The story of civilization on the Greek mainland begins with the Mycenaeans, a warlike people who created a powerful and wealthy state in about 1550 BC. The first settlers in Greece lived in simple stone houses and farmed the land. These people, who later came to be called the Mycenaeans, began to trade around the Mediterranean and came into contact with the Minoan civilization on Crete. They borrowed many ideas and skills from the Minoans and began to make superb craftwork of their own.

The Trojan War

A legend, told in the Iliad, by the Greek poet Homer, gives an account of the war between the Mycenaeans and Troy (in modern Turkey). The Mycenaean king, Agamemnon, set out to rescue his brother’s beautiful wife Helen, who had been captured by the Trojan prince Paris. After 10 years of fighting, Agamemnon’s army finally defeated Troy by trickery. Greek soldiers hid inside a wooden horse, which was towed into the city by the triumphant Trojans, thinking the Greeks had gone home. At nightfall, the Greeks emerged to capture the city.