Essential Questions: What role did geography play in early Greek history? How did Greek city-states develop?
I. The Sea and the Land
A. The geography of Greece had much to do about how the Greeks lived
1. Greece lies in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula at the northeastern end of the Mediterranean Sea,
and west of the Aegean Sea
a. To the northwest lies Italy
2. Greece�s long uneven coastline brought every part of the mainland close to
the sea
a. The sea played an important part in the lives of the Greeks
-fisherman, sailors, and traders
b. People from other areas brought goods and ideas to Greece
3. Greece�s geography made it hard for its people to develop a sense of unity
a. Mountains cut up the Greek mainland and kept villages apart
b. Rivers in Greece were short, making it difficult to travel and trade
-As a result, separate city-states emerged
II. Early Greek Peoples
A. People first arrived in Greece about 55,000 years ago
1. In 1900 A.D. archeologist uncovered evidence of the earliest Greek civilization
a. It was the Minoan civilization, which had developed in about 2000 B.C.
b. At about the same time, Indo-Europeans entered the Greek mainland from the north
III. The City-States of Greece
A. During the 800's and 700's, Greeks formed several independent city-states or polis
1. A polis usually developed around a fort
a. As a city grew around the fort, the idea of a polis meant fort, the city, its land, and small farming villages that
surrounded the city
2. The concept of polis was based on three basic ideas
a. Geographic territory of the city state
b. The community that it represented
c. Political and economic independence that it produced
-Over time, the polis came to represent the center of Greek identity and its inhabitants were extremely loyal to it
3. The Greek city states were alike in many ways
a. They covered a small area of land
b. Most had a population of fewer than 10,000 people
-Only free adult males had citizen rights
c. In most city states, the fort was built on a large hill or acropolis
d. Each city state had its own marketplace or agora
e. Each city state had its own government, calender, money system
f. The people spoke the same language and shared many religious ideas, cultural characteristics and social patterns
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Greek Government and Society
Essential Questions: What were the main aspects of Greek culture?
How did Greek government change over the years?
I. Greek Culture in the Homeric Age
A. During this period, few people could write, so most communication was done through songs and long poems called epics
1. The Iliad and the Odyssey
a. Most of this poetry was gathered into these two great epics
-The Iliad tells the legend of the Trojan War
-The Odyssey tells what happened after the Trojan War
-Both epics were written by the blind poet Homer
2. Greek Religious Beliefs
a. The ancient Greeks looked to religion for three things
-They wanted religion to explore nature
-They wanted religion to explain emotions
-They believed religion could bring them certain benefits such as a long life, good luck or a good harvest
b. To explain their world, the Greeks relied on myths or traditional stories about gods, goddesses and heroes
-The Greeks gave human qualities to these gods who were said to live on Mt Olympus (i.e Zeus was the king of gods,
Athena was the protector of wisdom, Aphrodite was the love goddess)
-Pleasing the gods was an important part of Greek life (i.e The Olympic Games)
II. Greek Government: From Kings to Democracy
A. At first, Greek city-states were controlled by warrior chieftains from atop their hilltop fortresses
1. Over time, landowning nobles known as aristocrats overthrew their kings and took control themselves
a. The Greek city-states that were controlled by this small ruling class were known as aristocracies
-They controlled the military, religion land and economy
-They were the judges and jury
-Prior to 600's B.C., the aristocrats were the only people who participated in politics
B. Eventually, many citizens began to look for leaders who could provide a better life
1. With the people�s support, leaders called tyrants illegally took power from the nobles
a. At first, many tyrants ruled well, but over time, they became unjust
b. After 650 B.C., many Greek city-states overthrew their tyrants
-The idea of popular government or a government by the people (democracy) began to take root (i.e. Athens)
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