The Origins of Ancient Greece

Future ages will wander at us, as the present age wonders at us now.

-Pericles

The Origins of Classical Greece

GeographyMycenaeansThe Tribes

Geography

The Sea

• Peninsula and 2,000 islands surrounded by:– Mediterranean

Sea– Aegean Sea– Ionian Sea– Black Sea

How the sea shaped culture

• Life revolved around the sea• Seas became transportation routes• Sailors and shipbuilders• Access to natural resources

The Land

• 3/4 covered in mountains

• Uneven terrain• Lacked freshwater• Only 1/4 usable

farmland

How the land shaped culture

• Divided lands into different regions– Small, independent communities

• Overland travel difficult• Couldn’t support a big population• Forced to find more land

– Farming– Livestock– Expansion

How climate shaped culture

• Varied temperatures– 48°F in winter– 80°F in summer

• Outdoor lifestyle– Sport– Discussion public

issues– Exchanging news– Civic life

The Mycenaean World

• 3,000 B.C. – Minoans in Crete

• 2,000 B.C.– Indo-European

tribes migrated South into Balkan peninsula

• Some to Mycenae

The Mycenaean World

• Mycenaean civilization grew– Warrior king

• 1,500 B.C. - contact with the Minoans– Value of sea trade,

navel strength, adopted language, designs

Trojan War

• 1,200 B.C. Mycenaean fought 10 year war against Troy

• The Destruction of Troy• Story told in Homer’s great epics • Thought to be legend• Excavations proved otherwise

– Dug up tombs and palaces destroyed by fire - just as the story is told

The Mycenaean Decline

• Troy may have been one of the last showings of Mycenae

• Collapsed 1,150 B.C.• The Greek Dark Ages 1,100 to 800 B.C.

– No written record for 400 years

Three Tribes

• 1,100 to 800 B.C. tribes came from North

• Different dialects and different leaders

• Adopted heroes of past as their own– Achilles

Dorians

• Pushed south to Peloponnesus

• Founded Sparta• Subdued

inhabitants and put them to work

• Cultural decline– “The Dorian Age”

Ionians

• Settled on Attica• Founded Athens

– Dedicated to Athena

• Planted vines, grains, olive trees

• Athenians great seafarers– Ionian Islands

Aeolians

• Established themselves in Thessaly

For Next Class…

• Read Chapter 5, Section 2• Blog post