Early Civilizations In GreeceChapter 4.1

The Impact of GeographyThe 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.

MountainsThe 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

SeasThe 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.

SeasThe 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 have walls as they believed their navy would keep them safe from foreign attack.

Model recreation of a Minoan ship.

Minoan CivilizationThe 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

The Mycenaean civilization flourished from 1600 to 1100 B.C. and originated from Indo-European 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 AgeWhen 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 AgeDuring 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 AgeThe 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.

Arete is won through a struggle or contest in which he protects his family and friends, and preserves his own honor.

The Greek poet Homer is thought to have lived around 700 B.C. and composed The Iliad and the Odyssey.