Ancient Greek human settlements began as small villages along the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Notable early civilizations included the Minoans of Crete, known for their palace at Knossos. Greeks later established city-states like Athens and Sparta between 800-600 BC, centered around fortified hilltop acropolises. The Classical Period from the 5th to 4th centuries BC marked Greece's cultural and artistic peak, exemplified by structures on the Athenian Acropolis such as the Parthenon. However, Greek city-states eventually fell under Roman rule after wars in the 2nd century BC.

1. HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS ANCIENT GREEK

2. GENERAL
Human settlements means the totality of the human community – whether city , town or village – with all the
social , material , organizational , spiritual and cultural elements that sustain it . The fabric of human
settlements consists of physical elements and the services to which these elements provide the material
support . The physical components comprise ,
Shelter i.e the superstructures of different shapes , size , type and materials erected by mankind .
Services cover those required by a community for the fulfillment of its functions as a social body , such as
education , health , culture , welfare , recreation and nutrition .

3. Greek colonies and communities have been historically established on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, but the
Greek people have always been centered on the Aegean and Ionian seas, where the Greek language has been spoken since
the Bronze Age.
LOCATION
GREEK HOMELAND AND TRADING ROUTES . GREEK SETTLEMENTS AND COLONIES .

4. The first settlers of the large Greek island is Crete .Ultimately Crete became a thriving sea power. The Cretans engendered trade with the older
civilizations of Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia and Asia. Because of these influences and her own diligence and creativity, Crete produced a
distinctive and highly advanced civilization.
In 1900, Evans began his excavations of Knossos, the leading city of ancient Crete. Evans discovered amazing multistory buildings that he
called the “Palace of Minos.” Because of this, the civilization of Crete has been referred to as the Minoan Civilization.
A spectacular place created during the Minoan period was found at Phaistos. The complex of Phaistos, were built in the shadows of
mountains, were repeatedly destroyed by earthquakes. However, they were consistently reconstructed by the enterprising Minoans.
KNOSSOS 3D VIEW PHAISTOS
MINOAN CIVILIZATION(3650 -1200 B.C)
However, the Minoan civilization disappeared suddenly around 1.500 B.C., possibly due to the huge volcanic eruption of the island of
Santorini. It is said that the eruption has caused an enormous earthquake and huge tidal waves.

5. Greeks first settled on the Greek mainland about 2000 B.C. Geography played a large part in the formation of their society, as it does in all
civilizations. Mountain ranges divide Greece into many small valleys. The resulting pattern of settlement, so different from that of Egypt,
encouraged the Greeks to develop independent political communities without the direction—or oppression—of a central ruler. The broken
coastline, indented with countless small harbors, invited the people to become sailors, traders, and warriors at sea.
MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION(1600 -1100 B.C)

6. Excavations of Dark Age communities such as Nichoria in the Peloponnese have shown how a Bronze Age town was abandoned in 1150 BC but
then reemerged as a small village cluster by 1075 BC. Many Greeks, displaced from their homes, found safety by settling in other parts of Greece .
At this time there were only around forty families living there with plenty of good farming land and grazing for cattle. This was a larger structure
than those surrounding it but it was still made from the same materials (mud brick and thatched roof). High status individuals did in fact exist in the
Dark Age, but their standard of living was not significantly higher than others of their village.
DARK AGES OF GREECE ( 1200 – 800 B.C )
The archaeological evidence shows a widespread collapse of Bronze Age civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean world at the outset of the
period, as the great palaces and cities of the Mycenaeans were destroyed or abandoned. Following the collapse, fewer and smaller settlements
suggest depopulation.

7. About 800 B.C., the need for protection became more pronounced. Therefore, the village communities which had been centered around ,
underwent a transformation. A central feature of these City-States was the acropolis, which means “high city.” The acropolis was a citadel built on
a high location.. I allowed the citizenry of the area to have protection against an invasion or siege . Therefore, a city would grow up around the
acropolis. The largest and most prominent of these city-states were Athens and Sparta.
Greek colonies could be found from the northern, western, and southern shores of
the Black Wherever they went, the Greeks settled near the sea.
In the 8th century B.C., in Ancient Greece, the Dorian’s rule declined and the
states started to re-emerge. Two ports, Argos and Corinth started to flourish, and
began trades with the Near East and a local production.
In order to find additional land for agriculture, Corinth later sent out settlers to
Corfu and Sicily. More than 150 colonies were established.
CORINTH
ACROPOLIS
GROWTH AND RISE OF CITY STATE
This period is characterized by the growth of the city state, the “polis”. The two
important city-states that began to develop were Sparta and Athens. Sparta was
the first city that organised itself with a rigid social structure. In the meanwhile, a
largest polis appeared which also included several other regions of Attica, and
was named Athens.

8. Greece reached a pinnacle in relation to the rest of the world during the Classical Period. The Classical Period of Greece History (6th -4th
centuries BC) was the Golden Age and the most famous, worldwide. This Age saw the construction of the Parthenon on the Acropolis in
Athens.
CLASSICAL PERIOD
ACROPOLIS
ATHENS

9. Because of geographical placement and great historical achievements of Rome , Greece faced constant
warfare from among the several autonomous kingdoms. Greece faced threats from the East by Persians,
Parthians, and Bactrians and from the West by the Romans, who started expanding their power in the
South of Italy and began competing with Greek colonies.
Greek was overtaken by the forces of another empire that is based on Italian peninsula in the city of
Rome. even though the have conquered greek but they had deep administration for greek culture that
they have ended up absorbing much more into their own .
Romans defeated the greek and war ended in 146 B.C.
WAR BETWEEN GREEK AND ROMAN

10. PARTHENON
ERECHTHEION
EPIDAURUS THEATRE
TEMPLE OF ATHENS NIKE
FAMOUS GREEK STRUCTURES