More Greece Notes....

Chronology

-4000 BC- farming and village life spreads from Sumerians and Egyptians lands across SW Asia and NE Africa and the European continent

-3500 BC- Megalithic structures are constructed in Europe, Stonehenge, 160 huge bounders weighing up to 50 tons

-2500 BC- Indo-European nomads from the steppes migrate into Europe; European barbarian ways of life evolves

-1600 BC- Greek fortified settlements along the Aegean develop Mycenaean civilization

-1400 BC- Destruction of Minoan towns

-Language they would involve into Greek and Latin

-Their lives centered around strength and courage, comradeship and loyalty, contests, and battles

-Thinner populations than Egypt or Mesopotamia- they formed tribes, social, and political unit consisting of communities held together by common interests, traditions, and real or mythical ties of kinship

Tribes were headed by powerful hereditary chieftains, thought of as kings (or, rarely, queens)

- no cities, no written records, no fixed structures of government

-They were barbarians, (from Greek)

-They adopted the way of life of those they encountered, and as they traveled, this is how civilization eventually spread throughout Europe

-The distinctive civilization the Greeks developed is the first that counts as definitely western

Geography of Greece

Mountainous peninsula
- mountains cover 3/4

Approx. 1,400 islands in the Seas

Location shaped its culture

Skilled Sailors

Poor natural resources
-wood
-olives

Difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain; developed small independent
communities

Approx. 20% suitable for farming

Fertile valley covered 1/4 peninsula

Because of location, the Greek diet consists of grains, grapes, and olives

Lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization

Temperatures range from 48 in the winter to 80 in the summer

-Why the Greeks:

-New Ideas
-Incredible art forms
-Democratic government with citizen participation
-Innovators in warfare