Geography & the Early Greeks

Geography Shapes Greek Civilization• Greece is a peninsula= body of land

surrounded by water on 3 sides– Made up of mainland Greece, islands, & peninsula

• Most of Greece is mountainous w/ few flat land for farming

A. Mountains & Settlements• Mountainous landscape

ppl settling in few flat areas in valleys

• Towns/villages separated by mountains & seas

• Mountains=traveled diff. so communities became isolated– Ppl created their own gov’t &

cultures• Saw themselves as residents

of a city rather than Greek

B. Seas & Ships• Since travel in rugged terrain

was diff. they turned to the seas

• Mediterranean sea (S), Ioanian(W), Aegean (E)

• Sea = source of food & travel• Became skilled sailors & ship

builders• Traded products & IDEAS

with other culturesQ= What is the term used for the exchanging of ideas between cultures?

II Trading Cultures Develop• 2 earliest cultures= Minoans & Mycenaean’s

A. The Minoans• Lived on island of Crete• Traded oil, pottery, &

wood with other regions• Volcano exploded north

of Crete & flooded island– Explosion may have led to

the end of Minoan civ.• Not considered Greek

because they didn’t speak Greek language

B. The Mycenaean's• 1st ppl to speak Greek 1st ppl to be

considered Greek• Built fortresses on mainland• Mycenae= largest fortress &

namesake• Took over Crete after Minoan civ.

Declined• Major traders in Mediterranean• Were not peaceful traders. • Possible they attacked Troy• Declined when European invaders

attacked• As Mycenaean culture declined,

Greece slipped into a Dark Age= A period of warfare & disorder

III Greeks Create City-States• Greeks began to join together in small groups

for protection & stability• Groups began to develop into separate polis’=

city-state• Beginning of city-states marks beginning of

Greece’s Classical Age= period of great achievements

A. Life in a City State• Polis built around fortress atop an Acropolis– Acropolis= high hill

• Ppl gathered inside walls during wartime– Walls= protection

• City life revolved around an Agora– Agora= marketplace

• Agora served as meeting place for pol 7 rel. assemblies

• Polis protected ppl & gave them identity– Spartan, Athenian

• Ppl expected to participate in polis affairs (vote)

B. City-States & Colonization• As Greek life became settled

ppls attention shifted from defense to other things

• City-states established colonies– Colonies= territory under

control of another state (polis)• Colonies expanded and

created colonies of their own in turn making them a polis– Istanbul Turkey, Naples Italy,

Marseille France

Istanbul, Turkey

Napoli, Italy