Geography and Early Greek Civilization

1. Sales for a business were 3 million dollars more the second year than the first, and sales for the third year were double the sales for the second year. If sales for the third year were 38 million dollars, what were sales, in millions of dollars, for the first year? • 16 • 17.5 • 20.5 • 22 • 35

2. Geography and Early Greek Civilization In this lesson, students will identify characteristics of Greece’s geography and its impact on the development of ancient cultures. Students will be able to identify and/or define the following terms and concepts: The Geography of Greece Geographic Effects on Greek cultures Polis

3. Geography of Greece • Tallest Mountain: Mount Olympus • Largest Lake: Lake Trichonida • Longest River: Haliacmon River • Largest island: Crete • Ancient Wonders: Colossus of Rhodes and Statue of Zeus at Mount Olympus

4. Greece is mountainous.

5. E. Napp

6. Greece is a mountainous peninsula with over 1,400 islands.

7. The Geography of Greece • Ancient Greece consisted of a large mountainous peninsula and islands in the Aegean Sea. • Its hilly terrain made farming difficult • The Mediterranean Sea encouraged trading

8. Mountains separated Greek cities. Each city state was surrounded by mountains

9. The Effects of Mountains • Greece’s mountainous terrain separated the ancient Greek cities. • Therefore, the ancient Greeks never developed a unified system of government. • Each city state had its own identity, culture, and government • The ancient Greeks developed the polis or city-state.

10. The Greeks lived in separate city-states. E. Napp

11. The Polis • Polis was the Greek word for “city-state”. • A polis was an independent city and its surrounding farmland. • Every polis had its own government and laws but the Greeks shared a common language and religion.

12. The ancient Greeks farmed but it was difficult. Hills are not suited for farming.

13. However, there is always the sea.

14. Even today, the Greeks have access to the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea.

15. The Seas • Greece is a peninsula and islands. • Greece is surrounded by the Aegean, Mediterranean, Ionian, and the Sea of Crete • The Seas allowed the Greeks to travel and trade. • Trade encouraged cultural diffusion.

16. Trade and Cultural Diffusion • The Greeks were exposed to the Phoenician alphabet and Egyptian geometry. • Greece developed their own alphabet, architecture, language, religion, and government but were influenced by others.

17. Questions for Reflection: • Why was it difficult to farm in ancient Greece? • Why did the Greeks depend heavily on trade? • List two geographic features and their effects on the Greeks. • Why did the ancient Greeks never develop a unified system of government? • Define polis.