1. Chapter 5: Ancient Greece
Unit 1: Cultures of the Mountains and the Sea
World History Core

2. Theme Cultural Interaction:
The roots of Greek culture are based on interaction of Mycenaean, Minoan, and Dorian cultures
Minoans
Mycenaean
Dorian
Used ships to trade goods
Had a writing system (Phoenicians)
Came from Indo-European migrates
Borrowed from Minoan culture
Spoke a kind of Greek
Not as advanced
No writing system

3. Why is it important now?
The seeds of much of western cultural heritage were planted during this time period.

4. TERMS
Mycenaean
Trojan War
Dorian
Homer
Epic
Myth

5. Setting the Stage Greece was a collection of separate areas
Didn’t unite because of geographical conditions
3000 BC Minoans developed on Crete
Mainland Greece: people from Black Sea and Anatolia migrated and settled that area

6. Geography Shapes Greek Life
Mountainous peninsula in Mediterranean Sea
2000 islands in Aegean and Ionian Sea
Land on eastern edge of Aegean were part of Greece

7. Geography Shapes Greek Life
The Sea
Provided important trade routes
IMPORTANT: Greeks lacked natural resources such as timber, metal, crops/agriculture

8. Geography Shapes Greek Life
The Land
Mountains cover ¾ of Greece
Run from SW to SE along Balkan Peninsula
Divided land (HUGE IMPACT ON POLITICAL LIFE)
Never united under one government=but people were extremely loyal to their cities
Land difficult to travel
¼ of Greece is fertile valleys (broken up)
Lack fresh water for irrigation

10. Geography Shapes Greek Life
The Climate
Varied climate
48* in winter/80* in summer
Outdoor way of life
Leisure time spent outside
Athletics, markets, festivals, worship, etc.

11. Mycenaean Civilization Develops
Migrated from SW Asia
Settled in Mycenae
Southern Greece
Steep, rocky, ridge
20ft. protective wall
Strong Warrior-King

12. Mycenaean Civilization Develops
Contact with Minoans
Trade or war?
Saw value of seaborne trade
Sailed through Mediterranean Sea stopping at Anatolia, Syria, Crete, Egypt, and Italy
Adopted writing system and decorated vases
Also: religion, art, politics, and literature

13. Mycenaean Civilization Develops
The Trojan War
1200 BC Mycenaean’s fought a 12 year war with Troy (an independent trading city in Anatolia)
Back story:
Trojan Prince Paris runs off with Spartan King Menelaus wife Helen
Menelaus gets help from brother Mycenaean King Agamemnon to fight the Trojans
Calls on Achilles, the great warrior, to aid in this venture
The Greeks finally enter the city by leaving a giant wooden horse as a gift to the city and burns it to the ground

15. Mycenaean Civilization Develops
The Trojan War continued…
Fact of Fiction?
1870s excavations by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann found evidence of real city and events
Homer.
Blind man
Greatest story teller between BC
Through Homer’s stories people learned about early Greek history
The Iliad: Trojan War
The Odyssey: Journey home of Odysseus after Trojan War

16. The Greek Culture Declines
1200 BC Mycenaean civilization collapses
New group developed called Dorians
No as developed
Greece lost language and art
Greeks Create Myths:
Stories about Gods and Goddesses
Used to understand the mysteries of nature and human passion