Cultures of the Mountains and the Sea

Setting the Stage
- Not a united country.
- By 2000 BC the Minoans lived on the large Greek Island of Crete.
- They had great power in the Mediterranean world.
- At the same time, Indo-European people migrated from the plains along the Black Sea and Anatolia.
- They settled in mainland Greece

Geography Shapes Greek Life
- Ancient Greece consisted mainly of mountainous peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea.
- It consisted of 1400 islands in Aegean and Ionian Seas.

The Sea
- They did not live in the land, but around the sea
- Greeks rarely traveled more than 85 miles to reach the coastline.
- These liquid highways linked most parts of Greece.
- Sea travel and trade were also important because Greece itself was poor in natural resources
- Lacked: timber, precious metals, and usable farmland

The Land
- Mountains covered three-fourths of ancient Greece
- Mountain chains ran northwest to southeast along the Balkan peninsula
- Difficult to unite the government into one
- Each valley was a small independent community
- City-state Sparta was only about 60 miles from Olympia
- It took then a week to get there
- Stony land-approximately 20%- was arable, suitable for farming
- Fertile valleys covered one-forth of Greece
- The small streams were not suitable for the large-scale projects
- Greece was never able support a large population
- No more than a few million lived in ancient Greece
- Basic diet consisted of grains, grapes, and olives.
- A desire for more living space, grasslands for raising livestock, and adequate farmland may have been factors that motivated the Greeks to seek new sites for colonies.

The Climate
- Third important environmental influence
- Varied climates from 48 degrees in winter to 80 degrees in summer
- Men spent most time at outdoor public events
- Met often to discuss public issues, exchange news, and take an active part in civil life.