Ancient Greece Geography

General Geography Located in Southern Europe Mainland Peninsula and collection of Islands Surrounded by the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Ionian Seas. The Strait of Dardanelles or the Hellespont, provides access to yet another sea… the Black Sea

The Land of Greece ¾ of the mainland peninsula is covered in mountains. This rugged terrain made travel and transport between cities difficult. This greatly affected the political development in the region. Rather a united Greece under one government. Smaller independent communities (poleis) developed.

The Land of Greece (con’t) ¼ of the mainland is made of small but fertile valleys, that have small streams that feed into them. These streams are not suitable for irrigation systems, like the ones of the ancient river valley civilization. Because the Greek mainland could not produce large amounts of food, the population stayed relatively small… around 2 million at the most.

The Land of Greece (con’t) Greece had 3 main crops Grains (like barley) Grapes Olives Vegetables and fruit grew in few places Meat was rare because there was no land for animals to graze on. Greece meals were therefore simple and light.

The Sea Shaped Ancient Greece the way rivers shaped ancient river valley civilization such as Egypt. The seas were the links between most of the parts of Greece. Travel and trade on the sea was important because Greece had little of its own natural resources.

Climate Greece has a Mediterranean Climate (makes sense… it is on the Mediterranean sea!) This means, moderate temperatures (not too hot, but not too cold either) Rain comes mainly in the winter.

Climate The climate affected the development of Greece culture and society as it was environment in which most activities could be and were done outdoors…. Even politics!