Ancient Greece

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Ancient Greece

• Chapter 4 Section 1

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Learning Goal

• I will be able to explain how the geography of
  Greece helped form part of their civilization.

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Ancient Greece
Mediterranean World lasted from approximately
2000 B.C. to 476 A.D. During this time it
produced one of the most brilliant civilizations
in all history.. GREECE
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Geography Shapes Greek Life

• Greek traditions and customs were shaped by the
  geography of their land.
• 3 important environmental influences on Greek
  Civilization- The Sea, The Land, and The Climate
• The Sea- shaped Greek civilization.
• The Aegean, Ionian, and Black Seas were important
  transportation routes for the Greeks.
• Sea Travel and trade were important because
  Greece was poor in natural resources.
• Greeks became great sailors.

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Greece Physical Map
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• The Land- Greece is a rocky land with high
  mountains and deep valleys.
• Mountains cover most Greece
• Difficult to move over the land
• Hard to unite Greek city-states
• Good farm land only covered about a quarter(1/4)
  of Greece and could not easily support many
  people.
• Climate- Very mild climate
• - Much leisure time and business done
  outdoors

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Mycenaean Civilization

• Large wave of Indo-Europeans migrated from the
  Eurasian steppes to Europe, India, and Southeast
  Asia around 2000 B.C., these people were called
  Mycenaeans.
• The name came from their leading city, Mycenae
  (my-SEE-nee)
• Minoans came first and set the stage for the
  Mycenaeans.

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The Trojan War

• About 1200 B.C., the Mycenaean Kings fought a 10
  year war against Troy, an independent city
  located in Anatolia(Modern day Turkey)
• According to legend, a Greek army besieged and
  destroyed Troy because a Trojan youth kidnapped
  Helen(Helen of Troy), the beautiful wife of a
  Greek King.
• Many historians believed the Trojan War was
  fictional.

The Trojan Horse
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Epics of Homer

• Lack of writing, Greeks learned about the Trojan
  War through spoken word.
• Their greatest storyteller was a blind man named
  HOMER.
• He wrote Epics- narrative poems celebrating
  heroic deeds.
• Famous for two Epics
• The Iliad- Story of the Trojan War
• The Odyssey- Story of journey home after the war.

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Epics
Heroic story
Homer
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Greek Myths

• Greeks developed a rich set of myths- traditional
  stories about their gods.
• These myths helped to understand the mysteries of
  
• nature and the power of human passions.
• Example Myths explained the changing of the
  seasons
• Greeks attributed human qualities, such as love,
  hate, and jealousy
• Gods fight with each other constantly.
• Familiar names in Greek Myths
• -Zeus
• -Athena
• - Medusa

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Hermes- Gods messenger
Zeus
Medusa
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