1. The Rise And Fall Of Ancient Heroes: Greece 2500-500 B.C.
The Geography
The Minoans
The Mycenae
The Downfall Of Mycenae

2. The Greek Peninsula
The Greek Peninsula was made of mountain ranges which lacked rivers and floodplains
Greeks lived in scattered communities among mountains and numerous bodies of water like the Aegean Sea and Ionian
Turned to the sea because of their location and accessibility to it
Climate average 50’s in winter and 80’s in summer

4. The Minoans: B.C.
High point of Minoan history associated with King Minos
Island of Crete had a population of 250,000 and 40,000 lived in capital called Kronos
Economy was based on trade of bronze tools and weapons
Owned sea bearing ships unlike Phoenician ships

5. Minoan Art And Architecture
Built huge multi-roomed palaces that contained rooms of shapes and sizes
No sense of design for these palaces led them to them being called labyrinths
Produced colorful bright frescoes influenced by the Egyptians
Created statuettes of female goddesses

6. Minoan Religion
Religion seems to have centered around a fertility goddess
Had a religious rituals that required males and females to vault over a charging bull
Feast followed ritual where bull was then sacrificed
King then wore head of bull (The Minotaur )

8. The Minoan Mystery Disappearance a mystery
Believed that a volcano caused a tidal wave that destroyed Minoans
Greeks possibly invaded and ravaged Minoan civilization

9. Mycenaean's: The First Greeks 2000-1100 B.C.
Adopted cultural high points of Minoans like
Artwork
Language
Trade networks
Increased wealth holdings by continuing Minoan trade routes and links
Lacked arable farm land and were forced to trade extensively for wheat and barley

10. The Mycenaean's: Social Structure
A war like civilization with a class system that reinforced culture
Kings, nobles, soldiers and slaves formed social class
Burials were accompanied with vast number of arms
Cities were built with great protective walls and palaces were small forts

12. The Mycenaean's: An Economy Of Trade
Mycenaean’s could not support themselves had to purchase copper and tin to make bronze unlike Egypt, Indus and Mesopotamia
Relied on trade routes established by Minoans for food and resources
The Greek Mycenaean's traded pottery, olive oil as far as Egypt, Syria and Palestine (outskirts of Mesopotamian region)

13. The Mycenaean's: Invasion And Violence 1250-1200 B.C.
Economic conditions (trade competition) and expansion created a time of war
Mycenaeans embark on war in the Mediterranean region believed they laid siege and eventually destroyed the mythical city of Troy
Iliad, written by blind poet Homer, considered father of Greek literature, created myth of Trojan War
Iliad, defined heroic behavior and human weakness

15. The Mycenaean's: Invasion And Violence 1250-1200 B.C.
1200 B.C. saw the downfall of Mycenaean civilization
Devastating droughts
Invasion from Northern Greeks called Dorians
Absence from Trojan War caused internal problems
All Mycenae writing was lost with its downfall this causes a lost period