1. Cultures of the Mountains and the Sea

2. Geography Shapes Greek Life
Ancient Greece
Collection of separate lands where Greek-speaking people live
Includes mainland and about 2,000 islands
Traveled no farther than 85 miles to get to the coast

3. The Sea Aegean and Ionian Seas
Provided a transportation link for the various regions of Greece
Connected Greece to other societies through trade
Lack of natural resources (timber, metals and usable farmland) encourage sea travel and trade
Black Sea
Fishing

4. The Land Mountains slow travel Mountains cover ¾ of Greece
Mountains divide land into regions (not unified); created isolated and independent societies
Only a small part of land was arable (about ¼)
Only small streams
Lack of fertile land leads to small populations, need for colonies

5. Greek Island

6. The Climate Moderate climate promotes outdoor life
Greek men, especially, spend much of their time outside
Exchange ideas
Ideal for athletic events like the Olympics

7. Mycenaean Civilization Develops
Mycenaeans-Indo-European who settled on Greek mainland in 2000 BC
Main city-Mycenae
Mycenaean warrior-kings dominate Greece from 1600 BC BC
After 1500 BC Mycenaeans adopt Minoan sea trade and culture (religion, art)

8. Lion Gate at Mycenae

9. Mycenaean Swords

10. Funeral Mask from Mycenae
Mask of Agamemnon?

11. Trojan War
Fought between Mycenaeans and people of Troy in 1200s BC; Mycenaeans won.

12. Trojan War
Once thought to be fictional, archaeological evidence has been found
Provided basis for legend and epic
May have contributed to collapse of Mycenaean civilization as they lost many men

13. Other than the explanation offered in the legend, why do you think the Greeks went to war with Troy?

14. Why might Troy have prospered as a trading city?
Location may have allowed Troy to profit from movement of goods between Black and Aegean Seas.

15. Greek Culture Declines Under the Dorians
Mycenaean civilization collapses around 1200 BC
Dorians move into Greece
Less advanced than Mycenaeans
Left no written records (Dark Ages for Greece- 400 years)
Led to a decline in economy and trade

16. Epics of Homer Due to no writing, oral tradition grows
Epics-a narrative poem about heroic deeds
Homer’s Illiad ( BC) about Trojan War (Achilles and Hector)

17. Why might the account of the Trojan War in Homer’s Illiad be unreliable?
Homer’s focus was poetry, not history; stories passed on verbally tend to change over time.

18. Greeks Create Myths
Greeks develop their own myths-traditional stories about gods
Greeks seek to understand mysteries of life through myths
Greeks attribute human qualities-love, hate, jealousy-to their gods
Zeus, ruler of gods, lives on Mount Olympus with his wife, Hera
Zeus’ daughter Athena is goddess of wisdom

19. Zeus

20. Head of Athena on Coin