The Greek Civilization.
A testimony to the power and brilliance of the Ancient Greeks is the fact that they have never lost their cultural relevance or world influence. Unfortunately, it cannot be denied that Greek history is rendered incoherent, sometimes almost grotesque, by the brilliant personalities that stalk across this great civilization and handed it down to us. The earliest period of Greek civilization was referred to as "Mycenaean," the reason being the mythical king of Mycenae was supposed to have been the leader of the Greek forces. The Mycenaean civilization, then, was the earliest expression of Greek culture for which documented evidence show that it was located primarily in the settlements of Mainland Greece (Sansone 5). By the 13th century B.C. however, Mycenaean Greece was showing sign of serious trouble and by 11th, the Mycenaean culture was ending, and the Greek world was a new period in history. .
Many of the cultural contributions of the Greeks occurred during at around 500 B.C. They left a very high legacy rich with myths, religion, and political history. The ancient Romans who displaced the Greeks in power in the Mediterranean world later adopted these myths and ever since, they have had profound influence on the formation of western culture. Today, it is hard to imagine what the European poetry and theater works would be like if the Greeks had never existed. The Greeks invented democracy and the modern alphabet, and laid foundations of mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, and medicine. .
At economical point of view, the Greeks were predominantly traders. The geography of Greece ― barren, hilly mainland and many islands―made overland travel impractical thus from the earliest times, people travelled and transported goods by sea rather than by road. City-states preferred to invest money in merchant ships than in roads. However, as the city-states grew richer, large fleets of merchant ships were formed and cargoes were carried across the Mediterranean.