1. Geography and Early Greek Civilization
In this lesson, students will identify characteristics of Greece’s geography and its impact on the development of ancient cultures.
Students will be able to identify and/or define the following terms and concepts:
The Geography of Greece
Geographic Effects on Greek cultures
Polis
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2. Watch and Add to S.P.E.C https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mkVSasZIM
Watch ancient Greece Mr. Corwin
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3. Mountainous peninsula
Greece is a
Mountainous peninsula
with
1,400
islands.
Comic
1&2
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4. The Geography of Greece
Ancient Greece consisted of a large mountainous peninsula and islands in the Aegean Sea.
Its hilly terrain made farming difficult
Its location encouraged trade.
Social
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5. The Effects of Mountains
Greece’s mountainous terrain separated the ancient Greek cities.
As such, the ancient Greeks never developed a unified system of government.
The ancient Greeks developed the polis or city-state.
The Effects of Mountains
Political
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6. This magnificent building is the Parthenon.
The Parthenon was a temple in Athens,
a Greek polis. ( Comic 3,4,5)
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7. The Polis
Comic 5 – The Polis was the Greek word for “city-state”.
A polis was an independent city and its surrounding farmland.
Every polis had its own government and laws but the Greeks shared a common language and religion.
Political
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8. Economical The ancient Greeks farmed but it was
difficult. Hills are not suited for farming
Comic 8.
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9. However, there is always the sea. (Comic 7,9,10)
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10. Economical Greece is a peninsula and islands.
The Seas
Greece is a peninsula and islands.
Seas surround parts of Greece.
The Seas allowed the Greeks to travel and trade.
Economical
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11. Trade and Cultural Diffusion
The seas allowed the Greeks to depend heavily on trade.
Trade encouraged cultural diffusion.
The Greeks were exposed to the Phoenician alphabet and Egyptian geometry. Comic 11,12
Cultural
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12. Questions for Reflection:
Why was it difficult to farm in ancient Greece?
Why did the Greeks depend heavily on trade?
List two geographic features and their effects on the Greeks.
Why did the ancient Greeks never develop a unified system of government?
Define polis.
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13. Political
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14. Social • Mycenaean warrior-kings dominate Greece from 1600–1100 B.C.
Mycenaean Civilization Develops
Social
• Mycenaeans—Indo-Europeans settled on the Greek mainland around B.C.
• Mycenaean warrior-kings
dominate Greece from 1600–1100 B.C.
Contact with Minoans
After 1500 B.C. Mycenaeans adopt Minoan sea trade and culture
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NEXT

15. Political The Trojan War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =CiQ4j-D5o4o
Trojan War—fought by Mycenaeans against city of Troy in 1200s B.C.
Once thought to be fictional, archaeological evidence has been found
=CiQ4j-D5o4o
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16. Mycenaean's
Social
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17. Cultural
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