a presentation on Greek civilization

1. Greek Civilization
a contribution to humanity

2. A Brief…
• About 3000 BC, there lived on the island of Crete people now called Minoans. The
name comes from their King Minos.
• Minos and other Minoan kings grew rich from trade, and built fine palaces. The
Minoan civilization ended about 1450 BC.
• After the Minoans came the Myceneans. They were soldiers from mainland
Greece, and were the Greeks who fought Troy in the 1200s BC.
• After the Mycenean age ended, about 1100 BC, Greece entered a "Dark Age".
This lasted until the 800 BC when the Greeks set off by sea to explore and set up
colonies.
• The Olympic Games begun in 776 BC. This was the start of "Archaic" Greek
civilization.
• Around 480 BC the "golden age" of Greece began. This is what historians call
"Classical" Greece.

3. What was ancient Greece like?
• Ancient Greece had a warm, dry climate, as Greece does today.
• People lived by farming, fishing, and trade.
• Some were soldiers. Others were scholars, scientists or artists.
• There were beautiful temples with stone columns and statues, and
open-air theatres where people sat to watch plays.

4. The Geographical Settings
• Greece appears as though the sea has
smashed it to pieces. Some pieces
drifted away forming rocky islands.
Others barely cling to the mainland.
• Because of these shapes, Greece is a
country made up of peninsulas – area
of land surrounded by water on three
sides.
• Only about 1/5th of Greece is suitable
for farming because most of the
country is covered with mountains.

5. Effects of Greek’s Geography
• Because travel was so difficult inland, Greeks turned to the seas on all
sides.
• The sea became a source of food as well as a way of trading with
other communities.
• They became skilled traders, shipbuilders and sailors.
• The Greeks thought of themselves as separate countries because it
was hard to get together.

6. Minoan Civilization
• The Minoans lived on the island of Crete from about 3000 to 1100 BC.
• Because of their location, they were excellent traders who controlled
the Aegean Sea.

7. The Mycenaeans
• After the Mycenaeans defeated the Minoans, the culture of the
islands blended with mainland Greek culture.
• At their height in 1400 BC, the Mycenaeans controlled trade, spoke an
early form of Greek, and used writing.

8. Trading cultures developed in the Minoan and
Mycenaean civilizations.
Minoans
• They spent much of their time at
sea, trading in the Mediterranean.
• Ships carried goods such as wood,
olive oil, and pottery all around the
eastern Mediterranean.
• They became the victims of a huge
volcano that erupted north of
Crete.
• They were not considered to be
Greek, since they didn’t speak
Greek.
Mycenaeans
• They were the first people to be
considered Greek.
• They lived inland and built fortresses.
• They were more violent in their trade.
• They took over Crete and became the
major traders in the eastern
Mediterranean.
• They developed colonies in northern
Greece and Italy, from which they
shipped goods around the
Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

9. The City-State Development
• Historians believe that during Dark Age around 750 BC, villages joined
with cities and began to develop their own traditions, laws, and
governments.
• The Greek word for city-state is polis. The creation of city-states
marks the beginning of Greece’s classical age, an age marked by great
achievements.
• Greek city-states shared common culture and language, but choose
different forms of government. Athens and Sparta were the largest
city-states.

10. Aristocracy
• The earliest rulers of city-states were probably chieftains or kings who
were military leaders.
• By the end of the Dark Ages, most city-states were ruled by
aristocrats(members of rich and powerful families).
• Because they were wealthy, aristocrats could afford land, chariots,
and the best weapons that helped make themselves stronger.

11. The Tyrants
• As the Greeks sailed to ports to trade various goods, the city-states
became wealthy. A middle class of merchants and sailors developed.
• The middle class wanted representation in government and began to
equip themselves with armor, swords, and spears.
• Gradually power shifted from the aristocrats to tyrants – rulers who
seize power by force.

12. Democracy in Greece
• Eventually the people in city-states overthrew the tyrants. Some city-
states developed a style of government called democracy – citizens
govern themselves.
• The most successful democratic city-state was Athens.
• Athenian democracy became the leading government of the ancient
world.

13. Invasions
• In the early 5th century B.C., Greece was invaded by Persia (now Iran).
Athens and Sparta joined forces. The Greeks won.
• Decades later Athens & Sparta fought each other in the
Peloponnesian War. The Spartans won.
• The city-states were so busy focusing on the war between Sparta and
Athens they didn’t notice their neighbor Macedonia was building an
army to invade Greece.
• Alexander the Great from Macedonia invaded Greece and conquered
territories from North Africa, Middle East and Asia spreading Greek
culture.

14. The End of Democracy in Athens
• Athens was conquered by the Macedonians and fell under their
influence.
• The king ruled like a dictator. No one could make decisions without
his approval.
• The assembly still met to make laws, but it had to be careful not to
upset the king.
• Eventually, a new king (Demetrius I) took over and frees Athens from
the tyrant Demetrius of Phaleron.