Biblical Profile: The Greeks

The Greeks

Greek civilization played a major role in the ancient world, and Greek culture was a primary influence on the world into which Jesus was born and in which the New Testament was written.

Mycenaean Civilization (1450–1200 BC)

The Mycenaeans lived during the “heroic age” that Greeks later immortalized in the epics of Homer. Their civilization was centered at Mycenae, about thirty miles south of the site of Corinth. The Mycenaeans traded extensively and were successful in war. The Greek gods and myths familiar from later literature have their roots in Mycenaean Greece. Mycenaean documents were written in Linear B, a syllabic script.