ANCIENT AND CLASSICAL GREECE

ANCIENT AND

CLASSICAL GREECE

CIVILIZATION COMES TO

EUROPE

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

? The Land

¨C

¨C

¨C

¨C

¨C

Mountains dominate land; cross land travel difficult

Fertile river valleys were center of settlement

River valleys formed basis of polis

No place more than a few miles from sea

Outdoor life common due to temperate climate

? The Sea

¨C Greece is a series of peninsulas, islands

¨C Sea travel easier than land communication

¨C Most Greeks took to the sea

? Economy

¨C Agriculture: Grains, honey, olives, grapes

¨C Herding: Goats, sheep, cattle

¨C Trade: Necessary to make up for lack of resources

PHYSICAL MAP OF AREA

MINOAN SOCIETY

? Knossos

¨C

¨C

¨C

¨C

Minoan society arose on Crete, late 3rd millennium B.C.E.

Takes name from legendary king of Knossos, Minos

Lavish palaces at Knossos, between 2000 and 1700 B.C.E.

Linear A, a kind of written language, is found

? Island of Crete

¨C From 2200 to 1450 B.C.E., center of Mediterranean commerce

¨C Received early influences from Phoenicia and Egypt

¨C Established colonies on Cyprus and islands in the Aegean Sea

? Society

¨C Much evidence of egalitarian society; women had rights

¨C Agriculture was important: grapes, olives, fishing, wheat

¨C Trade was very important: marble, artifacts, cloth

? Decline of Minoan Society

¨C After 1700 B.C.E., earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis

¨C After 1450 B.C.E., wealth attracted a number of invaders

¨C By 1100 B.C.E., Crete fell under foreign (Hellenic) domination

THE ISLAND OF CRETE

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