1. Geography and the Early Greeks

2. A Peninsula
Greece is a peninsula, which means that it is surrounded on three sides by water. Greece has a lot of smaller peninsulas sticking out from it, which means Greece enjoys many natural harbors.

3. Geography Shapes Ancient Greek Life
- Greece is a peninsula, a body of land that has water on all three sides, that sticks out into the Mediterranean Sea
The southern tip of Greece forms another peninsula called the Peloponnesus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land that links the Peloponnesus to the rest of Greece

5. Landscape 70-80% of Greece is covered by mountains
How would the Greeks than travel?
How would they get food?
Greece is also covered with mountains. They are not huge mountains but if you are trying to go from place to place in Greece, you'll find the mountains a bit of an obstacle.
70-80% of Greece is covered by mountains
The mountainous landscape and environment makes land transportation very difficult
This also made it hard to unite Greece under one government
There are no large rivers on which Greeks could travel
Limited arable land
Only a small portion of that land provide flat land for farming and villages.

6. Climate Winter- rainy and mild. Around 50 degrees F
Summer- hot and dry. Around 80 degrees F
Able to grow: Olives, Figs, Dates and be goat herders
Warm climate during the summer encouraged outdoor activities and athletic competitions
What games did the Greeks invent?

7. Sea People Effect: The Sea Great sailors
Cause: The Mountains
¾ of the land
Little farmland (few streams) supported a small population)
Divided into city-states (polis)
Never united into one country
Effect: The Sea
Great sailors
Traded for things they didn’t have
In the ancient world that grew up around the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, the Greeks became known as great sailors. They sailed about the Mediterranean, setting up colonies and outposts where they could.

8. Colonies
They tried to set up a colony or two in Egypt, but the Egyptians chased them away. They had more luck establishing new towns on the coast of Turkey, on the coast of Italy, on the coast of Africa, and on the coast of France.
Colony: a group of people who leave their native country to form in a new land a settlement subject to, or connected with, the parent nation.

9. What other civilization had colonies and traded in the same sea routes?
Greek Colonies

10. Trading Cultures Develop
Many cultures settled and developed in Greece:
By 2000 BC the Minoans had built and advanced society in the Island of Crete.
Years later, the Mycenaeans built towns and fortresses all over mainland Greece.
These two civilizations influenced the entire Aegean region and helped shape later cultures in Greece.

11. What was the origin and structure of the Greek polis?
Polis: Greek city-state
By 750 BC- political and geographical area in ancient Greece
Made up of a city and its surrounding countryside- including numerous villages
Athens, Sparta, Ithaca
Where did they meet to discuss issues?
Acropolis: the highest and most fortified place in the city

12. ATHENS: Yesterday & Today
Back to the polis…

13. What was the origin and structure of the Greek polis?
Why did these develop?
They began to identify with the local area in which they lived
Different types:
Monarchy- rule by king
Aristocracy – rule by rich people
Oligarchy – rule by a small group of people
Tyrant – a dictator
What words is “polis” the root word?

14. The Bronze Age: Greek Ancestors
Minoans
Mycenaeans
They lived in the island of Crete. Therefore they spent a lot of time at sea.
Good shipbuilders, that made them traders.
They traded wood, olive oil and pottery for copper, gold, silver and jewels.
It was a great location for fishing and trading, but it had its natural dangers: in 1600, a huge volcanic eruption created a tsunami which flooded Crete and may have caused the collapse of it’s civilization.
Unlike the Minoans, historians consider the Myceanaeans to be the first Greeks, mostly because they spoke the language.
While the Minoans sailed all over the sea, the Mycenaeans built fortresses on the mainland.
By the 1400s, with the decline of the Minoans, the Greeks were now able to take over Crete and become the greatest traders.
They had set up colonies over Greece and Italy.

15. The Bronze Age: Greek Ancestors
Minoan Art
Mycenaean Art

16. The Bronze Age: Greek Ancestors
Minoan Architecture
Mycenaean Architecture

17. Aggressive “Trading”
The Mycenaeans did not think that trading should be done peacefully. They usually attacked other kingdoms.
Historians believe it was them who attacked the city of Troy, starting the legendary Trojan War.

18. Dark Ages
Mycenaean society began to fall apart in the 1200s BC when invaders form the north, swept into Greece.
At the same time, natural disasters destroyed many cities.
With this civilization crumbling and invaders taking over, Greece slipped into a period of warfare, disorder and where few records exists.
This is called a “Dark Age”

19. Ask Yourselves/HW Summarize: Analyze: Infer: Compare: Recall:
How did the Greek Peninsula´s geography shape the lives of the Greeks?
Analyze:
What kind of resources did the Greeks have at their disposal?
What do the Greek colonies have in common with each other?
Infer:
What kind of obstacle did the mountains of Greece pose for their people?
Why did Mycenaeans put such importance on building powerful fortresses?
Compare:
How was the decline of the Minoans and Mycenaeans similar?
Recall:
Where was the Minoan civilization located?

20. Bibliography
MrDonn.org. (n.d.). Ancient Greece For Kids. Retrieved , 2012, from MrDonn.org:
Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Colony. Retrieved 07 22, 2012, from Dictionary:
 Clip Art by Phillip Martin
Images taken from Google.com