The Greek City-States
CH 5 Section 1
Early Greeks and the rise of CityStates
The Sea and the land
• The geography of Greece had a lot to do with
the way early Greeks lived
• Mainland Greece is a peninsula with the Aegean
sea to the East, the Mediterranean sea to the
South and the Ionian sea to the West
• The Greek coastline was uneven and brought
much of Greece in close contact with the sea
• As a result many Greeks were fishermen,
traders, or sailors
• They built sea worthy vessels and used them to
trade inside the Mediterranean
The Sea and land continued
• The Greeks came in contact with the other
cultures of the Mediterranean like the
Egyptians
• Mountain ranges cut many of the cities off
from one another making it difficult for the
cities to unite
• The rivers did not aid trade and travel
between villages and as a result many
different city-states arose
The Minoans
• {This was the earliest known Greek civilization}
• Developed on the island of Crete, they were
named after the legendary king Minos
• The palace and houses of the nobles had
running water and the covered the walls with
frescoes
• They carved statues from bronze, gold, ivory,
and stone
• {They established a sea trade through necessity
of living on an island}
• They were almost completely wiped out by a
tidal wave from a nearby volcanic eruption
The Mycenaeans
• Controlled mainland Greece from 1600 to 1200
BCE
• They grouped themselves in clans and were
headed by a warrior
• They built fort like cities in southern Greece as
well as in North central Greece
• By 1200 BC earthquakes had destroyed most of
the Mycenaean cities
• {They came in from mainland Greece to defeat
the Minoans and adopted the Minoan form of
linear b writing}
Mycenaean Ruins
The City-States of Greece
• {Polis is the Greek word for City-State
• These City-states are usually developed around Forts}
• Polis came to mean the fort, the city, the lands and small
farming villages that supplied its food.
• The polis became known as a independent and self
sufficient community
• The Polis came to represent the identity of the people
who were intensely loyal to it {The Acropolis is a hilltop
used for a fort.}
• Most temples and other public buildings were on the
acropolis
The Acropolis
• Each City-state also had a Agora or
marketplace
• The Agora also served as the main public
meeting place
• The Polis gave the Greek a sense of
identity and they were intensely loyal to it
• They each had their own calendar, money,
and system of weights and measures
• They did speak the same language
Section Review
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Who were the earliest known Greeks?
What did the polis develop around?
Who defeated the Minoans?
What is an acropolis?
________is the Greek word for City-State?
Next time Section 2
The End