Transcript geography of ancient greece

Geography and Early
Greek Civilization
Scroll through the PowerPoint presentation and
copy only what is in RED in your notes. Also answer
the questions throughout and at the end.
Greece is a mountainous peninsula
with islands.
Greece is mountainous.
The Geography of Greece
• Ancient Greece consisted of a large
mountainous peninsula and islands in the
Aegean Sea.
• Greece’s hilly terrain made farming
difficult
• Its location on the Aegean Sea encouraged
trade.
Mountains separated Greek cities.
The Effects of Mountains
• Greece’s mountainous terrain separated the
ancient Greek cities.
• As a result, the ancient Greeks never developed
a unified system of government.
• The ancient Greeks developed the polis or citystate.
The Greeks lived in separate city-states.
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.
The ancient Greeks farmed but it was
difficult. Hills are not suited for farming.
However, there is always the sea.
Even today, the Greeks have access
to the Mediterranean Sea and the
Aegean Sea.
The Seas
• Greece is a peninsula and islands.
• Seas surround parts of Greece.
• The Seas allowed the Greeks to travel and trade.
• Trade encouraged cultural diffusion.
Trade and Cultural Diffusion
• The seas allowed the Greeks to depend heavily
on trade.
• Trade encouraged cultural diffusion.
• The Greeks were exposed to the Phoenician
alphabet and Egyptian geometry.
Questions for Reflection (answer
in your notebook) :
• 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.