Early Greeks and the rise of City- States The Greek City-States Section 1 Early Greeks and the rise of City- States

The Sea and the land The geography of Greece had a lot to do with the way early Greeks lived Mainland Greece is a peninsula with the Aegean sea to the East, the Mediterranean sea to the South and the Ionian sea to the West The Greek coastline was uneven and brought much of Greece in close contact with the sea As a result many Greeks were fishermen, traders, or sailors They built sea worthy vessels and used them to trade inside the Mediterranean

The Sea and land continued The Greeks came in contact with the other cultures of the Mediterranean like the Egyptians Mountain ranges cut many of the cities off from one another making it difficult for the cities to unite The rivers did not aid trade and travel between villages and as a result many different city-states arose

The Minoans {This was the earliest known Greek civilization} Developed on the island of Crete, they were named after the legendary king Minos The palace and houses of the nobles had running water and the covered the walls with frescoes They carved statues from bronze, gold, ivory, and stone {They established a sea trade through necessity of living on an island} They were almost completely wiped out by a tidal wave from a nearby volcanic eruption

The Mycenaeans Controlled mainland Greece from 1600 to 1200 BCE They grouped themselves in clans and were headed by a warrior They built fort like cities in southern Greece as well as in North central Greece By 1200 BC earthquakes had destroyed most of the Mycenaean cities {They came in from mainland Greece to defeat the Minoans and adopted the Minoan form of linear b writing}

Mycenaean Ruins

The City-States of Greece {Polis is the Greek word for City-State These City-states are usually developed around Forts} Polis came to mean the fort, the city, the lands and small farming villages that supplied its food. The polis became known as a independent and self sufficient community The Polis came to represent the identity of the people who were intensely loyal to it {The Acropolis is a hilltop used for a fort.} Most temples and other public buildings were on the acropolis

The Acropolis

Each City-state also had a Agora or marketplace The Agora also served as the main public meeting place The Polis gave the Greek a sense of identity and they were intensely loyal to it They each had their own calendar, money, and system of weights and measures They did speak the same language

Section Review Who were the earliest known Greeks? What did the polis develop around? Who defeated the Minoans? What is an acropolis? ________is the Greek word for City-State?