Western Civilization - Blog Post #10 - Classical Greece

February 7, 2020

Classical Greece

Terms

Mycenaeans - Indo-Europeans who settled on the Greek mainland in about 2000 B.C. 
Trojan War - a Greek army besieged anf destroyed the city of Troy because a Trojan king kidnapped Helen, a beautiful wife of a Greek king
Dorians - peoples who moved into war-torn countryside
Homer - a great storyteller who was blind
Epics - narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds
Myths - traditional stories 

Book Notes 

  • Greece is mainly a mountainous peninsula jutting out into the Mediterainan Sea
  • It included about 2000 islands in the Aegaen and Ionian Seas and some land on the eastern edge of Aegean
  • The Mediterainean Sea shaped Greek civilization
  • The people of Greece rarely had to travel more than 85 miles to reach the coastline
  • The Aegean, Ionian, and Black Seas linked most  areas of Greece and were important transportation routes
  • As Greece became more advanced,  sea travel connected them to other societies
  • Sea travel and trade were important because Greece lacked natural resources like timber, metals, and sustainable farmland
  • Mountains covered 3/4 of Greece and they divided the land into different regions
  • The mountains ran mainly from the Northwest to the Southeast along the Balkan Peninsula
  • There was no single government in Greece, only small independent communities
  • Most of Greece had uneven terrain which caused difficulty in transportation 
  • Greece had little sustainable farmland, only 1/4 of Greece had fertile valleys
  • Small streams in these valleys didn't allow big irrigation projects
  • Greece was never able to support a big population, they could never support more than a few million people
  • Greeks wanted more living space, grassland for cattle, and farmland so they went to find new sites for colonies
  • Greece had a varied climate which had an average of 48º F in winter and 80º F in the summer
  • The temperatures allowed allowed men to have leisure time outdoors, so they solved public problems, exchanged news, and took part in civic life
  • Mycenae was the Mycenaean's leading city, located in South Greece
  • The city was protected wit ha wall greater than 20 feet thick and could withstand almost any attack
  • The Mycenaeans had a warrior-king who ruled surrounding villages and farms
  • Strong rulers controlled around other Mycenaean cities like Tiryns and Athens 
  • These kings dominated Greece from 1600 B.C. to 1100 B.C.

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