Rise of Greek Civilization
Chapter 7, Lesson 1
Mountain and Seas►Greece was the first civilization to develop in
Europe and the westernmost part of Asia.► In other early civilizations people settled in
river valleys that had rich soil. Greek civilization began in an area dominated by mountains and seas.
► Flying over Greece today would treat you to a view of rugged landscapes and beautiful seas.
►Greece is located mainly on the Balkan Peninsula. A peninsula is a body of land with water on
three sides.► Far to the east of the mainland is another
peninsula known as Anatolia and is part of present-day Turkey.
Mountains and Seas►Between these two areas is the Aegean Sea.
It is actually a part of the much larger Mediterranean Sea.
Hundreds of islands are located within it and appear to be small stepping stones between the Greek mainland and Anatolia.
►Greeks traded goods and ideas along their coastline and islands. Today, Fishing and trading are still huge.
►Other Greek areas settled into farming communities. Narrow fertile plains ran along the coast
and between the mountains.
Mountains and Seas►In the areas mild climate, farmers
grow wheat, barley, olives, and grapes.
►They would also raise sheep and goat.►Though some communities were by
the coast, many were far from the sea. They were separated from each other by
rugged mountains and deep valleys. This resulted in many areas becoming
independent and in some cases thought of themselves as small separate countries.
An Island Civilization►Greek myth tells of an early civilization on
the island of Crete (KREET). Located to the southeast of the mainland.
►Around A.D. 1900, a British Archaeologist named Arthur Evans discovered an area called Knossos (NAH-suhs). Unearthed the palace of a legendary king
known as Minos (MY-nuhs). He concluded that Minos and his family
lived in the palace with numerous rooms connected by twisting passageways.
Some rooms may have been used to store oil, wine, and grain.
An Island Civilization►Other rooms were used as workshops used to
make jewelry, vases, and statues.► The palace even seemed to have bathrooms.► It is believed this palace was built by the
Minoans (muh-NOH-uhnz). They were the first to develop in the area
but were not Greek. They lasted from about 2500 B.C. to 1450
B.C.► Trade was important to the Minoans.
Were able to build ships from the oak and cedar trees.
They sailed to Egypt and Syria to trade pottery and stone vases for ivory and metals.
An Island Civilization►Minoan ships also sailed the eastern
Mediterranean Sea to protect Minoan trade from pirates.
►Some time around 1450 B.C. the Minoan civilization collapsed. Historians do not know why this happened
but theorize an underwater earthquake causing waves that destroyed the cities.
Other historians believe that they were invaded by the Mycenaean (my-suh-NEE-uhns).
A Mainland Civilization►Around 2000 B.C., the Mycenaean left
their homeland in central Asia and moved into mainland Greece. They mixed with the local people and had
even set up several kingdoms
Mycenaean Kingdom►Little was known about the
Mycenaeans until the late 1800s. A German archaeologist named Heinrich
Schliemann (HYN-ryhk SHLEE-mahn) discovered the ruins of a palace in Mycenae.
This resulted in him calling them the Mycenaeans.
►Each Mycenaean king lived in a palace constructed atop a hill. Thick stone walls were used to protect the
king and his people.
Mycenaean Kingdom►Nobles lived outside the walls on lands called
estates. The workers and enslaved people lived on
that estate.►Mycenaean palaces were used as centers of
government.► Artisans there made leather goods, clothes,
and jars for storing wine and olive oil. Other workers made swords and ox-hide
shields.►Government officials kept tabs on how rich
the kingdom’s residents were. Collected wheat, livesstock, and honey as
taxes.
Traders and Warriors► The Minoan traders from Crete would visit the
Greek mainland.► The Mycenaeans eventually took features of
Minoan culture. Building ships and working with bronze. Navigated using the sun and stars. The Mycenaeans also worshipped the Earth
Mother, the Minoans chief god.► By the mid 1400s B.C, the Mycenaeans
conquered the Minoans and controlled the Aegean area. Brought new wealth to the Mycenaeans and
was used to expand their military strength. They were proud of their military successes in
the Trojan War.
A Dark Age►Mycenaean Kingdoms would fight one
another and earthquakes destroyed their palace fortresses, By 1100 B.C., their civilization crumbled.
►Around this time, groups of warring people were moving throughout the Mediterranean region. One of the groups were the Greek-
speaking people known as the Dorians (DOHR-ee-uhns) who invaded most of the Greek mainland from the north and took control of most of it.
A Dark Age►Historians call the next 300 years of
Greek History a Dark Age. Trade slowed down. People made fewer things to sell. Most people were poor. Farmers grew only enough food for their
families. Writing and record keeping decreased
dramatically.
A Dark Age►A few positive things did occur though.
Dorian Warriors introduced iron weapons and iron making.
Iron tools and weapons were much stronger and cheaper to make than bronze ones.
►As the Dorians pushed into Greece, thousands of Greeks fled from the mainland and settled on the Aegean Islands and the western shore of Anatolia.
The Hellenes►By 750 B.C. many descendants of those who
ran away returned. Brought back new ideas, crafts, and skills. Developed small independent
communities under local leaders who eventually became kings.
►These people called themselves Hellenes, or Greeks.
► Farmers in these communities grew more food than their family could use. They would then trade their surplus with
neighboring people such as the Egyptians or Phoenicians.
The Hellenes►As trade increased, a new need for
writing developed.►They would adopt the alphabet of the
Phoenicians who would sailed from the Mediterranean coast. This alphabet consisted on 24 letters
representing different sounds. Greatly simplified reading and writing in
the Greek language. Record keeping in turn, became easier. People even started writing down stories
that had been told by bards, or storytellers orally.
Colonies and Trade►As Greece left the Dark Ages, its population
increased. By 700 B.C., local farmers could not
produce enough to feed the growing population.
►They began to send people outside the Aegean area to create colonies. A settlement in a new territory that has
close ties to its homeland. Many colonies were established along the
coast of the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea between 750 B.C. and 550 B.C.
Greek culture would spread into Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, North Africa, and western Asia.
Colonies and Trade► The colonies traded with their “parent” cities in the
Greek mainland. They shipped grains, metals, fish, timber and
enslaved people to Greece. In return, Greece sent wine, olive oil, and pottery
to the colonies.► The Greeks soon began to make coins out of metal.
People now traded money for goods rather than bartered for goods.
It helped increase the colonies wealth. As demand grew colonies made more goods to
meet that demand.► Certain colonies specialized in making certain goods.
Colonies that raised sheep began to make clothes from their wool.
The Greek City-State►Most of the communities were separated by
mountain and seas. Created loyalty to the community they lived
in. Communities became independent.
►Nobles who had owned large estates eventually overthrew Greek kings by the end of the Dark Ages. Across Greece nobles ruled numerous city-
states.► Just like in Mesopotamia, city-states were
made up of a town or city and it’s surrounding areas. Each city-state or polis acted like its own
independent country. English words such as police and politics
have their roots in polis.
What did a Polis Look Like?►The polis was the basic political unit of
Greek Civilization.► In the center a fort was built on a hilltop
known as an acropolis. Local people would take shelter during an
attack here. Also had temples used to worship local
gods on the acropolis.►Outside the acropolis was an open area
called an agora. It was usually a market place, but also
used as a place to gather and discuss issues, choose officials, pass laws, and carry out business.
What did a Polis Look Like?►City neighborhoods surrounded the agora,
Beyond the city were villages and farmland that were apart of the polis.
►The general size of a city-state was usually small since it was surrounded by seas and mountains. Some were only a few square miles in
areas. Other covered several hundred square
miles in an area.►By 500 B.C., nearly 300,000 people
lived in the city-state of Athens. But most city-states were smaller than
this.
What Did Citizenship Mean to the Greeks?
►We owe many ideas of citizenship to the Greeks.
►Greek citizens were members of a political community with rights and responsibilities. Male citizens had the right to vote, hold
public office, own property, and defend themselves in court.
In return, they had the responsibility to serve in government and to fight for their polis as citizen soldiers.
What Did Citizenship Mean to the Greeks?
► Ancient Greek citizenship was different from places like Egypt or Mesopotamia. In Egypt and Mesopotamia you were just
subjects. No rights, no voice in government, and no
choice but to obey their rulers.► In Greece city-states only free men who owned
property and were born in the polis could be citizens. Believed that the responsibility to run the
city-state was their since it was made up of their property.
Later the requirement of holding land was removed.
Women and children might qualify for citizenship, but had none of the rights that went with it.
Citizen Soldiers►In Greece, wars were fought by
wealthy nobles riding horses and driving chariots.
►By 700 B.C., citizens called hoplites (HAHP-lyts) made up the armies of a city-state. Often fought on foot with heavy round
shields, a short sword, and a spear.►They fought by marching forward
shoulder to shoulder in rows. They raised their shields above them to
protect from enemy arrows, and the formation was known as a phalanx (FAY-langks).
Citizen Soldiers► They were proud to fight as brave warriors.
They took an oath to saying they would not disgrace themselves, abandon their posts, follow all current and future laws, oppose any who does not follow the law, and follow the religion of their fathers.
► The polis gave many Greeks a sense of belonging. Similar to how people feel about their home
states today.► Citizens place the needs of the polis above
themselves. However, this caused a division amongst
Greek city-states, and were not unified as a country, weakening them and making it easier to conquer.
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