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.