Geography of Greece

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Geography of Greece
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Geography of Greece

• Based on these maps, what are two things we know
  about Greeces geography?
• Surrounded by the sea
• Mostly mountainous

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Mountainous Terrain

• Mountains cover 75 of Greece
• Difficult to unite of all Greece
• Hard to communicate
• Travel was difficult
• Small independent and culturally diverse
  city-states form
• Polis ?Greek city-state (Athens, Sparta, Corinth)

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Mountainous Terrain

• Only 20 of the land is arable
• Arable ?Land that is suitable for farming
• Not enough food to support a large population
• Crops included grain, grapes, and olives
• How would Greece have to support its growing
  populations?
• Answer Expand Colonize other territories

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The Sea

• Greece is a both a peninsula and an archipelago
• Archipelago ?series of islands
• Surrounded by the Aegean, Ionian, and
  Mediterranean Seas
• Almost all settlements within 85 miles of the
  coast
• Relied on sea for transportation food
• Irregular coastline makes Greece ideal for
  trading posts

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History Origins of the Greeks

• The Minoans
• Earliest Greek culture (2800 BCE)
• Location Crete
• Thalossocracy ? Sea power
• Dominated the region through trade
• Never governed mainland Greece
• But culture heavily influences development of
  Greece

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History Origins of the Greeks

• The Minoans

• Snake Goddess
• Sign of fertility (particularly in Egypt)
• Chief deity
• Matriarchal?
• Knossus
• Frescoes
• Bull Jumping
• Labyrinth Myth
• Place was designed like a labyrinth
• Evidence of human sacrifice

Commercial political center of Minoan
civilization
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History Origins of the Greeks

• Mycenaeans
• Location Mycenae (Southern Greece)
• City was protected by a citadel w/20-foot thick
  wall
• Government
• From Mycenae, a warrior-king controlled the
  surrounding villages including Athens

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The Citadel of Mycenae
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History Origins of the Greeks

• Mycenaens
• Contact with the Minoans (c. 1500 BCE)
• Developed seafaring trade
• Adapted Minoan writing to Greek language
• Laid foundations for Greek religion, art, and
  literature

• Trojan War
• Evidence suggest a real war between Greece the
  independent Anatolian city of Troy took place
• Exact nature of war is unknown

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History Origins of the Greeks

• Phoenicians (1200 - 539 B.C.E.)
• Carriers of Civilization
• Developed an alphabet
• Greeks would add vowels later
• Greece was Phoenicias number one trading partner
• Greeks wanted Tyrian purple a color made from
  sea snails for the elites clothing

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History Origins of the Greeks

• The Dorians
• The Dorian Invasion (1100 950 BCE)
• Location North of Mt. Olympus (modern Macedonia
• They pillaged their way down to Peloponnesus and
  took over Mycenae
• Government
• Organized in tribes
• Ruled by kings and aristocratic councils

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History Origins of the Greeks

• The Dark Ages
• Dorians were not as advanced as the Mycenaeans
• Written records disappear until 750 BCE
• Little is known about Greek history from 1150 -
  750 BCE, hence the Dark Ages

• Black Athens?
• Historian Martin Bernal argues that the influence
  of Egypt on Greek culture has been underestimated
• In turn, the role of Africa in the development of
  Western culture has been ignored