1. Early Greeks and the rise of City- States
The Greek City-States
Section 1
Early Greeks and the rise of City- States

3. The Sea and the land
The geography of Greece had a lot to do with the way early Greeks lived
Mainland Greece is a peninsula with the Aegean sea to the East, the Mediterranean sea to the South and the Ionian sea to the West
The Greek coastline was uneven and brought much of Greece in close contact with the sea
As a result many Greeks were fishermen, traders, or sailors
They built sea worthy vessels and used them to trade inside the Mediterranean

5. The Sea and land continued
The Greeks came in contact with the other cultures of the Mediterranean like the Egyptians
Mountain ranges cut many of the cities off from one another making it difficult for the cities to unite
The rivers did not aid trade and travel between villages and as a result many different city-states arose

7. The Minoans {This was the earliest known Greek civilization}
Developed on the island of Crete, they were named after the legendary king Minos
The palace and houses of the nobles had running water and the covered the walls with frescoes
They carved statues from bronze, gold, ivory, and stone
{They established a sea trade through necessity of living on an island}
They were almost completely wiped out by a tidal wave from a nearby volcanic eruption

9. The Mycenaeans Controlled mainland Greece from 1600 to 1200 BCE
They grouped themselves in clans and were headed by a warrior
They built fort like cities in southern Greece as well as in North central Greece
By 1200 BC earthquakes had destroyed most of the Mycenaean cities
{They came in from mainland Greece to defeat the Minoans and adopted the Minoan form of linear b writing}

10. Mycenaean Ruins

11. The City-States of Greece
{Polis is the Greek word for City-State
These City-states are usually developed around Forts}
Polis came to mean the fort, the city, the lands and small farming villages that supplied its food.
The polis became known as a independent and self sufficient community
The Polis came to represent the identity of the people who were intensely loyal to it {The Acropolis is a hilltop used for a fort.}
Most temples and other public buildings were on the acropolis

12. The Acropolis

13. Each City-state also had a Agora or marketplace
The Agora also served as the main public meeting place
The Polis gave the Greek a sense of identity and they were intensely loyal to it
They each had their own calendar, money, and system of weights and measures
They did speak the same language

14. Section Review Who were the earliest known Greeks?
What did the polis develop around?
Who defeated the Minoans?
What is an acropolis?
________is the Greek word for City-State?