How did a tiny, rocky wasteland become the birthplace of Western civilization?

How did a tiny, rocky wasteland become the birthplace of Western civilization?

There were many more fertile, pleasant places in Europe, yet it was in Greece where we see civilization in Europe flourish for the first time.

because it's the part of europe closest to the middle east

High population density, access to eastern sea routes/trade/culture etc and limited land but substantial resources encouraging competition between microstates.

Its not cold, also Greece was covered in forest back in the neolithic era.

>How did a tiny, rocky wasteland become the birthplace of Western civilization?

Israel?

You mean Iraq you fucking jew.

The smallness helped, it allowed city states to establish themselves without the constant problem of invading waves of savages that Mesopotamia suffered. Also while Greece IS rocky, it's also surprisingly lush in parts, and the Aegean served as a kind of highway allowing easy trade and movement of goods and ideas.

It turned to a rocky wasteland after overly intensive land exploitation. Before that, it was actually pretty nice.

Same thing happened on the Italian peninsula btw

>western civilisation
>single birthplace

Everything is wrong with your question and assertions.

Extremely close to Anatolia and the Levantwhere the earliest civilizations arised, the archipelago of thousands of small islands made it so that navigation skills had to be developed and those islands made trade way easier, Greece is both connected to the Balkans and thus the Danube so the core of bronze and iron age Europe were all the cool weapons were being developed, but was also quite near to Anatolia which was civilized and a ridge between East and West, Anatolians were also masters of metl working, you can basically island hop from greece to Anatpòia and then easily follow the coast towards the Levant and Egypt

The more fertile places in Europe, like the Danube valley wasn't protected by nomad raiders, in fact some developed culture arised in the danube valley such as the Vinca culture and the Cucuteni culture with massive settlements/cities and some for of proto writing, however they were raided by Nomadic sheperds, while Greece was both protected by the mountains and much nearer to Anatolia and the near East

Western civilisation as it is now has a focus on democracy. That was born with Pericles, in Athens. I wouldn't say Greece was the SOLE birthplace of Western civilisation but it is one of the prime factors nonetheless.

Greece being birthplace is a western civilisation and enlightenment era wewuzism.

>be ruled by a tyrant in a despotic monarchy
>governmental structure is an empire
>clothing, architecture, art all as different from Greece as China is
>we wuz greeks n shiet

Europe at the era of this enlightenment Greek revivalism had more common in Greeks' enemy Persia than they did with Greece itself.

Greece owes everything it has to Egyptians.

Greeks were beggars when Egypt was the shining center of the Near East,yes the Pleasgi (ancient Greeks) were beggars and begged Egypt to annex them, yes they were beggars and Egypt gave them some of their lands (Palestine) where they instructed the uncivilized retards

>hurr durr

go home bernal you're drunk

Bernal?

bump

All those fertile, pleasant places were inhabited by barbarians that were too much of a hassle to deal with

nothing to deforest

because it was closest to where western civilization actually came from: mesopotamia.

Greeks were also "barbarians".

see