Classical Greece~ 2000 BC- 300 BC

2/7/20

Main Idea- in the Greek city state of Athens, a new form of government developed, democracy, in which citizens exercised power
Cultural Interaction- Alexander the Great spread Greek culture throughout much of Asia. Greek Egyptian, Greek, and Asian cultures then blended to create Hellenistic culture
Empire Building-  Athens assumed control of a defense league and eventually built it into an empire. Later Alexander conquered the Persian Empire and beyond to create a vast new empire of his own

Geography Shapes Greek Life

• Ancient Greece consisted of a mountainous peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea and about 2,000 islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas

The Sea 

• the sea shaped Greek civilization just like Egyptians and the Nile
• Greek live not on land but around the sea
• seas were important for travel and linked most parts of Greece 
• trade and travel helped Greek because the lacked natural resources

The Land 

• mountains covered 3/4 of Ancient Greece 
• mountain chains ran mainly northwest to southeast along the Balkan Peninsula 
• mountains divided land into different regions which influenced political life
• there were uneven terrain so made it hard to travel on land
• land was stoney

The Climate

• weather varied

Mycenaean Civilization Develops 

• Indo-Europeans that migrated into Greece around 2000 BC were known as Mycenaeans 
• they got their name from the leading city Mycenae