Geography & the Early Greeks

Geography Shapes Greek Civilization Greece is a peninsula= body of land surrounded by water on 3 sides – Made up of mainland Greece, islands, & peninsula Most of Greece is mountainous w/ few flat land for farming

A. Mountains & Settlements Mountainous landscape  ppl settling in few flat areas in valleys Towns/villages separated by mountains & seas Mountains=traveled diff. so communities became isolated – Ppl created their own gov’t & cultures Saw themselves as residents of a city rather than Greek

B. Seas & Ships Since travel in rugged terrain was diff. they turned to the seas Mediterranean sea (S), Ioanian(W), Aegean (E) Sea = source of food & travel Became skilled sailors & ship builders Traded products & IDEAS with other cultures Q= What is the term used for the exchanging of ideas between cultures?

II Trading Cultures Develop 2 earliest cultures= Minoans & Mycenaean’s

A. The Minoans Lived on island of Crete Traded oil, pottery, & wood with other regions Volcano exploded north of Crete & flooded island – Explosion may have led to the end of Minoan civ. Not considered Greek because they didn’t speak Greek language

B. The Mycenaean's 1 st ppl to speak Greek  1 st ppl to be considered Greek Built fortresses on mainland Mycenae= largest fortress & namesake Took over Crete after Minoan civ. Declined Major traders in Mediterranean Were not peaceful traders. Possible they attacked Troy Declined when European invaders attacked As Mycenaean culture declined, Greece slipped into a Dark Age= A period of warfare & disorder

III Greeks Create City-States Greeks began to join together in small groups for protection & stability Groups began to develop into separate polis’= city-state Beginning of city-states marks beginning of Greece’s Classical Age= period of great achievements

A. Life in a City State Polis built around fortress atop an Acropolis – Acropolis= high hill Ppl gathered inside walls during wartime – Walls= protection City life revolved around an Agora – Agora= marketplace Agora served as meeting place for pol 7 rel. assemblies Polis protected ppl & gave them identity – Spartan, Athenian Ppl expected to participate in polis affairs (vote)

B. City-States & Colonization As Greek life became settled ppls attention shifted from defense to other things City-states established colonies – Colonies= territory under control of another state (polis) Colonies expanded and created colonies of their own in turn making them a polis – Istanbul Turkey, Naples Italy, Marseille France Istanbul, Turkey Napoli, Italy