The Geography of Greece and the early Greeks Chapter 8 Section 1

The Geography of Greece The Greeks lived on rocky, mountainous lands surrounded by water. The mainland of Greece is a peninsula, an area of land surrounded by water on three sides. –To the south of Greece is the Mediterranean Sea. –To the west is the Ionian Sea. –To the east is the Aegean Sea.

Since most of Greece was mountains, there were not very many areas good for farming. –The only areas good for farming were the flat plains along the coast –This is where most Greeks lived and made small villages –Most villages were separated from each other by mountains and seas

Traveling and trading across the mountains and seas was not easy, so villages were isolated from one another and kept to themselves. –Each village had its own government and way of living Since the mountains made traveling and trading difficult, the Greeks used the sea to travel, get food, and trade.

The First Greek Cultures Two of the first groups of people to live in Greece were the Minoans and the Mycenaeans. –The Minoans lived on the island of Crete –The Mycenaeans built towns on the mainland of Greece

The Minoans Because they lived on an island, they spent a lot of their time at sea, building ships, sailing, and trading. The Minoans traded things like wood, olive oil, and pottery all over the eastern Mediterranean Sea. What happened to the Minoans??? –Sometime in the 1600s BC, a volcano erupted north of Crete (where the Minoans lived) –The volcano caused a giant wave that flooded most of Crete; the volcano also sent up huge clouds of ash that ruined crops and buried cities. Although the Minoans lived in what is now a part of Greece, the didn’t speak the greek language, so historians don’t consider them to be Greeks.

The Mycenaeans The Mycenaeans were the first to speak the Greek language, so historians consider them to be the first Greeks. The Mycenaeans weren’t as peaceful as the Minoans, they often attacked other kingdoms. What happened to the Mycenaeans??? –Around 1200s BC, invaders from Europe came into Greece –At the same time, lots of earthquakes destroyed many cities, causing Mycenaean civilization to fall apart. –All of this caused Greece to fall into a time of warfare and chaos; this time was called the Dark Age.

Greeks create city-states There are no written records from the Dark Age; all we know comes from archaeological findings (the things that the Greeks left behind) During the Dark Age, Greeks began to join together in small groups for protection. Eventually, these groups grew into city-states. –The Greek word for city-state is polis. A Greek city-state was usually built around a strong fortress for protection. –The fortress usually was on top of a high hill called an acropolis.

Greek city-states The town around the acropolis was surrounded by walls for potection. Life in the city-states focused on the agora (marketplace). –This is where the Greeks would sell food and other things, and also have public meetings about government (how the city-state should be run) and religion. When the Greeks began forming city-states it started the Classical Age, a time of great achievements.