2. Section 1: The Rise of City-States
Picture depicts life in some of the Greek city-states. Image taken from: bbc.co.uk.
3. Geography of the Greek World
Greece occupies a large peninsula. Most people settled
on mainland Greece, which is an open area that is part
of a continent. The mainland of Greece is divided by
mountain ranges. Between these ranges lie narrow
valleys and small plains. The landscape made it difficult
to farm, but it was ideal for raising sheep.
The sea was seen as being a positive for the Greeks,
because it allowed them to become skillful merchants
and sailors. It also allowed them to become exposed to
religions and cultures that were much older and
established than they were.
4. Geography of the Greek World
continued….
The Mediterranean climate’s negative attributes were
that it was an area that lacked rain and thus it was
difficult to grow shallow-rooted crops such as grains.
The positive attributes were that the climate was ideal
for growing olive and grape vines, which became the
staple of their trading goods and brought wealth to
Greece.
5. Minoans
The Minoan civilization was highly advanced. The
Minoans developed a writing system and built huge
stone palaces. There culture developed on Crete and
eventually spread across the Aegean islands.
Picture depicts a Minoan city.
Image taken from:
gizzisgoodies.wikispaces.com
6. Mycenaeans
The Mycenaeans developed around 1600 B.C. and it was
governed by a monarchy.
They lived in stone fortresses on hilltops. They made
fine bronze, weapons, and pottery.
They traded these items for gold, copper, ivory, and
other luxury goods. Due to the fact that they traded
such mediocre items for luxury items, they often raided
other people for gold and other goods.
7. Dark Ages
The Dark Ages were a time in which the Greek culture
declined.
The Greek people lost their ability to read and write.
As a result of this horrible time, the Greeks migrated
across the Aegean Sea and settled the islands along the
west coast of Asia Minor.
8. The Trojan War’s Ending and
Homer’s Literary Works
The Greeks gave a large wooden horse (filled with
Greek soldiers) to the Trojans in hopes that they would
accept it as a good gesture gift.
The Trojans fell for the trick and when they went to
sleep that night, the Greek soldiers crept out and
opened the city gates. The Greek army entered and
burned Troy to the ground.
Homer’s Odyssey and The Iliad taught the Greek people
ideals of bravery, strength, and honor. The Greek people
wanted to live up to these stories, thus they did
everything with strength, honor, and bravery.
9. Emergence of City-States
The polis was considered to be the most important feature of
Greek culture, because it was a community with its own
government. The people of the government, known as
citizens would meet and make decisions about laws that
would affect their polis. Due to their small population, every
citizen had a say in the decision making process regarding
laws.
A polis consisted of two parts. The first part was an acropolis
that stood on a high hill. The acropolis held public buildings
and marble temples. On the lower ground, below the hill, lay
people’s homes, shops, and farms.
Each polis had their own government, thus some had
monarchies and some had governments that were ruled by the
citizens.
