Mycenaean civilization became the dominant power in the region, controlling the Aegean Sea from 1400

1

• Mycenaean civilization became the dominant power
  in the region, controlling the Aegean Sea from
  1400 to 1200 B.C.

2

• These sea traders lived in independent
  communities called city- states. They are best
  known for their role in the Trojan War, which
  took place around 1250 B.C.

3

• The Trojan War was a legendary conflict between
  the Mycenaeans and the city of Troy. (Located in
  modern Turkey)

4

• According to legend the war began when the Trojan
  prince, Paris, kidnapped Helen, the wife of the
  Greek king Menelaus.

5

• The war lasted for 10 years and included epic
  battles between thewar's two greatest heroes
  Hector (from Troy) and Achilles (from Greece.)

6

• Throughout much of history, the story of the
  Trojan War was thought to be the fictional
  writings of the blind poet Homer. His best works
  were
• 1.) The Iliad which told of the Trojan War
• 2.) The Odyssey ( Which told of Odysseus and his
  travels home from the Trojan War.)

7

• In the 1870s, the German archaeologist, Heinrich
  Schliemann, used the Iliad, to find the city of
  Troy and prove that the war actually did occur.

8

• Shortly after the Trojan War, Mycenaean
  civilization came to an end due to the invasion
  of a barbaric tribe known as the Dorians.

9

• The Dorian invasion caused the Greek Dark Ages,
  which lasted from 1100 to 800 B.C. During this
  time learning, culture, and the economic
  development of Greece all declined.

10

• The Mediterranean and Aegean Seas were vital to
  Greek civilization. Due to Greece's location, it
  was very dependent upon the seas for food,
  transportation, and communication.

11

• Greece is a nation of peninsulas extending from
  the Balkan Peninsula of Europe. In fact, the
  southern portion of the country is a peninsula
  called the Peloponnesus.

12

• Greece is also a very rugged country being
  divided by numerous islands and mountains.

13

• Due to the rugged terrain, the Greeks did not
  build a large empire, but instead lived in many
  isolated city- states.

14

• Because of their reliance upon the seas, the
  Greeks came into contact with many other
  cultures, including the Phoenicians who taught
  the Greeks a new alphabet.

15

• The Greeks expanded upon this alphabet by adding
  vowels and this became the basis to the alphabet
  we use today.