Early Civilizations of Early Civilizations of Ancient GreeceAncient Greece

SS.A.2.4.1-4; SS.B.2.4.1-3; SS.A.2.4.1-4; SS.B.2.4.1-3; SS.B.1.4.1-4SS.B.1.4.1-4

The First Greek CivilizationsThe First Greek Civilizations

• Most city-states in ancient Greece were located in valleys and flat plains nestled between the peninsula’s many mountain ranges.

• Because of their relative isolation, these city-states developed independently of one another; with different cultures, traditions and ways of life.

Geography in GreeceGeography in Greece• The independence of Greek city-states often

lead to wars between them, in turn, devastating Greek society.

• The isolation, and small size of Greek city-states also cultivated an atmosphere of heavy civic involvement—almost everyone was interested in the politics of their city-state or region.

• Greece’s position on the coast, encouraged Greek exploration, and lead to Greeks colonizing areas across the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black seas.

Map of GreeceMap of Greece

The Minoan CivilizationThe Minoan Civilization

• 2800 B.C.: A Bronze Age civilization flourishes on the island of Crete (SE of the Greek mainland)—named after famous King Minos—with a capital at Knossos

• 2700-1450 B.C.: Minoan civilization flourishes and establishes a sea empire based on trade.

• Sudden collapse of Minoans around 1450, usually linked to a Mycenaean invasion.

The MycenaeansThe Mycenaeans

• 1600-1100 B.C.: Civilization named for city-state of Mycenae in southern Greece

• Indo-European people, who entered Greece from the north around 1900 B.C.

• Mycenaeans were a warrior culture, and held high ideals of heroism and honor

• Mycenaean city-states were monarchies

Mycenaean InfluenceMycenaean Influence

• Mycenaean influence spread, by way of trade, throughout the Mediterranean world

• Mycenaeans traded goods in places like Egypt, Syria, Sicily and Italy.

• Mycenaeans also conquered Crete and other islands in the Aegean Sea

• The Greek poet Homer, wrote about a war between Mycenae and Troy—a city-state in Asia Minor

The Trojan WarThe Trojan War

• King Agamemnon of Mycenae, leads a Greek force against the city-state of Troy

• The Trojan prince, Paris, took Agamemnon’s sister-in-law—Helen—back to Troy, and Greeks want her back

• Greeks sneak in to city, with a trick, and destroy Troy

• By 1100 B.C. Mycenae is conquered by other Greeks from the north

The Trojan HorseThe Trojan Horse

The Greek Dark AgeThe Greek Dark Age

• 1100-750 B.C.: Greece suffers from loss of population and declining agriculture

• Many Mycenaean Greeks left Greece for Ionian Greece, coastal regions of Asia Minor (today’s Turkey)

• Iron weapons replace Bronze weapons as war between remaining cities increases

• Adaptation of the Phoenician alphabet

From the Dark, Into the LightFrom the Dark, Into the Light• Two other groups of Greeks begin to

establish city-states in different regions of the Greek mainland:– Aeolian Greeks: settle in northern and central

Greece; including Athens– Dorian Greeks: settle on the island of Crete,

other Aegean islands and the Peloponnese; including Sparta

• The poetry of Homer also dates to the end of the Dark Age

The Poetry of HomerThe Poetry of Homer

• Epic Poems: long poems telling of deeds of a great hero– Homer’s two famous epics: the Iliad (tells the

story of the Trojan War) and the Odyssey (tells of Odysseus’ voyage home from war)

• Arete: the ideals of courage and honor, taught as something all young Greek men should strive for.

HomerHomer

Home LearningHome Learning

• Write three (3) paragraphs on how geography affected the development of Greek city-states, politics and culture.