Themes of Classical Greece
 Early Greeks – origins and influence of geography
 Cultural and Scientific Advancements
 Athens VS Sparta – different cultures within Greece
 Conflicts
 Legacy

 The roots of Greek culture are based on the interactions of the Mycenaean, Minoan, and Dorian cultures.

 The seeds of much of
Western cultural heritage were planted during this time period.

Influence of
Geography
Looking at the map, how do you think geography played a role in the development of
Classical Greek
Civilization?

 Mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Mediterranean Sea
 2000 islands in the Ionian and
Aegean Seas
 Greece was surrounded by water

Geography – Importance of the Sea
 Dependant on the seas
 Rarely had to travel more than 85 miles to get to the coast
 Important travel and trade routes – enabled the Greeks to get much needed natural resources that they lacked (i.e. timber, metals, and farmland)
 Enabled the Greeks to become the most skilled seafarers of the time

Geography – Difficulties of the Land
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Greece is roughly 75% rugged mountains
Mountains acts as natural borders between regions within Greece - led to the development of small communities rather than a single government
Travel overland was difficult
Stony landscape – very little was suitable for farming
There were small fertile valleys for small scale farming, but the Greek landscape could never support a very large population – never reached more than a few million people
Landscape encouraged the Greeks to colonize elsewhere

 Moderate climate (48 in the
Winter; 80 in the Summer) supported an outdoor lifestyle
 Huge influence on culture – outdoor public events

Notes on Greek Geography
 Surrounded by water – travel and trade
 Rugged terrain – isolated villages and limited farming
 Warm climate
 Limitations forced Greeks to expand empire

Mycenaeans – The First Greeks
 Indo-Europeans that migrated to Greece in
2000 BCE
 Main city was in
Mycenae
 Civilization flourished from 1600-1100 BCE
 Dominated Greece through conquest – warring aristocracy

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Written language
Elaborate burial rituals
Crops – grain, olives and grapes
Huge textile industry
Art – jewelry, frescoes, architecture, advanced weapons

Mycenaean Civilization Notes
 From Mycenae, Southern
Greece
 Dominated Greece 1600-
1100 BCE
 Militant

Minoans – Other Early Greeks
 Occupied the island of Crete and came into contact with the Mycenaeans around 1500
BCE
 Influenced the Mycenaeans
 Seaborne trade
 Much more “civilized” than the Mycenaeans
 Language, art, architecture, technology

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Mycenaeans and Minoans - Notes
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And then came the Dorians…
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After the collapse of the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations, the Dorians moved in… they almost ruined a good thing.
Far less advanced
 Economy and trade collapsed
 Lost written language
 No written records
Even though they weren’t too sharp, the Dorians played a huge role in the development of Greek culture
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Loss of written language led to an oral tradition – epic poems
Most Greek myths/gods stem from epic poems

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