Early Greek Civilizations

Geography Greece is a peninsula extending from the Balkan Mountains into the Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean Sea

Minoan Civilization Flourished from 2700 to 1450 B.C. Found on the island of Crete Minoans traded often by sea Traded pottery, gold and silver. Minoan’s built an elaborate palace at Knossos.

End of the Minoan Civilization famous legend of King Minos who fed young Greeks to a Minotaur (half man half bull) trapped in a labyrinth civilization devastated volcanic eruption of nearby island

Mycenae extended control to Crete, conquered/ borrowed Minoan culture Mycenaeans (1600–1100B.C.) civilization dominated by warrior culture Famous King: Agamemnon extended control to Crete, conquered/ borrowed Minoan culture In 1250B.C. the Mycenaeans siege(Surrounding a fortified City) the city of Troy -Trojan Horse Story

Dark Age After the fall Mycenaeans greeks spread out across the Aegean little is known of this time due to lack of recorded history

Homer Greek Poet Emerged at the end of the dark age. Wrote epic poems Illiad: Battle of troy and the warrior Achilles Odyssey: the struggle of Odysseus to return home after the battle.

Out of the Dark Age Out of the Greek “Dark Ages” a collection of city-states rose In Greece. polis – Greek City state Polis’s ruled by the people  citizens -citizenship open to all adult men women and slaves were excluded