Cultures of the Mountains and the Sea

Geography Shapes Greek Life Ancient Greece Collection of separate lands where Greek-speaking people live Includes mainland and about 2,000 islands Traveled no farther than 85 miles to get to the coast

The Sea Aegean and Ionian Seas Provided a transportation link for the various regions of Greece Connected Greece to other societies through trade Lack of natural resources (timber, metals and usable farmland) encourage sea travel and trade Black Sea Fishing

The Land Mountains slow travel Mountains cover ¾ of Greece Mountains divide land into regions (not unified); created isolated and independent societies Only a small part of land was arable (about ¼) Only small streams Lack of fertile land leads to small populations, need for colonies

Greek Island

The Climate Moderate climate promotes outdoor life Greek men, especially, spend much of their time outside Exchange ideas Ideal for athletic events like the Olympics

Mycenaean Civilization Develops Mycenaeans-Indo-European who settled on Greek mainland in 2000 BC Main city-Mycenae Mycenaean warrior-kings dominate Greece from 1600 BC -1100 BC After 1500 BC Mycenaeans adopt Minoan sea trade and culture (religion, art)

Lion Gate at Mycenae

Mycenaean Swords

Funeral Mask from Mycenae Mask of Agamemnon?

Trojan War Fought between Mycenaeans and people of Troy in 1200s BC; Mycenaeans won.

Trojan War Once thought to be fictional, archaeological evidence has been found Provided basis for legend and epic May have contributed to collapse of Mycenaean civilization as they lost many men

Other than the explanation offered in the legend, why do you think the Greeks went to war with Troy?

Why might Troy have prospered as a trading city? Location may have allowed Troy to profit from movement of goods between Black and Aegean Seas.

Greek Culture Declines Under the Dorians Mycenaean civilization collapses around 1200 BC Dorians move into Greece Less advanced than Mycenaeans Left no written records (Dark Ages for Greece- 400 years) Led to a decline in economy and trade

Epics of Homer Due to no writing, oral tradition grows Epics-a narrative poem about heroic deeds Homer’s Illiad (750-700 BC) about Trojan War (Achilles and Hector)

Why might the account of the Trojan War in Homer’s Illiad be unreliable? Homer’s focus was poetry, not history; stories passed on verbally tend to change over time.

Greeks Create Myths Greeks develop their own myths-traditional stories about gods Greeks seek to understand mysteries of life through myths Greeks attribute human qualities-love, hate, jealousy-to their gods Zeus, ruler of gods, lives on Mount Olympus with his wife, Hera Zeus’ daughter Athena is goddess of wisdom

Zeus

Head of Athena on Coin