World History Chapter 4-Ancient Greece Section 1 The First Greek Civilizations

The Impact of Geography Greece is a small, mountainous peninsula; many islands; mountains and sea played a key role in development of the civilization Mountains kept the Greeks isolated; formed their own ways of life; very independent Because of the long seacoast, many Greeks became seafarers; trading and establishing colonies

Geography of Greece

The Minoan civilization Bronze Age civilization, used metals, set up on the island of Crete Named Minoan after King Minos of Crete by Arthur Evans, archaeologists who discovered Flourished between 2700-1450 B.C. Evans found a palace complex at Knossos; remnants of a rich culture; sea empire based on trade

Minoan Civilization

Minoans Palace at Knossos-elaborate, many rooms for the royal family, workshops for making things, bathrooms with drains Rooms were painted and decorated; storerooms held grain, oil, & wine-taxes 1450 B.C.-suffered a collapse, some think a tidal wave; most historians believe they were invaded by Mycenaeans, mainland Greeks

Palace at Knossos

The First Greek State: Mycenae Mycenae; fortified city found by Heinrich Schliemann, one of several such centers, flourished between 1600-1100 B.C. Indo-European people; entered Greece around 1900 B.C. High point of civilization b/n 1400-1200 B.C.; powerful monarchies, may have formed loose alliances with each other

Mycenaean Civilization

Mycenae Palace centers built up on hills, surrounded by walls; the rest of the people lived outside the walls Tholos or tombs for the royal family was a unique feature of these centers; built into hills Extensive trade network Warrior people, many murals of battles, expanded militarily to include Crete & some Aegean Islands

Mycenaean architecture

Attack on Troy & the Fall of the Mycenaean Civilization Most famous military expedition; did it happen? Attacked city of Troy around 1250 B.C.; led by King Agamemnon of Mycenae Mycenaean society was in trouble by the late 13th century B.C.; fighting among each other, major earthquakes; invasions from the north; by 1100 B.C. it had collapsed

The Greeks in a Dark Age Dark Age of Greece-from 1100-750 B.C.; food production dropped as did population Very few records of what happened exist By 850 B.C. farming was revived; new Greece was starting to develop

Developments of the Dark Age During the Dark Ages many Greeks left the mainland Western part of Asia Minor-Ionia Aeolian Greeks-left northern & central Greece, settled on island of Lesbos and mainland areas near there Dorian Greeks-settled in southwestern Greece, area of the Peloponnesus, some islands in southern Aegean(Crete)

Greek Migrations

More Developments Revival of trade; other economic activity Iron replaced bronze in weapons & farm tools; increase food production, affordable weapons Greeks adopted Phoenician alphabet; made learning to read and write easier

Greek Alphabet

Homer Homer wrote down epic poems that had been passed down for generations orally Iliad –story of the Trojan War-Greek states wage war on the city of Troy to get Helen(wife of a king) back Story not just of war, but of the Greek hero Achilles and what his anger caused Odyssey-retells the story of Odysseus and his return home

Homer

Homer’s impact It is said Homer did not record history as much as he created it Greeks look at these two stories as actual historical accounts; ideal past; texts for educational purposes Homer taught values like courage and honor; Greeks used these as part of their tradition & a model for future generations Arete-excellence won in a struggle; fighting for family, honor; earns a reputation

Trojan Horse

Achilles & Odysseus