1. Geography of Ancient Greece LESSON 1

2. Vocabulary Map  Peninsula  Harbor  Mediterranean Sea  Crete  Rhodes  Attica  Peloponnesus  Phoenicia  Aegean Sea  Ionian Sea

3. The Big Picture  No great river flowed through Ancient Greece.  Ancient Greek civilization was rooted in a rocky landscape surrounded by the sea

4. Mountains and Sea  Greece is made up of the southern European mainland and over 400 islands. Same area that makes up Greece today  Crete is the biggest Greek island  East of Crete is the island of Rhodes ( an island near what is present day Turkey)  Rhodes provides thee perfect rest stop for ships sailing between Greece and western Asia  Mountains and hills cover most of the land. Little farmable land

5. Land Along the Coast  In eastern Greece large plains are suitable for farming (near the coast)  A few plains are on Attica (peninsula)  Peninsula- is an area of land nearly surrounded by water  Attica also contains Harbors  Harbor - is a sheltered place along the coast (used for ships)  Peloponnesus is a mountainous peninsula, with a thin band of fertile land. It does have many rivers.  Unlike ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia these rivers dry up during the summer

6. Agriculture in Ancient Greece  Greece has a climate that can be challenging for farmers  Summers are hot and dry, and winters are wet and windy  Farmers grew wheat and barley (like ancient Mesopotamians) but their main crops were olives and grapes

7. Crossing the Seas  Sailing was an important part of life  Sailors traveled as far as ancient Egypt to trade  Greek merchants competed with traders from Phoenicia (what is present day Lebanon)  Olive oil is the most prized exports