Ancient Greece

Geography Greece, a country in south-eastern Europe whose peninsula extends from the Balkans into the Mediterranean Sea, is mountainous, with many gulfs and bays. Forests fill some areas of Greece. Much of Greece is stony and suitable only for pasturage, but other areas are suitable for growing wheat, barley, citrus, dates, and olives. It is convenient to divide ancient Greece into 3 geographical regions (plus islands and colonies).

Climate & Weather Weather in Ancient Greece, like most places, changed with the seasons. It also depended on whether you were in Northern Greece (near Thermopylae) or in Southern Greece (near Sparta). SPRING: In the spring, it would be pretty rainy, especially in Northern Greece, and the plants would get green and leafy. The temperature would generally be 10-20 degrees Celsius.

SUMMER: Then in the summer, it would be hot and dry SUMMER: Then in the summer, it would be hot and dry. Farmers would harvest the wheat at the beginning of the summer, in June. It hardly rains at all in Greece in the summer, especially in Southern Greece. In Northern Greece sometimes there are thunderstorms in the summer. In Northern Greece it would generally be about 30 degrees Celsius, but in Southern Greece it could get up over 40 degrees Celsius often.

AUTUMN: In the fall, around October, it would begin to rain again, and there would be storms. The temperature would drop to 25 degrees and then down to about 10 degrees. This would be the time to plant the wheat.

WINTER: Winters in southern Greece are chilly and rainy, but not really cold. It's pretty unusual for it to snow as far south as Sparta, though it does happen once in a while. Most of the time in Southern Greece it would be about 10 degrees Celsius during the winter. You would need a cloak to be comfortable outside, but you wouldn't need mittens. However, in Northern Greece, it would be colder, and there would probably be snow several times in a winter, although you wouldn't have snow on the ground continuously. You would need a warm cloak, and boots, and mittens, to keep warm outside (In Ancient Greece they didn't have sweaters, because knitting hadn't been invented yet).

Greek Beliefs Greek myths are a type of story which were created to teach people about something very important and meaningful. They were sometimes based on a real event and often used to describe significant events that people could not always understand such as illness, death, earthquakes and floods. Greek myths usually include one or several Greek gods and goddesses and are usually based in different areas of Greece. There are many famous Greek myths such as Pandora’s box, Theseus and the Minotaur, Persephone and the Pomegranate Seeds and Perseus and the Gorgon.

When the Greeks conquered Egypt, they took on many of the Egyptian traditions such as mummification. They used simple boxes for burials instead of painted coffins. The deceased were washed and it was believed that placing a coin in their mouth would pay the ferrymen of the dead. They were then led to their tomb in an emotional procession where they would be either buried or cremated.

Major Cities ATHENS: Athens, is both the largest and the capital city of Greece, located in the Attica periphery. Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world with a recorded history of at least 3,000 years. Today, the Greek capital is Europe's 8th largest conurbation, a bustling and cosmopolitan metropolis with an urban population of 3.3 million and a metropolitan population of about 3.8 million people. The Athens metropolitan area is the centre of economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece. The city is also rapidly becoming a leading business centre in the European Union. The city proper has a land area of 39 km while the urban agglomeration of Athens spans 412 km.

Flora The nature in Greece is of great diversity and it varies a lot. There are more than 6,000 plant species have been recorded, of which 700-750 are original that is they can be found only within the boundaries of the Greek land. There is a large number of widespread species relative to the size of Greece, due to the isolation of the numerous mountains and islands. Even though it's a relatively small land area, Greece contains an astonishing variety of ecosystems. Wetlands, old-growth forests, fertile shallows, and thousands of islands contribute to Greece's biodiversity. Three quarters of the country is mountainous. The mountains, yet unexplored, are very beautiful and full of life. They are covered with deep gorgeous forests and give rise to some of the most spectacular views.

Fauna Equally rich is the variety of fauna species living, nesting, propagating or migrating in the Greek regions. The fauna consists of a rich mixture of European, Asian and African species, including a considerable number, which are extensive. The freshwater fish fauna is one of the richest in Europe: 107 species, of which 37 are endemic, in the standing and running water systems of the country. Moreover, 40 endemic subspecies have been recorded. There are also at least 18 species of amphibians and 59 species of reptiles, approximately 60% of which inhabit the broader areas of the Greek wetlands. About 407 bird species have been recorded, of which 240 nests in Greece. The mammals of Greece include 116 species, of which 57 belong to IUCN endangered species categories.

Bibliography 1. Geography of Ancient Greece, About.com http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/greekmapsall/a/70107greekgeogr.htm 2. Ancient Greek weather - Ancient Greece for kids, Dr Karen Carr Assoc. Professor of history, Portland state http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/environment/greekweather.htm 3. Greek Flora and Fauna-Veni Vidi Travel (Turkish Tourism Authority)

Bibliography Con’t http://www.venividitravel.com/greece/greek-fauna-flora.html 4.Ancient Greek: Everyday beliefs and myths, my learning. http://www.mylearning.org/ancient-greeks-everyday-life-beliefs-and-myths/p-3532/