Today’s Lesson

1. Today’s Lesson Part I • Identify the early civilizations of the Aegean world • Describe the story of the Trojan horse

2. The Aegean World • Ancient Greece is considered part of the Aegean world • The Aegean world included all civilizations around the Aegean Sea

3. Minoans 2000-1450 BCE • The civilization of Crete was the most important one in the Aegean world • The people who lived on Crete were known as Minoans

4. Minoan Civilization The Minoans were an advanced civilization • They built homes with indoor plumbing • They traded with other civilizations • They were great sailors • They had no army

5. Mycenaeans 1450-1100 BCE • A people known as the Mycenaeans took control of Crete • They were also traders, but they were more warlike than the Minoans • Two famous stories, the Iliad and the Odyssey, tell the story of the Mycenaeans

6. The Odyssey and The Trojan War • What is a “Trojan horse” in the figurative sense?

7. Today’s Lesson Part II • Define “polis, ” “acropolis,” and “agora” • Describe life in a Greek agora

8. The Dark Age 1100-800 BCE • Invasions and natural disasters led to the end of Mycenaean civilization • For a period known as the “Dark Age,” many signs of culture, including written language, disappeared

9. The End of the Dark Age By 800 BCE, small communities grew into larger settlements across Greece • The people called themselves Hellenes (we call them Greeks) • The people shared a common language • They learned a new alphabet from trading with people called Phoenicians

10. Colonies Between 800 and 500 BCE, Greeks created colonies (settlements) in other parts of Europe, Asia and North Africa • Their population was growing; they needed food • Sometimes the Greeks pushed out the local people; other times they settled and set up trading routes QUESTION: What do you notice about the geography of where the Greeks had colonies?

11. The Greek Polis Ancient Greece had no single country or ruler • Instead, separate city-states developed • A city-state was known as a polis (plural = poleis) • A polis included a central town, surrounded by smaller villages and land QUESTION: How did geography influence the development of city-states in Greece?

12. The Acropolis • The highest part of the town was called the acropolis • The acropolis was a fort that protected the town The acropolis in Athens

13. The Agora The most busy part of the polis was the agora or market and gathering place • Farmers and fishermen sold food at the agora • Craftspeople sold pottery at the agora • Townspeople would gather at the agora

14. Assignment • Read about the ancient Greek agora • What can we learn about ancient Greek civilization from the description of the agora? • Government? • Religion? • Social Class? • Contact with other civilizations? • Architecture? • Arts?