5.1 Cultures of the
Mountains and the Sea
The roots of Greek culture are based
on interaction of the Mycenaean,
Minoan, and Dorian cultures
◦ Ancient Greece
Collection of separate lands where Greekspeaking people live
Includes mainland and about 2000 islands
◦ The Sea
The sea shapes Greek civilization (Not a river)
Their proximity to sea & lack of resources
encourage sea travel and trade
Geography Shapes Greek Life
◦ The Land
Mountains slow travel, divide land into regions
Lack of fertile land leads to small populations,
need for colonies
◦ The Climate
Moderate climate promotes outdoor life
Greek men, especially, spend much of their time
outside
Geography Shapes Greek Life
Why would the geography of Greece
create separate isolated city states
instead of one unified Greek state?
◦ The mountainous land and island chains
separated people into small communities.
◦ Isolated communities developed their own way
of life.
Mycenaean Civilization
Develops
Indo-European Migration – 2000 BCE
1st Minoans
◦ Location - the island of Crete
◦ Not fortified
◦ Did not have many weapons
2nd Mycenaean
◦ Location - southern tip of the Greek mainland
◦ Ruled by a warrior-king
◦ Heavily fortified
Mycenaean
Minoan
Saw value in seaborne trade
◦ Began trading in the Eastern Mediterranean
Writing system
◦ Adapted Minoan writing to Greek language
Culture
◦ Religious practices, art, politics & literature
Mycenaean Adaptation of Minoan
Culture
Dorians Replace Mycenaeans
◦ Mycenaean civilization collapses around 1200
BC
Sea raiders attacked & burned Mycenaean cities
Dorians moved into the war-torn area
◦ Dorians – possibly distant relatives of previous Greeks
◦ Less advanced than Mycenaeans
◦ Leave no written records
Greek Culture Declines Under
the Dorians
◦ The Dorian Period is often called Greece’s Dark
age. Why do you think this is so?
Period of decline
◦ Economy collapsed
Trade came to a standstill
No writing
◦ 1150-750 BCE
◦ Little is know about this period
Epics of Homer
◦ Epic – a narrative poem about heroic deeds
◦ Oral tradition grows
Lack of writing
Greek Culture Declines Under
the Dorians
Why were epics important to the Greeks
of the Dorian period?
◦ They lacked writing so they learned about their
history through spoken word.
◦ Epics provided Greeks with a moral code and a
heroic ideal.
Importance of Epics
Trojan War – fought by Mycenaeans
against city of Troy in 1200s BC
◦ Once thought to be fictional, archaeological
evidence has been found
Homer’s Epic the Iliad describes the
Trojan War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbiR6
IMf5KQ
The Trojan War
Greeks Create Myths
◦ Greeks develop their own myths – traditional
stories about gods
◦ Greeks seek to understand mysteries of life
Ex. Changing seasons
◦ They attribute human qualities – love, hate,
jealousy – to their gods
Greek Culture Declines Under
the Dorians
Big Three◦ Zeus – ruler of the gods and the sky
◦ Poseidon – ruler of the seas
◦ Hades – ruler of the underworld
On the sticky note provided write what
you are the most interested to learn about
Ancient Greece.
◦ Place your sticky note on the cabinet on the
way out the door.
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