The Ancient Greeks Chapter 4 Section 1

Geography of Greece Located at the Southwest Corner of Europe Surrounded by the following: – Mediterranean Sea, Ionian Sea, Aegean Sea Mainland Greece is a peninsula: a body of land with water on three sides – Hundreds of islands connect Greece to the rest of the world Close to Europe, Africa, and Asia – Great for trading

Map of Ancient Greece

How Geography Affected Life Because of location Greeks were fishers, sailors and traders Soil was rocky and thin  Olives and grapes  Some places grew wheat and barley Greeks divided by mountains  Developed independent of each other

Mount Olympus Home of the gods

The Minoans Location of the Minoan Civilization The Palace of Knossos Not Greeks but the first to settle in the area

Rich society that made wealth from trading Ships made from cedar and oak Trade pottery and stone vases for ivory and metals Controlled Med Sea Sea Civilization vanished Possibilities: undersea earthquakes or conquered Bull-leaping fresco

The Legend of the Minotaur Cursed son of King Minos Forced to live in the labyrinth under the palace at Knossos Survived on sacrifices from Athens Killed by Theseus

The First Greek Kingdoms Settled in the mainland Greece Came from central Asia Became first Greek kings Heinrich Schliemann discovered the ruins of Mycenae

What Were Mycenaean Kingdoms Like Each kingdom had a palace on a fortified hill surrounded by a wall Outside were estates where nobles lived  Slaves who worked the estates also lived there Other social classes  Artisans  Metal workers  Government officials Collected taxes and kept track of wealth of each person

Power From Trade and War Borrowed from Minoan culture – Bronze working, ship building, astrology to navigate the seas and adopted Minoan religion Replaced the Minoans as a major power – Traded with Egypt and southern Italy – Great warriors Victory in Trojan War

The Trojan War‏ Fought between the people of Greece and Troy Battle is fought because the beautiful Greek queen, Helen, wife of Menelaus is “kidnapped” by Paris, a prince of Troy The point of the war was to retrieve Helen Lasted ten years Main Characters- Achilles: Greek hero Hector: Great Trojan warrior “ A face that could launch a thousand ships” Agamemnon was king of Mycenae and brother to Menelaus

Homer’s Odyssey

End of the War Trojan Horse brought into the city of Troy as a gift from the Greeks – Inside is hollow and filled with Greek soldiers – At night they came out when everyone was sleeping and defeated the city of Troy. Story of Trojan War is told by a blind poet named Homer The Iliad: Story about the Trojan War – Main character: Achilles The Odyssey: Story about the return trip of Odysseus from the Trojan War – Main Character: Odysseus

What Was the Dark Age? Mycenaean civilization collapsed due to earthquakes and civil wars Dark Ages came about when:  Trade slowed and poverty took over  Decrease in food production  Decrease in learning Forgotten written language and skills On a positive note: People began to move and spread the Greek culture throughout the island in the Med Sea.

Cultural Diffusion End of the Dark Ages Settlement of the Dorians on the Peloponnesus  Brought iron weapons and tools Provided an increase in food and technology which led to an increase in trade  A new written language Borrowed from the Phoenicians 24 letters that stood for different sounds

A Move to Colonize As a result of the population increase colonies were settled to help supply the people with resources A colony is a settlement in a new territory that keeps close ties to it homeland Coasts of Italy, France, North Africa and western Asia Colonies supplied grains, metals, fish, timber and slaves Parent cities supplied pottery, wine and olive oil Led to the minting of coins Increase in demand for goods led to growth of industry and specialization

The Polis Athens was the largest at hundreds of square miles and 300,000 people.

Rights of citizens: gather to choose officials and pass laws, right to vote, hold office own property and represent themselves in court Duties of citizens: serve in government and in the army as soldiers What Was Greek Citizenship?

Citizens as Soldiers Army made up of citizens soldiers called hoplites  Fought on foot  Heavily armed Round shield Short sword Long spear  Extremely loyal Phalanx formation: shoulder to shoulder creating a protective wall with their shields