Ancient Greece: Geography

Where is Greece? Sunny Greece is located 1,500 miles southeast of England. It’s capital city is Athens It is famous for its beautiful beaches and sea!

How has the geography of Cranbury impacted your lives? Driving Vacation School Clothing Recreation Geography had the same impacts on Ancient Greeks

The Climate The climate is Mediterranean. The Mediterranean Sea cools the air in summer and provides warmth in winter.

The Climate - Summer The Greek summer is hot and dry. On average the sun shines for 3,000 hours per year. leads to drought grapes and olives are one of the few plants that can survive the summer droughts

The Climate - winter The Greek winter is moderate. It can be rainy on costal regions and snowy in the mountains. allows for limited farming grapes and olives

Physical Geography There are mountains, valleys and coasts. The high mountains are separated by deep valleys through which rivers flow. 75% of Greece is covered by mountains Difficult to farm

Ancient Greece - terrain No part of Greece is more than about forty miles from the coast (a couple of days walking). There are lots of islands surrounding Greece. Surrounded by seas Made trade easier Could get what they could not grow Also brought ideas back with them Because of the mountainous terrain, it is said that “all Greeks are islanders”, separated from each other by water or land boundaries.

Soil and Plants Vegetation is dependent on geographical regions. In Ancient Greece, farmers grew olives, figs, grain, fruit and grapes in the fertile valleys.

Soil and Plants However, other parts of Ancient Greece had drier soil and less vegetation, particularly around the cities (only 1/5 land could be farmed). Although surrounded by sea water, they found it difficult to find fresh water away from the valleys. The high mountains also prevented large-scale farming, so the Greeks were forced to look beyond their own country for fertile land. They became great sailors and traded with far off lands.

Volcanoes! Another important aspect of the Greek environment is that it is very unstable. Greece is in the middle of a very volcanic zone, between the European and African tectonic plates. There are several active volcanoes and earthquakes are common.

Where on Earth is Greece? Greece is located on a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea. As you can see in the map above, Greece is almost completely surrounded by water. Many islands can be found around the peninsula. The large island at the bottom of the map is Crete.

Ancient Greek Culture Because they were cut off by mountains and the seas… …they were isolated Led to the formation of city-states Limited interaction and unity of Ancient Greece Created fierce rivalries …the sea became a vital link Hundreds of bays to provide safe harbor for ships Skilled sailors Traded olive oil, wine, and marble Returned with grains, metals, and ideas Adapted the Phoenician alphabet Became basis for all Western alphabets

Ancient Greek Culture What Ancient Greeks did… Went to war (each city-state was VERY patriotic and willing to fight!!) Peloponnesian, Trojan, and Persian Wars Developed great thinkers Homer, Socrates, Plato Herodotus- Father of history Archimedes- Archimedes Screw Built temples to the gods and goddesses

Ancient Greek Culture Wrote poetry and drama Tragedy Comedies Sophocles Euripides Comedies Aristophanes Performed outside with little or no scenery Stadium seating

How did the Geography of Greece impact Ancient Greeks? Created Great thinkers Great architecture Skilled traders War mongers Technology