Early Civilizations In Greece
Chapter 4.1
The Impact of Geography
 The
mountains
that divided Greece
led to a cultural
and political
divisions between
the Greeks.
 However, the seas
linked Greece to
the rest of the
world.
Mountains
The landmass of Greece is mainly made
up of two peninsulas.
 The Isthmus of Corinth connects the
Peloponnese peninsula to the mainland.
 Over 80% of Greece is mountainous with
Mt. Olympus being the highest peak.
 These mountains isolated Greeks from
one another, causing different Greek
communities to develop their own ways
of life.

The Isthmus of Corinth
Seas
The Aegean, Mediterranean, and Ionian
Seas make up the eastern, southern, and
western borders of Greece.
 Greece has 13,700 km of coastline and no
part of Greece is more than 100 km from
a body of water.

Seas
The ancient Greeks
lived on a number of
small islands to the
west, south, and east
of the Greek mainland.
 Because of their close
relation to water the
ancient Greeks
became excellent
seafarers and would
establish colonies
throughout the
Mediterranean.

Minoans and Mycenaeans
By 2800 B.C. a bronze age
civilization, called the
Minoans, had been
established on the Island of
Crete.
 Sir Arthur Evans discovered
the remains of the Minoan
civilization on the island of
Crete.
 The Minoan civilization
flourished from 2500 to
1450 B.C. and would
collapse around 1850 B.C.

Minoan Civilization
The Minoan’s earned their
living from the sea on boats
built from the oak and
cedar that grows on the
island.
 They acted as middlemen
for the empires of Egypt
and Mesopotamia and by
2000 B.C. Minoan fleets
dominated the eastern
Mediterranean.
 The cities of Crete did not
Model recreation of a Minoan ship.
have walls as they believed
their navy would keep them
safe from foreign attack.

Minoan Civilization
The Minoan palace at
Knossos was the royal
seat of the kings.
 It was an elaborate
palace with numerous
private living rooms,
workshops, and
bathrooms with
drainages systems.
 Rooms were decorated
with brightly colored
paintings featuring
sporting events and
nature scenes.

The Mycenaean Civilization

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The Mycenaean civilization
flourished from 1600 to 1100 B.C.
and originated from IndoEuropean peoples of central Asia.
Each Mycenaean kingdom
centered around a hilltop fortress
circled by stone walls.
The palaces in in Mycenae served
as both government
administration and production.
Taxes were collected in the form
of wheat, livestock, and honey to
pay government employees and to
reimburse the king for military
protection.
The Mycenaean's would be
overrun by the Dorians and many
people would leave for Ionia on
the coast of what is now Turkey.
The Mycenaean Civilization
The royal
Mycenaean families
built elaborate
tombs called tholos
tombs.
 They were built into
the hillside with an
entryway that led
into a circular tomb
chamber that was
constructed in a
beehive shape.

Greeks in the Dark Age
When the Mycenaean civilization
collapsed, Greece entered a period where
food production and population declined.
 The period from about 1100 B.C. to 750
B.C. would become known as the Greek
Dark Ages because few records of what
happened exist.

Changes of the Dark Age
During the Dark Age
many Greeks left the
mainland and sailed
across the Aegean Sea
to Ionia (modern day
Turkey).
 The Aeolian Greeks of
northern Greece
colonized the large
island of Lesbos.
 During this time
Dorians settled on the
Peloponnese and on
Crete

Greek Settlement During the Dark Age
Greek Settlement
Changes of the Dark Age
The Greeks at some
point the Greeks
adopted the
Phoenician Alphabet.
 By reducing all
words to a
combination of 24
letters it made
learning to read and
write simpler.

Phoenician / Greek Alphabet
Homer: Poet of the Dark Age

Homer, a blind Greek poet composed the
two most famous Greek epics:
◦ The Iliad- A story of a Trojan prince
named Paris who falls in love with
Helen, the wife of a Mycenaean king.
The Mycenaean's lay siege to Troy for
ten years before deceiving the Trojans
with a wooden horse.
◦ The Odyssey- Tells the story of
Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, and his 10
year voyage home after the fall of Troy.

The values Homer taught were courage,
honor and that a hero strives for
excellence, which the Greeks call arete.
The Greek poet Homer is thought to
 Arete is won through a struggle or contest
have lived around 700 B.C. and
in which he protects his family and friends,
composed The Iliad and the Odyssey.
and preserves his own honor.