The Origins of Greek Culture

The Greeks called a city-state a palace, and this word has made its way into lots of modern English words. For example, Constantinople was called Constantinople by the Greeks. As the Greeks spread around the Mediterranean and established colonies, they called their home city Metropolis - which we still have in English as both Metropolis and Metropolitan. By the Late Doric-age period, the various gods and goddesses associated with the various city-states had started to be combined and arranged into a hierarchy common to all Greeks. They began to share the same gods, and even though the dialects were different, they could still communicate with each other in a common language.