Geography and Early Greek
Civilization
In this lesson, students will identify
characteristics of Greece’s geography
and its impact on the development of
ancient cultures.
Students will be able to identify and/or
define the following terms and concepts:
The Geography of Greece
Geographic Effects on Greek cultures
Polis
Greece is mountainous.
Greece is a mountainous peninsula
with islands.
The Geography of Greece
• Ancient Greece consisted of a large
mountainous peninsula and islands in the
Aegean Sea.
• Its hilly terrain made farming difficult
• Its location encouraged trade.
Mountains separated Greek cities.
The Effects of Mountains
• Greece’s mountainous terrain separated
the ancient Greek cities.
• As such, the ancient Greeks never
developed a unified system of
government.
• The ancient Greeks developed the polis or
city-state.
The Greeks lived in separate city-states.
The Polis
• Polis was the Greek word for “city-state”.
• A polis was an independent city and its
surrounding farmland.
• Every polis had its own government and
laws but the Greeks shared a common
language and religion.
The ancient Greeks farmed but it was
difficult. Hills are not suited for farming.
However, there is always the sea.
Even today, the Greeks have access
to the Mediterranean Sea and the
Aegean Sea.
The Seas
• Greece is a peninsula and islands.
• Seas surround parts of Greece.
• The Seas allowed the Greeks to travel and
trade.
• Trade encouraged cultural diffusion.
Trade and Cultural Diffusion
• The seas allowed the Greeks to depend
heavily on trade.
• Trade encouraged cultural diffusion.
• The Greeks were exposed to the
Phoenician alphabet and Egyptian
geometry.
Questions for Reflection:
• Why was it difficult to farm in ancient
Greece?
• Why did the Greeks depend heavily on
trade?
• List two geographic features and their
effects on the Greeks.
• Why did the ancient Greeks never develop
a unified system of government?
• Define polis.
The Greek City-States
In this lesson, students will identify
characteristics of the Greek city-states.
Students will be able to identify and/ or
define the following terms:
Polis
Golden Age
Democracy
Helots
It is important to remember that mountains
separated the Greek city-states.
The Polis
• The hilly terrain separated the Greeks.
Though the Greeks shared a common
language and religion, they never
developed a unified system of
government.
• The Greeks lived in separate, independent
city-states.
• The Greek word for a “city-state” was a
polis.
This magnificent building is the Parthenon.
The Parthenon was a temple in Athens,
a Greek polis.
Athens
• Athens was an important polis in ancient
Greece.
• The people of Athens developed
democracy.
• Democracy is a system of government
where citizens vote or participate in
government.
In Athenian democracy, only free men
born in Athens could vote. Women,
slaves, and foreigners could not vote.
This is a painting of the famous Athenian
philosopher, Socrates. He encouraged
his followers to ask questions.
The Golden Age of Athens
• Athens experienced a golden age.
• A golden age is a time of peace,
prosperity, and great achievements.
• The Athenians produced great works of
literature, philosophy, and art.
Sparta was another important Greek
polis.
Sparta
• Sparta was a militaristic polis.
• In Sparta, all men had to serve in the
military.
• Weak or disabled babies were left to die.
A Spartan’s life revolved around the
military. A Spartan man was a soldier
for most of his life.
Helots
• The Spartans had helots or slaves.
• The helots farmed for the Spartans.
• While the helots farmed, the Spartans
focused on military affairs.
• Life in Sparta differed greatly from life in
Athens.
The Spartans had enslaved the helots.
Questions for Reflection:
• What was a polis and why did the Greeks
develop the polis?
• Define a golden age and name a Greek
polis that experienced a golden age.
• List three differences between the ancient
Greek polis of Athens and Sparta.
• Who were the helots and how were they
treated?
• Describe Athenian democracy.
War Tests the Greeks
In this lesson, students will identify
characteristics of the Persian Wars and the
Peloponnesian War.
Students will be able to identify and/or
define the following terms:
Causes of the Persian Wars
Effects of the Persian Wars
Causes of the Peloponnesian War
Effects of the Peloponnesian War
The Persians had built a vast empire.
The Persians and the Greeks
• In 519 B.C., the Persians conquered a
group of people called the Ionian Greeks
who lived in Asia Minor.
• The Ionian Greeks asked the mainland
Greeks for help.
• The Greeks did help and the Persian king
was furious.
The Persians invaded the Greeks.
The Persian Wars
• The Persian army outnumbered the
Athenian army.
• However, the smaller Greek ships could
move easily in the water. The Greek ships
destroyed the Persian ships.
• Many Greek city-states also united to
defeat the Persians.
Look at the map! Can you see why the
smaller Greek ships had an advantage?
The Alliance
• After the Persian Wars, the Greek citystates united.
• Each city-state agreed to give money or
ships to be used to defend all of them.
Athens led the alliance. The alliance was
called the Delian League.
• However, Athens used the alliance money
to rebuild Athens.
The Peloponnesian War
• Athens betrayed the trust of the alliance.
• The other Greek city-states declared war
on Athens.
• This war was called the Peloponnesian
War.
Summation of Wars
• The Persian Wars strengthened the Greek
city-states.
• However, the Peloponnesian War
weakened the Greek city-states.
• Sparta led the alliance against Athens.
The Spartans were skilled soldiers.
War strengthened
the Greeks and
war weakened
the Greeks.
Questions for Reflection:
• Why did the Persians invade Greece?
• Why did the Persian Wars strengthen the
Greeks?
• Define the Delian League.
• Why did the Peloponnesian War begin?
• Why did the Peloponnesian War weaken
the Greeks?
The Legacy of Classical
Greece
In this lesson, students will be able to
identify accomplishments of classical Greek
civilization.
Students will be able to identify and/or
define the following terms:
Democracy
Parthenon
Socrates
Pythagoras
A classical civilization is a civilization that
has given the world important ideas and
inventions that people still use today.
Ancient Greek civilization is
considered a classical civilization.
Athenian Democracy
• The ancient Greek city-state of Athens
developed the first democratic
government.
• A democracy is a system of government
where citizens participate in government.
• Only free men born in Athens could be
citizens. Women, slaves, and foreigners
could not vote.
The ancient Athenians were the first
people to use voting as a form of
participation in government.
Architecture
• The Greeks built temples with beautiful
columns.
• Greek architecture still influences people
today.
• Many government buildings in the United
States are modeled after Greek temples.
The Parthenon was a Greek temple to the
goddess, Athena. Notice the use of
columns.
The U.S. Supreme Court building
is clearly influenced by the Parthenon.
Classical Greek Philosophy
• The ancient Greeks were the first students
of philosophy. They wanted to know the
meaning of life and how people should
live.
• Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato,
and Aristotle still influence people today.
• Socrates encouraged people to think for
themselves and to ask questions.
Socrates was a great Greek philosopher.
He was tried and found guilty of corrupting
the youth of Athens. For encouraging
people to ask questions, he was forced
to commit suicide.
The Greek Mathematicians
• The ancient Greeks also made advances
in mathematics.
• Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes were
important Greek mathematicians.
• The Pythagorean theorem examines the
relationship between the three sides of a
right triangle.
The ancient Greeks gave us many
important mathematical theorems.
The Legacy of Classical Greece
• A legacy is defined as something handed
down from the past.
• The ancient Greeks have passed down
many important ideas and inventions to
our modern world.
• Democracy, the use of columns,
mathematical ideas, and philosophies are
just a few of the ideas passed down to
modern people from the ancient Greeks..
The ancient Greeks were the first
people to perform plays
and write comedies and dramas.
Questions for Reflection:
• Define legacy.
• List two important contributions of the
ancient Greeks to the modern world.
• How do Greek ideas concerning
government still influence us today?
• How do Greek ideas concerning
architecture still influence us today?
• Why is ancient Greece considered a
classical civilization?