Ancient Greece

Mrs. Tinker’s 6th Grade Social Studies Class

The Greek Peninsula

The Greek Peninsula

Greece is a peninsula, which means that it is surrounded on three sides by water.

Greece has a lot of smaller peninsulas sticking out from it, which means Greece enjoys many natural harbors. 

Rugged Land

Greece is covered with mountains. They are not huge mountains but if you are trying to go from place to place in Greece, you'll find the mountains a bit of a hindrance. 

The highest mountain in Greece is Mount Olympus.

Mount Olympus

Rugged People

Making a living was difficult. The growing season tended to be dry.

There are not great rives for irrigation and fresh water came from shallow streams.

Farm crops consisted of wheat, barley, and beans. Citrus trees and grapevines grew on the hillsides. Olive trees gave food and oil. Sheep, goats and cattle gave milk, cheese and meat.

Common Foods in Ancient Greece

Importance of the Sea

The sea was an important to the people of ancient Greece. It was easier to travel by the sea than the mountains.

The population grew and people moved from the mainland to the islands surrounding the mainland.

Trade Routes

Greek merchants established trade routes among the colonies and with many cities along the coasts of Aegean and Mediterranean seas.

Earliest Settlers

The earliest civilization began on the island of Crete.

The people are called the Minoans after their legendary king, Minos.

The Minoan Era

The Minoan king lived in the capital city of Knossos, in a maze of a palace with 1500 rooms! It was a gorgeous palace. But during Minoan times, even poor people on the island of Crete had 4-room houses, with running water for drinking and bathing, and bathrooms that flushed! This was a very advanced civilization.

The Minoan Era

The Minoan king lived in the capital city of Knossos, in a maze of a palace with 1500 rooms! It was a gorgeous palace. But during Minoan times, even poor people on the island of Crete had 4-room houses, with running water for drinking and bathing, and bathrooms that flushed! This was a very advanced civilization. The ancient Minoans did have a written language. Far more than the records they left behind, the paintings on the walls of the palace at Knossos share the daily life of these ancient people. Some walls were painted with pictures of starfish and water scenes, much as you would expect from a civilization that lived on an island. 

The Minoan Palace

The Minoan Era

The ancient Minoans did have a written language. Far more than the records they left behind, the paintings on the walls of the palace at Knossos share the daily life of these ancient people. Some walls were painted with pictures of starfish and water scenes, much as you would expect from a civilization that lived on an island. 

The Minoan Era

But some walls were painted with pictures of young people, both boys and girls, jumping over bulls. Scholars believed that bull jumping must have been a very popular sport in Minoan times.

The artwork consisted of Frescoes, a painting made with watercolors on wet plaster.

The Minoan Era

Around 1700 BCE, an earthquake hit Crete. Much of the Minoan civilization was destroyed. The Minoans rebuilt. Around 1500 BCE, a volcano erupted near the island of Crete. Tidal waves followed the eruption. 

The Minoans might have been wiped out by natural disaster or by war. There were warrior tribes on the mainland of Greece. But scholars believe the tidal waves certainly weakened them. Whatever the cause, around 1500 BCE, this civilization disappeared from the island of Crete.

The Minoan Era

The Minoans might have been wiped out by natural disaster or by war. There were warrior tribes on the mainland of Greece. But scholars believe the tidal waves certainly weakened them. Whatever the cause, around 1500 BCE, this civilization disappeared from the island of Crete.

The End to the Minoan Era

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJoc9Flq4XE

Mycenaeans Rule

Myceaeans were devoted to warfare. Their palaces were strong-walled fortresses called Citadels.

Each Citadels was the center of a small community ruled by a king. The king controlled the activities of the villages and farms.

The Mycenaeans Rule

Their rule did not last long. Historians are not sure why, but their civilization declined rapidly. Around 1200 B.C. its cities were in ruins.

Achievements of the Greeks

Heritage- is a system of ways and beliefs handed down from one generation to another.

Architecture-A style or special way of building.

Architecture

Poetry and Music

The best known poets are Homer and Sappho.

Music was an accompaniment to the poetry.

Stories and Legends

The Greeks created myths and stories.These myths tell stories about the gods

and their deeds.

Great Philosophers

Philosophy- The study of what people think about the meaning of life.

They wanted to learn everything that they could about life.

Plato and Socrates were the most famous.

Math and Science

Euclid developed the geometry. Archimedes was a scientist who

discovered volume while taking a bath.

Medicine

Hippocrates is considered to be the father of modern medicine. He looked at ailments of his patients and tried to find cures that worked.

Democracy