Download Greece Geography study notes

Greece Geography study notes
Geography
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Ancient Greece consisted of a large mountainous peninsula and islands in the Aegean
Sea.
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Its hilly terrain made farming difficult
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Its location encouraged trade.
Effects of Mountains
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Greece’s mountainous terrain separated the ancient Greek cities.
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The ancient Greeks developed the polis or city-state system.
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Little communication between Polis
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Therefore the ancient Greeks never developed a unified system of government.
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Greeks often had to look to other places for natural resources.
Polis
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Polis was the Greek word for “city-state”.
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A polis was an independent city and its surrounding land.
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Every polis had its own government and laws but the Greeks shared a common language
and religion.
The Sea
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Greece is a peninsula and a collection of islands.
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Seas surround almost all parts of Greece.
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The Seas allowed the Greeks to travel and trade.
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Greeks became expert mariners
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Trade encouraged cultural diffusion.
Athens
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Athens was an important polis in ancient Greece.
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The people of Athens developed democracy.
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Democracy is a system of government where citizens vote or participate in government.
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In Athenian democracy, only free men born in Athens could vote. Women,
slaves, and foreigners could not vote.
Sparta
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A Spartan’s life revolved around the military.
A Spartan man was a soldier for most of his life.