Early Cultures of Ancient Greece

 Geography effected the development of Greece.  Landforms in Greece are Mountains, Valleys and Coastal Plains.  Mountains protected Greece from invasion but also made it difficult to travel.  Since travel on land was difficult, Greeks were isolated from each other.  Mountains also made it difficult to produce a lot of agriculture.  Greece is a peninsula and is surrounded by water.  Ancient Greeks used the water to provide food.  Ancient Greeks also used the sea to travel and trade.

Minoans lived on the island of Crete, south of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea. The Minoans were the best at building ships in ancient times and used these ships to travel on the seas for trade with far away peoples. Because they moved around the Mediterranean so much, they contributed to the development of the Greek culture. A massive volcanic eruption caused a tsunami that destroyed much of their island and brought an end to their power. The FIRST major civilization to develop in Greece.

 The first people to be considered “Greek” and the first people to speak Greek.  They lived on the Greek “mainland” and built fortresses to protect their people.  After the great volcano, Mycenaeans took the power of the Mediterreanean away from the Minoans.  They were aggressive and often attacked other kingdoms.  By 1200 BC, earthquakes destroyed many of their forts and they were overrun by invaders.

After the fall of the Mycenaeans, Greece entered a period of 300 years of chaos! Slowly, the people that were left began to form small groups for protection and security. These small groups began to form city-states called “polis”. This begins a period of great Greek achievement!

There was a high hill called the acropolis. A fortress was usually built on the acropolis. The city developed around this fortress. The city usually had walls. Many poorer people lived outside the city walls. At the base of the acropolis was the agora or market. The agora was a popular place for Greek people to meet. People were loyal to their city but not to being Greek.