Chapter 5 The Greek City-States

Between about 3000 BC and 1000 BC, civilizations developed along river valleys in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China. Some of the ideas and achievements from these early civilizations were passed on to the Greeks. In this chapter you will learn about early Greek history, the various forms of government that the ancient Greeks developed, daily life, and major achievements of the Greeks.

Chapter 5 Section 1 & 2Early Greeks and the Rise of City-States

The Story Continues: According to legend, primitive Greeks called Dorians moved into

Asia Minor, Crete, and the Peloponnesus

about 1100 B.C. Modern historians now

believe the Dorians never really existed.

They do know, however, that some invaders

did arrive at about this time, and that they

influenced the development of certain Greek city-states.

I. The Sea and the Land

Mainland Greece lies on the Balkan peninsula at the northeastern end of the Mediterranean Sea

I. The Sea and the Land

To the east is the Aegean Sea; the Ionian Sea lies to the west

I. The Sea and the Land

All of Greece is close to the sea and manyGreeks became fishermen, sailors, and traders

I. The Sea and the Land

People from Egypt and the Fertile Crescent brought goods and ideas to Greece

I. The Sea and the LandGeography caused the development of separate city-states instead of a unified kingdom

II. Early Greek Peoples

About 2000 BC, the Minoans built the first Greek civilization on the island of Crete

A. The MinoansThe civilization was named after King Minos, who built his palace in Knossos

The throne of King Minos, the earliest surviving throne of the western world

A. The Minoans

Palaces and fine homes had running water and palace walls were covered with frescoes

Fresco found at the Palace of Knossos, with a representation of the bull-leaping, a kind of contest, probably religious in character, in which both men and women took part

Minoan palaces

A. The MinoansMany Minoans became sailors and traded for food because Crete’s soil was poor

Fresco from the Minoan Culture on Thera

Circa 1700 BCE

A. The Minoans

In 1628 BC a volcanic eruption and tsunami destroyed settlements and weakened the Minoan civilization

B. The MycenaeansMycenaeans from the mainland controlled Greece from 1600 BC to 1200 BC, and conquered Crete about 1400 BC

B. The Mycenaeans

The Mycenaeans grouped themselves into clans led by warriors and tribes headed by chiefs

Mycenaean Warrior Krater12th century BC

B. The Mycenaeans

They built fort-like cities in the Peloponnesus and northern Greece and raided the eastern Mediterranean

B. The Mycenaeans

By about 1200 BC earthquakes and war had destroyed most of their cities

Ruins of the Mycenaean Acropolis

B. The Mycenaeans

Their most important contribution to Greek civilization was the adopted Minoan writing called linear B, used to keep records

III. The City-States of Greece

From the 800s to 700s BC the independent city-state, or polis, arose in Greece

III. The City-States of Greece

A polis included a fort, the city around it, and the surrounding villages that supplied food

Modern Athens

III. The City-States of GreeceThe polis had 3 key aspects: its geographic territory; the community that it represented; and political independence

III. The City-States of Greece

The polis represented the center of Greek identity and its inhabitants were intensely loyal

III. The City-States of Greece

City-states covered a small area of land, had fewer than 10,000 people, public buildings were built on an acropolis, and had an agora

III. The City-States of Greece

Each city-state had its own government, laws, calendar, money, and system of weights and measures

Relief showing Democracy placinga wreath on the head of the Athenian

"Demos" (body of the citizens).

III. The City-States of Greece

All Greeks spoke the same language and shared many religious, cultural, and social characteristics

Greek Drama

Greek Gods