1. EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF ANCIENT GREECE

5. Minoans flourished between 2700 and 1450 B.C on the island of Crete Palace at Knossos – numerous private living rooms for the royal family and workshops for making decorated vases, ivory figurines, and jewelry – bathrooms with elaborate drains, formed part of the complex – rooms were decorated with brightly colored paintings showing sporting events and nature scenes – Storerooms in the palace held gigantic jars of oil, wine, and grain, and items that were paid as taxes to the king. 2 ideas about how the civilization collapsed: 1.Tidal wave triggered a volcanic eruption 2.Invasion from the Mycenaeans on the mainland

6. Palace at Knossos

7. p. 27 Early Greek Civilizations The Mycenaeans Had fortified palaces on top of hills Made up of influential rulers that had a loose alliance of independent states They were a warrior people who took pride in doing heroic deeds Most of what we know about them comes legends in Homer’s poetry - The Illiad and The Odyssey – about the Trojan War

8. The Trojan War – in 1200 BC, the Mycenaean kings fought a 10 year war against Troy, an independent trading city in Anatolia. – According to a blind Greek poet Homer, the city of Troy was destroyed because a Trojan prince, Paris, kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Mycenaean King – Thought to be fiction until 1871 when Heinrich Schlieman – uncovered the ruins of the – ancient city of Troy, buried – 7th under several layers of – cities uncovered at the site.

9. The “Dark Ages” Dorian Age – Dark Ages After the Mycenaean civilization collapsed, the Dorians moved into Greek territory. They were not as advanced in skills such as writing and bronze making. The important skill of writing was lost at this time in Greece, leaving a 400 year gap in Greek History (known as dark ages) People started relying on poets to relive history. The most famous poet of this time was Homer. This was when he wrote his stories of the Trojan War

10. p. 28: Types of Government in Greece By 750 BC, Greek villages gradually expanded and became independent city-states, or in Greek, polis – Acropolis - a fortified gathering place at the top of a hill which was sometimes the site of temples and public buildings Acropolis – agora - an open area, below the acropolis, that served as a gathering place and as a market agora

11. Types of Government Each city-state in Greece had its own government 1)Monarchy – ruled by a king or monarch 2)Aristocracy – ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families 3)Oligarchy – ruled by a few powerful people (Sparta) 4)Democracy – ruled by the people 5)Direct Democracy – ruled by the majority vote (Athens) 6)Tyranny – ruled by a powerful individual, tyrant, who seized control of the government

12. Athens Sparta p. 43