ABSTRACT
In the course of their efforts to achieve military glory, the Greeks founded one of the most brilliant and influential cultural traditions in all of human history. Despite the greatness of their culture, most Greeks were neither artists nor philosophers. They were humble farmers, herders, fishermen, or traders. Homer's The Odyssey, the sequel to The Iliad, chronicled the remarkable ten-year voyage of Odysseus, a Greek king and warrior, from the defeated city of Troy to his home on the island of Ithaca. During the Archaic and Classical Periods—from about 750 BCE to 338 BCE—Greek colonization and sea-based trade flourished. At the height of Greek colonization in 750–550 BCE, Greek ships carried colonists to their new homes in Italy, Sicily, Spain, France, North Africa, and along the Black Sea coast. In ancient Greece, as in Egypt and Mesopotamia, religion was polytheistic. In addition, the gods were almost always portrayed in human form.
