2. Early Greece
Lesson 1

3. Where are we in the World?

5. About Greece’s Geography
Greece lies in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe.
Greece is made up of a mainland and islands.
There are as many as 2,000 islands surrounding the Greek mainland.
The Greek mainland with filled with mountains and a rugged coastline.

6. Aegean Civilization Cycladic Culture Minoan Culture Mycenaean Culture
Between 3,000 to 1,000 B.C. there were 4 cultures that lived and demised on the Greek islands and the shore of the mainland.
These 4 cultures were called the Aegean Civilizations because of their locations in and around the Aegean Sea.
All that is known about the Aegean Civilization comes from archaeological studies.
Cycladic Culture
Minoan Culture
Mycenaean Culture
Trojan Culture

7. The Cycladic Culture (About 3,000 B.C.)0
The Cycladic culture began in the Cyclades.
Cyclades is a group of 200 islands located east of the Greek mainland in the southern Aegean Sea.

8. The Cycladic Culture

9. The Cycladic Culture Cycladic people made a living by: Fishing Trading
Farming
Grew grapes, olives, and other crops.
Crafting
Made pottery and small marble figures.

10. The Cycladic Culture
Most Cycladic artifacts were found by archaeologists in tombs.
Around 2,000 B.C. the Cycladic culture began to weaken. (Volcanos & Earth Quakes)
As a result the Cycladic people began to follow the customs and traditions of the dominant neighboring cultures.

11. The Minoan Culture (About 2,700 B.C.)
The Minoan culture began on the large island of Crete.

12. The Minoan Culture (About 2,700 B.C.)
Historians named this culture in honor of Minos, the king of Crete in Greek mythology.
Minoan culture began as an agricultural society (farm villages) then grew into cities.
Largest cities were Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia, & Kato Zakro.

13. The Minoan Culture (About 2,700 B.C.)
Minoans began to build large, decorated palaces in about 2,000 B.C.
These decorated palaces were filled with walls that had painting on them that allowed archaeologists to learn that Minoans were expert sailors.

14. The Minoan Culture (About 2,700 B.C.)
Sailing
Trading
Exchange of ideas

15. The Minoan Culture (About 2,700 B.C.)
One of the ideas that the Minoans learned from the southwestern Asia, was forming Bronze.
Bronze was used to make weapons, tools, and bowls.

16. The Minoan Culture (About 2,700 B.C.)
Minoans had a writing system where they used pictographs.
And a counting system called the decimal system. (Based on the number 10)

17. The Minoan Culture (About 2,700 B.C.)
The Minoan culture disappeared by the 1,100 B.C. after a great fire destroyed nearly all the cities and palaces in Crete.
After the fire people called the Mycenaeans ruled Crete.

18. The Mycenaean Culture (About 1,900 B.C.)
The Mycenaean culture takes its name from Mycenae, a city located on the south peninsula of Greece called Peloponnesus.

19. The Mycenaean Culture (About 1,900 B.C.)
By the 1,500s B.C. the Mycenaean culture had become the dominant culture in the area.
Mycenaean were traders.
As a result they learned Minoan ways and adapted them to fit their own culture.
Art styles
Sailing for trade.
Writing (suited to their own language & known as an early form of Greek.
Palaces (Much smaller than those built by Minoans.

20. The Mycenaean Culture (About 1,900 B.C.)
The Palaces were built Mycenae, Athens, Thebes, Pylos, and Tiryns.
The Palaces were surrounded by huge walls with a large gateway.
This suggests that the palaces were important and used as places of safety during times of war.

21. The Mycenaean Culture (About 1,900 B.C.)
The Mycenaeans sailed all over the Mediterranean Sea to:
Trade
Start new settlements
Make new war

22. The Mycenaean Culture (About 1,900 B.C.)
In about 1,200 B.C. the Mycenaean culture came to an end for the following reasons.
A large earthquake destroyed many of their settlements.
Weak leadership
Food shortages (causing people to move)
Dorian Migration

23. The Trojan Culture (About 2,900 B.C.)
The Trojan culture was located in the ancient city of Troy, located in Asia Minor.

24. The Trojan Culture (About 2,900 B.C.)
Troy’s location was very strategic .
Troy was located on a high point of land near the Dardanelles, a strait that connects the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara.
This strait (waterway) separated Asia from Europe and allowed passage to the Black Sea for trading and warfare.

25. The Trojan Culture (About 2,900 B.C.)
Trojans were known for:
Farming
Raising horses
Herding sheep
Traded with Mycenaeans and other cultures.

26. The Trojan Culture (About 2,900 B.C.)
We learned about Troy from stories that are apart of our world literature.
A Greek poet names Homer wrote epics like Illiad and Odyssey which both described the city of Troy.

27. The Trojan Culture (About 2,900 B.C.)
One of the storied we know about Troy is called the Trojan War. This story taught us about how the city of Troy was invaded and destroyed.