Ancient Greece

cultural interaction- the roots of Greek culture are based on the interaction of the Mycenaen, Minoan, and Dorian Cultures

Ancient Greece was not a united country

• separate lands where Greek-speaking people lived.

• mainly mountains
• 2,000 islands on Aegean and Ionian Seas
• mountains covered 3/4 of Ancient Greece
• ran northwest to southwest along Balkan Peninsula
• influenced political life 
• the mountainous peninsula
• skilled sailors, shipbuilders, farmers, metal workers, weavers shaped culture
• poor/limited natural resources so they needed to trade
• difficult to united Greeks because of terrain
• the sea shaped Greek civilization lived not on land but around a sea 
• sea travel and trade

No single government

• small independent communities
• greeks gave their loyalty to the local communities

-Never able to support a large population
-varied climate, avg: 48 degrees in winter, 8o degrees in summer
-men met in Greece to discuss issues, exchange news, take an active part in civic life
-Mycenaens ~ Indo-Europeans that settled on the Greek mainland around 2000 BC

• the Aegean Sea
• The Ionian Sea
• Adriatic Sea (north of Ionian)
• Peloponnesus
• Athens
• Sparta
• Crete
• Asia Minor
• Macedon