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Ancient Greece
Geography
not a country, but a collection of lands and islands,
many miles of coastline; inlets and bays
– Sea: Aegean, Ionian, and Black seas united them
• Poor resources on land meant increased sea travel, trade and
imports
– Land: ¾ mountains; highest Mt. Olympus
• Difficult to unite under one government; divided by mountains
• Broken into different city-states, called Polis (Poleis, pl.)
– Climate: moderate temps. Men led outdoor life, most
activity – shopping, civic meetings, athletic activities
Ancient Greece
Early Greeks
Crete (2000-1400 BCE)
– Minoans (after their king Minos)
– Wealthy traders; built large homes, had fancy clothes,
etc…
– Ended by volcano, undersea earthquake, tidal waves,
invasion, evidence exists for all these theories
Bronze Age (2000 BCE)
– Mycenae – mainland Greek city of Mycenae built on
steep ridge
• Fortified their cities with stone walls
• Wealthy from piracy
– Trojan War: 1200 BC
• Greek kings attack Troy, a trading city on the coast of Asia
Minor
• Greek king’s (Menelaus) wife (Helen) stolen by a Trojan
youth (Paris); archaeological evidence shows some proof
of this, prolonged wars
The Dark Ages
1200 BC (early iron age)
Dorians
– Greek speaking people from the north come
in with iron weapons
• Little skill, less advances
• Trade at a standstill
• Skill of writing is lost for about 400 years
(1150-750 BC)
– Homer
Carving of Trojan Horse; 7th C. BCE
• The blind poet
• Depended on spoken words (bards)
• Wrote long epic poems, ideals of heroism,
Arête: heroic ideal: strive for excellence,
courage, fame and honor
• Interested in individuals, heroes compete for
glory
– The Iliad and The Odyssey around 750 BC
Bonds Uniting Greeks
Language and Literature
Religion: Polytheistic
– Gods Lived on Mt. Olympus,
immortal
– The were very “human” –
fought a lot, had human
weaknesses
– Religion linked to government
and civic pride
More Bonds
Olympics
– Began in 776 BC every 4 years
– All athletes from Aegean area traveled to Mt. Olympus, home of the gods, to honor
Zeus
– Pentathlon most important event (racing, jumping, discus, javelin, wrestling)
– Prize= honor and fame (arête)
Fear of Persia
– to the east, Greeks felt the Persians were Barbarians