Greece's mountainous terrain and location along the sea shaped early Greek civilization. Farmers in mountainous areas grew crops and raised livestock, while coastal communities became fishermen, sailors, and traders who exchanged goods. The Minoans, based on the island of Crete, built large palaces and cities between 3000-1550 BC and became skilled seafaring traders, exchanging goods around the Mediterranean. They developed a writing system. The Mycenaeans then invaded Crete around 1450 BC and controlled the region until 1100 BC, adopting Minoan customs. Ancient stories like the Iliad and Odyssey told of the Mycenaeans and their involvement in the Trojan War.

1. Chapter 7
Ancient Greece

2. Section 1
Early People of Greece

3. Mountains & the Sea
• Greece is nearly ¾ covered with mountains
▫ Early farmers grew olives, grapes, & grain foods in
the thin, rocky, & dry climate
▫ Raised sheep, goats, pigs, & cattle to get skins for
clothing
▫ Rugged land made travel hard & impossible in
some areas
 Mountain people survived on the food they raised
 Each village formed their own governments &
became independent of each other

4. • Greeks living near the sea became fishers,
sailors, & merchants
▫ Little natural resources led Greek to look outside
Greece for trade
• Greece’s location made it a great trading center
• Traders on the Mediterranean were eager to
exchange their goods for olive oil, wool, & wine
• 3000 & 1550 B.C. the Mediterranean’s 1st great
trading center grew on the island of Crete

5. The Minoans
• 1990 B.C. people of Crete built huge palaces
▫ Palaces were like small cities
▫ Were centers of government & religion
 Largest was Knossos (stood 3 stories high)
 Other buildings for storing food & decorative paintings
• Minoans built Knossos & other cities of Crete
▫ Were seafaring traders
▫ Traded with people in Africa, Asia, & Europe
 Egypt & Syria were main trading partners
▫ Trading ships carried olive oil, wine, wool, pottery, & other goods
to oversea ports
 Returned with copper, tin, & gold
 Mixed copper & tin to form bronze
▫ Developed a writing system to keep track of their trade
• Minoan kingdom destroyed by fire or earthquake in 1450 B.C.

7. The Mycenaeans
• Seemed to be warlike people
• Measured wealth by number of weapons they owned
• Learned many Minoan customs through trade with
them
▫ Adapted Minoan art & pottery styles
▫ Changed writing system to fit their language &
borrowed some religious beliefs
• 1450 B.C. Mycenaeans invaded Crete
▫ Controlled Crete & Peloponnesus from 1450 to 1100
B.C.

8. Ancient Stories & Legends
• Stories of Homer tell us history of Mycenaeans
▫ Long stories were called epics
▫ Storytellers retold these epics
 Iliad: epic which tells about people’s actions during a
great war
 Odyssey: describes the adventure of the hero
Odysseus on his journey home from the war
▫ War described by Homer was fought between the
Greeks & the people of Troy
 Trojan War