GREECE

Bordering countries are Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey Bordering bodies of water are Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Sea of Crete

Capital is Athens

Mountains cover most of Greece, land is rocky with little fertile soil, summers are hot and dry

Winter – ¾ of rain falls, mild and wet Summer – hot, dry, very sunny

Greece is a seafaring country because you are never far from the sea, 1/5 of Greece is islands, land is not very good for farming

A city-state is the city/town and the surrounding villages and farmland

Greek city-states were independent, small in size, quarreled among themselves

The Ancient Greeks were: patriotic shared a common language, religion, and culture prized their freedom and way of life creative thinkers

Greece became independent in 1829

What happened in Olympia, Greece in 776 BCE? What is Greece’s capital city called? How many letters make up the Greek alphabet? What is Greece’s national cheese? What is the currency used in Greece? How many Greeks work in agriculture? What two major geographic features shape Greece? How many islands are apart of Greece? What religion do ninety-eight percent of Greeks belong to? What is a major holiday in Greece? First Olympics Athens 24 feta Euro One in five Mountains and Seas Over 2000 Greek Orthodox Church ~ Christian Easter and Christmas

LOCATION Greece is located in southern Europe between Albania and Turkey. It borders the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. It has a population of 10,964,020. Athens is its capital.

AREA Greece has a total area of 131,940 sq km. That means it is slightly smaller than Alabama

CLIMATE Greece has a Mediterranean climate with plenty of sunshine, mild temperatures and a limited amount of rainfall.

SUMMER In summer, the dry hot days are cooled by seasonal winds called the meltemi, while mountainous regions have generally lower temperatures.

WINTER The winters are mild in lowland areas, with a minimum amount of snow and ice, yet, mountains are usually snow-covered.

TERRAIN Greece consists of a mountainous and craggy mainland jutting out into the sea. Four-fifths of Greece consist of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe. Greece has the thirteenth longest coastline in the world.

LAND USE About 20% of Greece is farmable. Farmers grow olives, figs, fruit, grapes, and very little grain.

Peloponnesus Peninsula and numerous islands in the Aegean Sea 2)They were separated from one another by rugged mountains, bays and inlets, and by being on an island 3) Most Ancient Greeks were farmers

4) A Mediterranean climate – mild winters with hot, sunny summers 4) A Mediterranean climate – mild winters with hot, sunny summers . . . you can grow crops all year round . . . similar to southern California 5) Mainly grow grapes and olives Grow small amounts of wheat and barley

6) Main disadvantage is that only ¼ of the land is level so they could only grow small amounts of grain crops and, therefore, they had to trade with others to get more grain

7) Main advantage is the sea – it connected all Greeks to one another and Greece to other civilizations so that they could trade and get what they needed

GREECE’S ORIGINS

MINOAN AGE Minoans Crete ~ Knosses 2000 – 1400 BCE had a system of writing, fine artwork, great sailors, traded with Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Phoenicia, master builders of palaces that were maze like with plumbing and decorated with colorful murals

MYCENAEAN AGE Mycenaeans Greek mainland/ Mycenae 1400 – 1100 BCE Built cities on top of hills, very similar to the Minoans – sailors, trade, palaces, and writing, conquered the Minoans, are the original Greeks

DARK AGE Dorians Invaders from northern Greece who came to middle and southern Greece 1100 – 800 BCE Trade came to a stop, written language disappeared, people lived in isolated villages, oral traditions kept Greek history alive, population increases

AGE of EXPANSION 800-750ish – 500 BCE Villages grow and develop back into cities, trade comes back and increases, leaders emerge in each city, city-states {an independent, self governing city and the land around it} develop and begin to fight one and compete against one another

Minoans of Crete The islands were stepping stones by which civilization spread from Egypt and Mesopotamia westward into Europe. The Minoans had running water, fresco paintings, women were equal to men, they had writing and artists, made ornaments and figures out of ivory, bronze, gold, and silver. The Minoans had colonies on the Aegean Islands, in Greece and in Asia Minor. That the Minoan culture was advanced and better than the Greeks and the Greeks were opened minded enough to realize this and change their ways to be like the Minoans

MINOANS MYCENAEANS First navy Named after King Minos Had minitar and bull fighting Known for pottery cups On Crete Weakened by fire, earthquakes, tidal waves Linear A – for writing On Greek mainland Had walls that were 40 ft. high and 20 ft. thick Known for bronze weapons Linear B – for writing Tall people Fell to outsiders Writing for record keeping Had palaces Were into trade Seafarers - sailors

The Greek City-State Map of major Greek City-States in 500 BCE Ruins of the agora at Corinth, Greece. Most Greek cities had an agora, which acted as the city center, housing marketplaces, civic centers, and forums.

ATHENS vs. SPARTA

GOVERNMENT ATHENS Democracy SPARTA Oligarchy

ECONOMY ATHENS Farming and trade SPARTA Military - - - communities around them provided trade and crafts

EDUCATION ATHENS Wealthy received it Lived at home Learned reading, writing, poetry, math, music, dance, and athletics At age 18 served 2 years in the Army After service were given a spear and shield and only called out at war time Girls learned from Mother’s crafts and poetry SPARTA Boys lived in barracks Taught to read and write Emphasized physical skills Strict discipline Slept on the floor Wore light clothing At 18 in Army full time At 30 full citizen and could marry Girls got a strong physical education

OTHER DIFFERENCES ATHENS City-state had walls Didn’t fear slave revolts Lavish lives Large government projects to benefit all SPARTA No walls Feared slave revolts Simple lives No luxury goods/items

Greece and Persia

Persia was east of the Greek peninsula.

Darius attacked Greece first to expand his Persian Empire. Xerxes attacked Greece to try an avenge his father’s defeat to the Greeks

The Greeks were able to defeat the Persians twice because the city-states united together and fought together.

The Golden Age of Greece was when Greece’s culture flourished from 460 – 430 BCE.

The Last Stand of the 300

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. The battle took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium in 480 BCE at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae.

PELOPONNESIAN WAR

Sparta and its allies vs. Athens and its allies Dates were 431 – 404 BCE Peloponnesian League Sparta and its allies Mainly found on the Peloponnesian Peninsula and Macedonia Scared of Athens growing power Delian League Athens and its allies Found along the coasts of the Aegean Sea Was formed to protect Greece from Persia Athens had turned the league into its empire Sparta and its allies vs. Athens and its allies

Athens wouldn’t let city-states leave the Delian League Athens began to attack other cities to protect its trade routes Sparta and its allies were scared of Athens growing power Athens refuses Sparta’s ultimatum to free all cities under its control

Sparta invades Athens countryside, burns farms, and cuts down grain Athens brings all its citizens within the walls of the city-state and a plague strikes {many die, food scarce, slaves escape} Sparta has a powerful army and Athens has a powerful navy As Athens weakened, its allies joined Sparta Persia gives Sparta money to improve its navy Sparta captures Athens navy at Hellespont

Sparta and its allies win after Athens surrenders from starvation and its navy being captured

ALEXANDER the GREAT

Fun Facts about Alexander the Great He was supposedly related to the Greek heroes Hercules from his father's side and Achilles from his mother's side. When Alexander was 16, his father left the country to do battle, leaving Alexander as temporary ruler of Macedonia. He tamed a wild horse named Bucephalus when he was a kid. It was his main horse until it died. Alexander named a city in India after his horse.

Fun Facts about Alexander the Great He never lost a single battle. Legend has it that the Temple of Artemis burnt down the day of Alexander's birth because Artemis was busy attending the birth. His best friend and second in command was the general Hephaestion.

Macedonia was a large state just north of Greece with very little organization and very little power. Under King Philip it becomes a military power King of Macedonia from 359 – 336 BCE, a military genius, Alexander’s father, conquers Greece and begins Macedonia’s Empire Established a professional army of full time, well paid, highly skilled soldiers Developed new battle formations and weapons - - - catapults and battering rams on wheels

4. Alexander’s father is murdered and Alexander rules Macedonia from 336 – 323 BCE 5. Macedonia never destroyed Greece because they admired and appreciated it and its culture

6. Alexander was able to control his Empire because: He left Greeks behind to rule conquered lands He would adopt some features from the conquered cultures He would combine the conquered military with his own

7. Alexander’s rule to 146 BCE is known as the Hellenistic Age because Greek influence and culture {language, religion, literature, arts} became so widespread over Alexander’s Empire 8. Alexander died suddenly of a fever at the age of 33. After he died his Empire broke apart because no single ruler could keep it together.