The history of ancient Hellenism moves along a multitude of independent trajectories, sometimes evolving in parallel and coexisting, and sometimes - unfortunately, very often - conflicting with each other. Our knowledge of the people who preceded us, who lived and created in the same geographical area and whose language is still spoken, is based on the few preserved written products of their minds, on the various materials preserved on and under the ground (temples, statues, ceramics, everyday objects, weapons), and of course on the interpretation by the most capable researchers in the field of archaeology (prehistoric and non-prehistoric) of the findings brought to light by archaeological research. The present composition and effort to present as accurate an image as possible of the distant Greek past is based on preserved sources from those times and on the brilliant individual and collective works - from the 19th century to the present day - of exceptional researchers, both domestic and foreign. The study of the past is always useful and relevant, and it is not a cliché to say that knowledge of it, but good knowledge, helps us understand who we are and where we are going.