The Geography of
Greece
MAIN IDEAS
• Rugged mountains divided Greece into
many regions.
• The sea linked the regions of Greece
to each other and to foreign regions.
Sea trade became common.
• Trade helped the early Greeks develop
a sophisticated culture.
A. Landscape
• Greek mainland is a peninsula—body of land
with water on three sides
– this peninsula sticks out into Mediterranean
Sea
- southern tip of Greece is a second peninsula
called the Peloponnesus
- an isthmus, a narrow strip of land, links the
Peloponnesus to rest of Greece
• Greece also includes thousands of islands
• unlike Egypt, Greece has no major rivers
• Mountains cover 70 to 80 % of Greece
- mountains divide Greece into different
regions
- transportation was difficult
- land was rocky and bad for farming (only
20-30% of land was farmland)
- made it difficult to unite Greece under
one government!!!!!!!!!!
QUESTIONS
1. What is the name of the southern
peninsula of Greece?
2. What percent of Greece is covered in
mountains?
3. Name 4 ways mountains effected life in
Greece.
B. Climate
• Mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers
(50 - 80 degrees)
• mild climate encouraged outdoor events
(sports, theater, festivals)
C. Agriculture
• over 50% of Greeks were farmers & herders
– Farmed olives, grapes, barley, wheat
– Fished in the Mediterranean Sea
– Herded goats, sheep, donkeys
• Being a landowner was a big deal –they
could buy equipment and serve in the army;
landowners were viewed as upper class
• To get more farmland, Greeks founded
colonies in places like Anatolia (Turkey) and
Sicily
QUESTIONS
1. What percent of Greeks were farmers?
2. Name two crops farmed in Greece.
3. Name two animals herded in Ancient Greece.
4. Do you think most people were landowners in
Ancient Greece? Why or why not?
D. Natural Resources
• Greece did not have many natural
resources like metals—had to be found
elsewhere
• Conquered other regions to get more
resources and farmland
• Had stone for building and plenty of good
harbor sites - made money by trading and
colonizing other lands
QUESTION
1. Greeks did not have a lot of farmland or
natural resources of their own. How did
they get these things?
Define:
economy –
agriculture culture peninsula Peloponnesus isthmus island -
VOCAB