilization.
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