GREECE

Bordering countries are Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey

Bordering bodies of water are Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Sea of Crete

Capital is Athens

Mountains cover most of Greece, land is rocky with little fertile soil, summers are hot and dry

Winter – ¾ of rain falls, mild and wet

Summer – hot, dry, very sunny

Greece is a seafaring country because you are never far from the sea, 1/5 of Greece is islands, land is not very good for farming

A city-state is the city/town and the surrounding villages and farmland

Greek city-states were independent, small in size, quarreled among themselves

The Ancient Greeks were:patrioticshared a common language, religion, and cultureprized their freedom and way of life creative thinkers

Greece became independent in 1829

What happened in Olympia, Greece in 776 BCE?

What is Greece’s capital city called?

How many letters make up the Greek alphabet?

What is Greece’s national cheese?

What is the currency used in Greece?

How many Greeks work in agriculture?

What two major geographic features shape Greece?

How many islands are apart of Greece?

What religion do ninety-eight percent of Greeks belong to?

What is a major holiday in Greece?

First Olympics

Athens

24

feta

Euro

One in five

Mountains and Seas

2000

Greek Orthodox Church ~ Christian

Easter and Christmas

Passport to Ancient Greece

GREECE’S GEOGRAPHY

1)Peloponnesus Peninsula and numerous islands in the Aegean Sea

2)They were separated from one another by rugged mountains, bays and inlets, and by being on an island3) Most Ancient Greeks were farmers

4) A Mediterranean climate – mild winters with hot, sunny summers . . . you can grow crops all year round . . . similar to southern California

5) Mainly grow grapes and olives

Grow small amounts of wheat and barley

6) Main disadvantage is that only ¼ of the land is level so they could only grow small amounts of grain crops and, therefore, they had to trade with others to get more grain

7) Main advantage is the sea – it connected all Greeks to one another and Greece to other civilizations so that they could trade and get what they needed

LOCATION

Greece is located in southern Europe between Albania and Turkey. It borders the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. It has a population of 10,964,020. Athens is its capital.

AREA

Greece has a total area of 131,940 sq km. That means it is slightly smaller than Alabama

CLIMATE

Greece has a Mediterranean climate with plenty of sunshine, mild temperatures and a limited amount of rainfall.

SUMMER

In summer, the dry hot days are cooled by seasonal winds called the meltemi, while mountainous regions have generally lower temperatures.

WINTER

The winters are mild in lowland areas, with a minimum amount of snow and ice, yet, mountains are usually snow-covered.

TERRAINGreece consists of a mountainous and craggy mainland jutting out into the sea. Four-fifths of Greece consist of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe. Greece has the tenth longest coastline in the world.

LAND USE

About 20% of Greece is farmable. Farmers grow olives, figs, fruit, grapes, and very little grain.

GREECE’S ORIGINS

MINOAN AGE• Minoans

• Crete ~ Knosses

• 2000 – 1400 BCE

had a system of writing, fine artwork, great sailors, traded with Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Phoenicia, master builders of palaces that were maze like with plumbing and decorated with colorful murals

MYCENAEAN AGE• Mycenaeans• Greek mainland/

Mycenae• 1400 – 1100 BCE• Built cities on top of hills,

very similar to the Minoans – sailors, trade, palaces, and writing, conquered the Minoans

MINOANS MYCENAEANS

First navy

Named after King Minos

Had minitar and bull fighting

Known for pottery cups

On Crete

Weakened by fire, earthquakes, tidal waves

Linear A – cannot read

On Greek mainland

Had walls that were 40 ft. high and 20 ft. thick

Known for bronze weapons

Linear B – can read

Tall people

Fell to outsiders

Writing for record keeping

Had palaces

Were into trade

Seafarers - sailors

DARK AGE• Dorians• Invaders from northern

Greece who came to middle and southern Greece

• 1100 – 800 BCE• Trade came to a stop,

written language disappeared, people lived in isolated villages, oral traditions kept Greek history alive, population increases

AGE of EXPANSION• 800ish – 500 BCE• Villages grow and

develop back into cities, trade comes back and increases, leaders emerge in each city, city-states {an independent, self governing city and the land around it} develop and begin to fight one and compete against one another

The Greek City-State

Ruins of the agora at Corinth, Greece. Most Greek cities had an agora, which acted as the city center, housing marketplaces, civic centers, and forums.

Map of major Greek City-States in 500 BCE

GREEK CITY-STATE

• Had over 100 city-states• Known as a polis• All Greeks belonged to one• It is the city and its surrounding countryside• Athens was the biggest• Some had walls, some had natural barriers around

them, some had nothing• All had their own culture and identity – coins, laws,

calendars

GREECE’S RELIGION

1) The gods controlled the world of nature and the human world.

2) Purpose of Myths and Legends:

celebrate the gods

explain the gods’ role in creating the world and causing natural events

to tell of the gods’ powers

3) All Greek gods were part of a family and Zeus was the supreme god.

4) Zeus – justice and weather

Poseidon – sea

Hera – marriage

Ares – war

Dionysus – wine

Apollo – light (sun), health, herding, prophecy

5) Ways the Greeks worshipped their gods:

prayed to them for things they wanted

thanked the gods with animal sacrifices

built sanctuaries where they could worship and honor the gods

religious festivals and competing in the Olympics

GOVERNMENTS of GREECE

MONARCHY

• King rules over a group of people• King was head of the most powerful family• Power was passed on to the oldest son• King relied on nobles to defend the land

OLIGARCHY

• A few people hold the power over a large group of people

• Improved the government – more efficient

• City-states grew to quickly – food shortages, discontent, poor farmers lost land to wealthy and became slaves

TYRANT

• A leader who seizes power by force and rules single handedly {dictator}

• Many people supported, laws are reformed, poor are aided, and taught the citizens by uniting behind a leader they could gain power and make changes

• Leader can become harsh and greedy

DEMOCRACY

• Power to make decisions was in the hands of the people• Council proposed new laws, all citizens met every 9 days to vote on laws. Law courts had jurors who made decisions, all citizens rich or poor were involved

• Not all citizens liked sharing power, especially the rich

GREEK CITIZENSHIP

ADULT MALE CITIZENS

• Men over eighteen• Your father had to have been a

citizen and mother’s father had to have been a citizen for you to be a citizen

• Only 45,000 citizens in Athens

WIVES and CHILDREN of CITIZENS

• 145,000 women and children of citizens in Athens

• They had no political rights• They could not own land

METICS

• 35,000 foreigners in Athens• They were from other city-states or

countries• They couldn’t vote or hold public

office• They were protected by the law• They were usually traders,

shopkeepers, craftsmen, or moneylenders

SLAVES

• About 80,000 slaves in Athens• They were captured during war• They couldn’t vote or choose jobs• They needed permission to have a

family• They were paid and could buy their

freedom• They were farmhands, did household

chores, metalwork, and made pottery

ATHENS vs. SPARTA

GOVERNMENT

ATHENS• Democracy

SPARTA• Oligarchy

ECONOMY

ATHENS• Farming and trade

SPARTA• Military - - - communities around them

provided trade and crafts

EDUCATION

ATHENS• Wealthy received it• Lived at home• Learned reading, writing,

poetry, math, music, dance, and athletics

• At age 18 served 2 years in the Army

• After service were given a spear and shield and only called out at war time

• Girls learned from Mother’s crafts and poetry

SPARTA• Boys lived in barracks• Taught to read and write• Emphasized physical skills• Strict discipline• Slept on the floor• Wore light clothing• At 18 in Army full time• At 30 full citizen and could

marry• Girls got a strong physical

education

OTHER DIFFERENCES

ATHENS• City-state had walls• Didn’t fear slave revolts• Lavish lives• Large government projects to benefit all

SPARTA• No walls• Feared slave revolts• Simple lives• No luxury goods/items

Greece and Persia

Persia was east of the Greek peninsula.

Darius attacked Greece first to expand his Persian Empire.

Xerxes attacked Greece to try an avenge his father’s defeat to the Greeks

The Greeks were able to defeat the Persians twice because the city-states united together and fought together.

The Golden Age of Greece was when Greece’s culture flourished from 460 – 430 BCE.

PELOPONNESIAN WAR

Peloponnesian League• Sparta and its allies• Mainly found on the

Peloponnesian Peninsula and Macedonia

• Scared of Athens growing power

Delian League• Athens and its allies• Found along the

coasts of the Aegean Sea

• Was formed to protect Greece from Persia

• Athens had turned the league into its empire

Dates were 431 – 404 BCE

Sparta and its allies vs. Athens and its allies

• Athens wouldn’t let city-states leave the Delian League• Athens began to attack other cities to protect its trade

routes• Sparta and its allies were scared of Athens growing

power• Athens refuses Sparta’s ultimatum to free all cities under

its control

• Sparta invades Athens countryside, burns farms, and cuts down grain

• Athens brings all its citizens within the walls of the city-state and a plague strikes {many die, food scarce, slaves escape}

• Sparta has a powerful army and Athens has a powerful navy

• As Athens weakened, its allies joined Sparta

• Persia gives Sparta money to improve its navy

• Sparta captures Athens navy at Hellespont

Sparta and its allies win after Athens surrenders from starvation and its navy being captured

ALEXANDER the GREAT

Fun Facts about Alexander the Great

He was supposedly related to the Greek heroes Hercules from his father's side and Achilles from his mother's side.

When Alexander was 16, his father left the country to do battle, leaving Alexander as temporary ruler of Macedonia.

He tamed a wild horse named Bucephalus when he was a kid. It was his main horse until it died of old age. Alexander named a city in India after his horse.

Fun Facts about Alexander the Great

He never lost a single battle.

Legend has it that the Temple of Artemis burnt down the day of Alexander's birth because Artemis was busy attending the birth.

His best friend and second in command was the general Hephaestion.

1.Macedonia was a large state just north of Greece with very little organization and very little power. Under King Philip it becomes a military power

2.King of Macedonia from 359 – 336 BCE, a military genius, Alexander’s father, conquers Greece and begins Macedonia’s Empire

3.Established a professional army of full time, well paid, highly skilled soldiers Developed new battle formations and weapons - - - catapults and battering rams on wheels

4. Alexander’s father is murdered and Alexander rules Macedonia from 336 – 323 BCE

5. Conquest is victory over others by force and Alexander’s conquest covered over 20,000 square miles

6. Macedonia never destroyed Greece because they admired and appreciated it and its culture

7. Aristotle was one of Greece’s greatest philosophers who taught Alexander literature, philosophy, and science

8. Alexander was able to control his Empire because:•He left Greeks behind to rule conquered lands•He would adopt some features from the conquered cultures•He would combine the conquered military with his own

9. Alexander’s rule to 146 BCE is known as the Hellenistic Age because Greek influence and culture {language, religion, literature, arts} became so widespread over Alexander’s Empire

10. Alexander died suddenly of a fever at the age of 33

11. After Alexander died his Empire broke apart because no single ruler could keep it together