1. Ancient Greece Part 1
Part 1

2. Geography
Greece – Consists of a mainland is a big peninsula made up of smaller peninsulas and lots of islands, all of which are dominated by rugged mountains and rocky coastlines.
Only a few valleys or plains that provide flat land for farming and villages.

3. Sailors and Shipbuilders
Since travel inland across the mountains was so difficult, early Greeks turned to the seas as a source of food and way of trading with other communities.
Skilled shipbuilders and sailors.
Sailed to Asia Minor, Egypt, and islands of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas.

4. Minoans
One of earliest societies, founded by BC on the island of Crete, but not actually considered Greek because they didn’t speak Greek.
Some of best shipbuilders
Traded goods such as wood, olive oil, and pottery
During the 1600s BC, a huge volcano erupted just north of Crete on the island of Santorini, creating a giant wave that flooded the island. Additionally, the eruption threw up huge clouds of ash, ruining crops and burying cities.
This may have led to the end of the Minoan civilization and be the source of the Atlantis story.
Read “Atlantis: Myth or Reality?”
Volcano/Atlantis

5. King Minos Palace at Knossos
Much of what is known comes from elaborately painted frescoes that have been excavated, particularly at the Palace at Knossos.
Alleged site of the Labyrinth of the Minotaur
Read “The Myth of the Minotaur.”
Palace 3D Reconstruction
3D Tour

6. Mycenaens Considered the first Greeks because they spoke the language.
Located on the mainland.
Built fortresses, largest and most powerful was at Mycenae, after which they were named.
Took over Crete when the Minoans declined and became the major traders in the Mediterranean.
Rick Steve's VZI

7. Trojan War
They often attacked other kingdoms and possibly started the legendary Trojan War.
Troy – located in modern day Turkey
Read “The Myth of How the Trojan War Began.”
Lasted 10 years as the city of Troy was heavily fortified and hard to defeat.
Mycenae and Troy
Trojan War

8. Greece’s Dark Age
During the 1200s BC, earthquakes destroyed many cities, invaders from Europe swept in, and Greece slid into a period of warfare and disorder called the Dark Age, which lasted for about years.
Food supply and population declines. Estimate that as much as 90% of the mainland population died or settled elsewhere.
No written records during this period, so all knowledge comes from archaeological findings.

9. Greek Polis
After hundreds of years, Greeks started to join together in small groups for protection and stability. As towns developed, travel across the mountains and seas was difficult, so communities were isolated from one another.
As a result, towns and their surrounding areas created their own governments and ways of life. Even though they spoke the same language, they saw themselves as separate countries.
These city-states were called polis, which is the Greek word for city. Think of words we use that have this same stem.
The creation of these city-states marks the beginning of what is known as Greece’s classical age, which is marked by great achievements.

10. Life in a City-State
A Greek city was usually built around a strong fortress which often stood on top a high hill called the acropolis (“acro” = high).
The town around the acropolis was surrounded by walls for protection. Though not everyone, such as farmers, lived within the walls, they could gather there in times of war.
Life in the city often focused on the marketplace, or agora. People bought and sold goods here. Because it was usually a large open space often with shops around it, the agora also served as a meeting place for both political and religious meetings.
These city-states provided security, a sense of identity, and trade began to increase, bringing prosperity.

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