Geography of Greece

Today in class, we went over a PowerPoint and took notes.

Mediterranean- means center of the Earth or world

Geography of Greece

               Mountainous Peninsulas

• Mountains covered 3/4
• Approximately 1,400 islands in the Aegean and lonean sea.  
• Location shaped its culture
• Skilled sailors
• Poor natural resources
• Difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain, developed small, independent communities.
• About 20% suitable for farming
• Fertile valleys covered 1/4 of peninsula
• Because of geography the Greek diet consisted of grains, grapes, and olives
• Lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization
• Temperatures ranged from 48 degrees in the winter, to 80 degrees in the summer

Mycenaean:

• Began around 2000 BC
• Mycenae was located on a rocky ridge and was protected by a 20 ft. thick wall.
• Their kings dominated Greece from 1600- 1200 BC
• Controlled trade in the region
• 1400 BC Mycenaeans invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language

Culture in Decline-

• Around 1200 BC, sea people began to invade Mycenae and burnt every palace to the ground
• The dorians moved into the war-torn region
• Far less advanced
• Economy collapsed
• Writing disappeared for 400 year called the dark age.

Homer and Myths

• Stories were passed by word of mouth
• Homer lived in the Dark Ages
• Recorded stories of the Trojan war
• The Iliad and The Odyssey
• Written in 750-700 BC
• Epic poems written in verse and song
• Odyssey was 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter