Ancient Greece was shaped by its mountainous geography, which made overland travel and unification difficult. Many Greeks became sailors and traders. Notable early civilizations included the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenaeans on the mainland. After a Dark Age, city-states emerged in the 8th century BC as independent political units, each with their own government and laws. Athens and Sparta became dominant city-states with different forms of government. Greek culture was also influenced by its polytheistic religion and epic poems like the Iliad and Odyssey.

1. Ancient Greece
Geography, Rise of City-States

2. Geograph

yMountains
- ¾ land covered by
mountains
- Limited arable land- land
suitable for agriculture Aegean
Ionian Sea
- Mt. Olympus: highest Sea
mountain known as the
“home of the gods”
- Made transportation,
communication, trade
over land, and unification
difficult Mediterranean Sea

3.  Rivers
- Short, narrow, difficult
to navigate by boat
- Made transportation
and trade difficult by river
 Seas
- Many Greeks became
sailors, fishers, and
traders
- Traded with other
Greek settlements,
Egypt, and Fertile
Crescent

4. Minoans
 Civilization that developed
on Island of Crete (2000 BC-
1400 BC)
 Named after legendary king
Minos
 Palace at Knossos
 Walls of palace covered with
huge frescoes- paintings made
on wet plaster

5.  Sea faring people
 Thriving trade with other Aegean lands
 Strong navies to support trade
 Fell to Mycenaeans from mainland
Greece

6. Mycenaeans
 Controlled mainland Greece
from 1600 BC-1400 BC
 Named after leading city,
Mycenae, which was heavily
fortified
 Warring people led by warrior
kings
 Great wealth from battle and trade
 Led the Greeks in Trojan War-
story told by Homer

7. Dark Ages of Greece, 1150-750 BC
 Not long after the Trojan
War ended
 Mycenaeans fell to
invaders
 People known as the
Dorians migrated to the
Balkan Peninsula
 No written language

8. Rise of City-States (700s BC)
 Polis, or independent city-state
 Geography played a huge role in their development
and independence
 Built around an acropolis, or fortified hill
 Each had an agora, or marketplace
 Each had its own government, laws, weights and
measures, calendar, and money

9. Citizenship
in the
City-State
 To be considered a citizen, must be a free
adult male
 Women, slaves, and foreigners not considered
citizens
 Citizens had political rights and the responsibility
of civic participation in government

10. Homeric Age
 Epic- Long poems about
heroes and great events
 Most famous was blind
poet named Homer
 Wrote two famous epics-
The Iliad and The Odyssey
 The Iliad- Story of the
Trojan War
 The Odyssey- Odysseus’
journey home from war

11. The Iliad Troy
Paris
Mycenaean King Helen
10 yrs
Troy
Loses

12. The Odyssey
Mycenaean King
on journey home
from Trojan War
Odysseus

13. Religion
 Polytheistic Religion
 Religion did not focus on morality or an afterlife
 Religion was used by Greeks to explain their world
 Created myths- traditional stories about gods,
goddesses and heroes
 Their religion myths provided explanations for:
 Natural phenomena (lightning, change of seasons, etc.)
 Human qualities (emotions, bravery, etc.)
 Life Events (long life, good luck, good harvest, etc.)

14. Greek Gods and
Goddesses
 Zeus- King  Hera- Goddess
of marriage
of the gods  Athena
Protector of wisdom and
womanly goodness
 Apollo  Artemis
light, music, and poetry Hunting and the
Wilderness  Aphrodite
love and beauty
 Lived on Mount Olympus

15. The Olympic Games
 Held every four years beginning in 776 BC
 Held at Olympia on a grassy field
 Used to appease the gods
 Athletes won honor and a wreath of olive
leaves

16. Government
 City-states originated as small kingdoms ruled
by warrior leaders supported by wealthy
landowners.
 Landowners supported warrior leaders by providing
weapons for army to ensure the city-states’ safety
 Over time small group of landowners became known
as aristocrats
 By 700 BC, many aristocrats had overthrown
the warrior leaders of their city-states
 Governed as an aristocracy- ruled by small
elite group of citizens

17. Phalanx
 During aristocratic years,
many commoners
revolted
 Created citizen armies
with iron weapons
 These soldiers were
called hoplites
 They formed a fighting
formation called a
phalanx

19. Tyrants
 Came to power through the rebellions
 Tyrant- someone who Illegally took power, but
had the people’s support.
 Initially provided better lives for the poorer
people in the city-state
 Promoted trade by the establishment of colonies
and often began great building projects

20. Other forms of Government
 Around 500s BC, many tyrants lost their
power to new ideas of how people
should be governed
 Ideas of popular government became
popular, the idea that people can and
should rule themselves
 Various forms of government arose in
city-states, including Athens and Sparta,
two leading city-states