The Geography and Early
Cultures of Ancient Greece
Geography
• Mainland Greece is
very mountainous
– Separated different
city-states from each
other
• Has several
peninsulas
– Peloponnesus and
Balkan the major ones
• Varied waterways
– seas, straits, islands,
harbors
• Dardanelles
– Strait that connects
the Aegean Sea to
the Black Sea
• Strait: thin area of
water connecting
two other
waterways
• Mountains made up 75% of
Greece
– Affected Greece by splitting it into
different regions which
• Helped city-states gain individuality
• Hindered their ability to work together
• Each city-state thought it was better
than others
– Limited amount of farmland
• Lead to the Greeks colonizing new
lands for farming
• Moderate Temperatures
– 48° F in the Winter and 80° F in the
Summer allowed the Greeks to have
an outdoor life
• Seas and Waterways affected Greece
– Causing them to trade primarily by water
• Profitable trade through Mediterranean, Aegean,
and Ionian Seas
• Made Greeks great sailors with a strong navy
– Waterways connected Greeks to Italy, Egypt
• Harbors kept boats safe overnight
Processing
• How did the water in and around Greece
affect the lives of the people living there?
Give at least two examples.
• How did the mountains affect the people
of Ancient Greece? Give at least two
examples.
The Early People of Greece
• Indo-Europeans
– Mycenaeans ruled
from 2000 BCE-1200
BCE
• Name came from city:
Mycenae
• Cities included Athens
and were ruled by
kings (monarchy)
– Trojan War weakens
Mycenaens and
causes collapse
Trojan War
• 1200 BCE: Mycenaean Kings fought 10
year war against Troy (located in Anatolia)
• According to legend, Paris, a Prince of
Troy, stole Helen, the wife of a Mycenaean
King , away starting the war
• Dorians move in after Mycenaeans
– Less advanced--little writing
– After Dorians, Greeks split into city-states
Epics of Homer
• Because the Dorians lost
the skill of writing, the
Greeks learned about the
Trojan War through oral
traditions
• Homer: blind storyteller
who wrote epic poems of
the Trojan War
– The Iliad: The Trojan
War
– The Odyssey: Odysseus’
10 year journey home
Processing
• Why were oral traditions so important to
the early Greeks?
• Do you think oral traditions or written
records are more accurate? Why or why
not?
Early Cities
• Early cities focused on two ideas:
– Promoting civic participation
• Getting people (free adult men) involved in decisions of
city
– Promoting commercial/business life
• Getting people to trade products/ideas
• City-states known as polis
– Polis: city and surrounding countryside
• Ex—Washington DC and its suburbs
– Agora: city center—like business district
– Acropolis: fortified (protected) area of city
• Not all had one
• Some cities put agora in acropolis
• Agora:
– Place for discussion and trade
– Men met for food, clothes, ideas
– Women rarely seen
• Acropolis:
– Used for protection and as a sign of power
– Made it easy to see oncoming attackers
– Place for royalty, women, and children to hide
during war
Athenian Acropolis
• Fortified hilltop for protection
– Walls are the mountain its built on—marble
Greek Religion and Mythology
• Polytheistic
• Mythology had 3 purposes:
– Explaining natural phenomena (Storms, thunder,
lightning, etc)
– Explaining human qualities (speed, knowledge,
strength, sight, etc)
– Explaining life events (births, deaths, marriages,
etc. )
• Greek gods spread to Rome and can still be
seen in everyday life
– Literature, art, monuments, politics, architecture
Processing
• How did Greek mythology help the Greeks
explain their everyday lives and the world
around them?
• What impact did Greek mythology have on
the world after the Greeks were gone?