SS.6.W.3.1, SS.6.G.1.6&7, and SS.6.G.2.1,4&5

 The mainland of Greece is a peninsula.  Peninsula: land that is surrounded on 3 sides by water  Since water was so abundant and land travel so dangerous, boats were a common form of transportation.  Greeks had great respect for the sea, often making sacrifices to Poseidon before a voyage.

 The high mountains in Greece affected the way communities developed.  Cities remained isolated from one another.  With so little flat land, farmers grew grapes and olives which need less land than wheat or barley.  Instead of cattle, which need lots of flat land for grazing, they raised sheep and goats who can graze on mountains.

 The shortage of good farmland led many Greeks, called merchants, to trade with other countries  Merchant: a person who makes money by selling goods  Merchants built their ships for space to hold goods rather than for speed.

 One of Greece’s major trading partners was Phoenicia, a settlement on the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.  They had wonderful ships, built with timber from Lebanon, and traded in all sorts of goods like metals, cloth, purple dye, fine jewelry and craft work, salt, wine and olives, and grain.  Because they were such skilled traders, they were the first civilization to develop a true alphabet in order to keep business records.  The Greeks would later base their alphabet on what they learned from the Phoenicians.

 As the populations of Greek communities grew, some did not have enough farmland to feed their people.  One solution was to establish Greek colonies elsewhere.  Colonies: settlements in distant places  These colonies helped to spread Greek culture.

 1. Consult the oracle. This was a holy person whom they believed could communicate with the gods  2. Gather food and supplies for the journey.  3. Survive the long sea voyage.  4. Find a strategic location for the colony.