Mediterranean Europe

The Countries of Mediterranean Europe

• Spain• Portugal• Andorra• Italy• Vatican

City• Malta• Greece

WOW!!!!!!!!

AFRICA’S ALMOST TOUCHING EUROPE!!!!!

EUROPE

AFRICA

You’ll find out the name of that spot later on…

EUROPE

AFRICA

The Mediterranean part of Europe was home to the 2

great, ancient civilizations. They were…

Ancient Greece Ancient Rome

Two geographic advantages helped this region develop

• Mild climate made survival easier and societies had time to develop complex institutions such as government

• The Mediterranean Sea encouraged trade with different societies. New ideas and knowledge were spread using the Sea.

Greece: Birthplace of Democracy

“THIS IS SPARTA, AND SPARTA IS IN GREECE!!!”

Maps of Greece

“I BET YOU CAN’T FIND SPARTA ON THIS MAP!”

• The city-state of Athens (CROSS-TOWN RIVAL OF SPARTA) developed the 1st democracy, a government in which the people elect their rulers.

• Athenian democracy helped inspire the US system of government

• Wars between the city-states of Greece weakened them and they were eventually conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th Century B.C.

Greek science, philosophy, drama and art helped shape

modern culture.

A cool theater built 2,500 years ago…

The Parthenon in GreeceFamous Greek Temple built in 450 BC near Athens

Typical Greek village and Greek money

City of Santorini in Greece

Just one of many famous Greek heroes…

The Roman Empire

The Coliseum in Rome (where Romans were

entertained in all sorts of crazy ways)

The Coliseum in 2008 AD

The Coliseum in the year 208 AD

“All roads lead to Rome”• As Greece was losing it’s

power, Rome was rising

• The Roman Empire was founded in 753 BC

• It became huge by 100 AD

• Built a large network of roads for communication and to make it easy for armies to march. The saying is no joke – all roads really did lead to Rome!

• Rome was a republic, a government in which citizens elect representatives to rule in their name

• Rome conquered the Iberian and Balkan peninsulas

• Because of turmoil in the country, Rome abandoned its republican principals and was ruled by an emperor, or Caesar.

Facts about The Roman Empire

Germanic Tribes invaded The Roman Empire (you know that first scene in Gladiator??)

Christianity became the official religion of Rome around 300 A.D.

The Empire soon collapsed and split into pieces… Christians were blamed!

(Don’t forget, Romans killed Jesus Christ!)

Who Destroyed The Roman Empire?

• The Germanic invaders who overthrew Rome had no strong central government and so Italy eventually became divided into many small city-states.

• In 1096, Christians launched the Crusades against the Muslims that were controlling Palestine.

• Italians earned large profits by supplying ships for the Crusaders.

• Italian states became rich and they grew powerful once again

What was the Renaissance?

• After Greece and Rome were destroyed, about 1,000 years passed before anything important happened. Can you believe that?

Those are called “The Dark Ages.”

• Then the Renaissance came! It began in the Italian city-states

• Basically, people started reading books again! People started making art again! This started in the 1300’s all the way to the 1500’s!

• Renaissance ideas spread north to the rest of Europe… check out some Renaissance artists below…

The Renaissance started in Italy in the 1300’s with famous artists and inventors- such as: Leonardo,

Michaelangelo, Donatelo, and Rafael

Italian artist Michaelangelo’s “Awakening Slave” &

“Holy Family”

Italian artist Michaelangelo’s “Creation of Man”

Painted on ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Italian artist Rafael’s “Madonna”

Leonardo DaVinci Artist & inventor

He’s Italian, too!!!

One smelly city in Italy… The City of Venice, where the streets are

made of water. Seriously.

Gee, where does all the sewage go?

The gondolas (boat taxis) in Venice

The Iberian Peninsula

• Spain and Portugal established colonies throughout the Americas and elsewhere

• They spread Catholicism (a type of Christianity) throughout the world

• The also spread the Spanish and Portuguese language… que bueno!

The Pyrenees Mountains They separate the Iberian Peninsula from the

rest of Europe

SPAIN

Rock of Gibraltar

The Rock of Gibraltar is famous for its strategic importance; it holds an underground military communication center and a naval base. Seriously.

It’s on the southern tip of Spain!

Rock of Gibraltar from a different angle…