Ancient Greece: Introduction Geography, Mycenaeans, Greek Culture in Decline

Geography of Greece • Mountainous peninsula – Mountains cover 3/4

• Approximately 1,400 islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas • Location shaped its culture • Skilled sailors • Poor natural resources • Difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain; developed small, independent communities

Geography (continued) • Approximately 20% suitable for farming • Fertile valleys cover 1/4 of peninsula • Because of geography the Greek diet consists of grains, grapes, olives • Lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization • Temperatures range from 48 in the winter to 80 in the summer

Mycenaeans • Began around 2000 B.C. • Mycenae is located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20 ft. thick wall • Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1600-1200 B.C. – Controlled trade in the region

• 1400 B.C. Mycenaeans invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language

Culture in Decline • Around 1200 B.C. sea people began to invade Mycenae and burnt palace after palace • The Dorians moved into the war-torn region – Far less advanced – Economy collapsed – Writing disappeared for 400 years

Homer and Myths • Only stories were kept and passed on by word of mouth • Homer lived at the end of the “Greek Dark Ages” • Recorded stories of the Trojan War in The Iliad and The Odyssey (written 750-700 B.C.) – Trojan war was probably one of the last conquests of the Mycenaeans

Greek Concepts • Arete – virtue and excellence

• Epics – narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds

• Myths were created to explain creation – Zeus: leader of the gods – Hera: Zeus’ wife – Athena: goddess of wisdom