Chapter 8: Ancient Greece

• Mountains cover much of Greece, so contact with other villages was difficult.

• People created their own governments and ways of life.

• People settled in the flat areas along the coast and in river valleys.

• Because travel was so difficult inland (from isolation), Greeks turned to the seas on all sides.

• They became skilled shipbuilders and sailors.

Main Idea 1: Geography helped shape early Greek civilizations.

• The sea became a source of food as well as a way of trading with other communities.

• They also exchanged ideas with other cultures.

What is the main peninsula in Greece called?

Main Idea 2: 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 (ruining its crops), which led to the fall of Minoan Civilization.

• 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.

• Mycenaeans attacked the city of Troy and the civilization began to fall.

• At the same time, earthquakes destroyed many cities including Mycenae , leading Greece into what is known as the Dark Age.

What is a ______ ?

• a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature.

• The Minotaur– Greek legend tells

of a horrifying half-man, half-bull creature known as the Minotaur that lived in a maze beneath the palace of Knossos

What is a _______ ?

• a nonhistorical OR unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.

• The Minoan civilization may have inspired stories about Atlantis, a legendary island kingdom that supposedly disappeared beneath waves caused by earthquakes. The Greek philosopher Plato wrote about Atlantis. He also may have gotten the story from ancient Egyptian records that report the Thera eruption.

• Page 234-235

Check Questions

1. On what geographic feature is Greece located?

2. Why was travel difficult in Greece?3. Where was the Minoan civilization located?4. How was the decline of the Minoans and

Mycenaeans similar?5. Why did the Mycenaeans put such

importance on building powerful fortresses?6. Where was the Knossos Temple located?7. In what direction would the Mycenaeans

have had to travel to reach the Minoan civilization?

8. How might the Minoans’ civilization location provide them with protection?