We live around the sea like frogs around a pond, noted the Greek thinker Plato. Indeed, the Mediterranean and Aegean seas were as central to the development of Greek civilization as the Nile was to the Egyptians. The ancient Greeks absorbed many ideas and beliefs from the older civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. At the same time, they evolved their own unique ways. In particular, the Greeks developed new ideas about how best to govern a society. Geography of the Greek Homeland Mountains and Valleys Greece is part of the Balkan peninsula, which extends southward into the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Mountains divide the peninsula into isolated valleys. Geography of the Greek Homeland The Greeks farmed the valleys or settled on the scattered islands They did not create a large empire They built many small city-states, cut off from one another by mountains or water. Greeks fiercely defended the independence of their tiny city-states. Endless rivalry led to frequent wars. 1
Geography of the Greek Homeland THE SEAS The seas were a vital link to the world. Its hundreds of bays, the coastline provided safe harbors They became skilled sailors around the eastern Mediterranean. They returned not only with grains and metals but also with ideas. The Greeks expanded the Phoenician alphabet into the Greek alphabet which became the basis for all western alphabets. Chart Our alphabet comes to us from the Phoenicians by way of the Greeks. The word alphabet itself comes from the first two Greek letters, alpha and beta. Europa, the beautiful daughter of the King of Phoenicia, (fo-neesha) was gathering flowers when she saw a bull quietly grazing with her father's herds. The bull was actually Zeus, king of the gods, who had fallen in love with her. When Europa reached to place flowers on his horns, he suddenly bounded into the air and carried the weeping princess far across the Mediterranean Sea to the island of Crete. Europa married the king of Crete and gave her name to a new continent Europe. This Greek legend carries seeds of truth. Crete was the cradle of an early civilization that later influenced Greeks on the European mainland. The people of Crete, however, had absorbed many ideas from the older civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Europa's journey from Phoenicia to Crete thus suggests the movement of ideas from east to west. Minoan Civilization CRETE was home to a brilliant early civilization. Called MINOANS after Minos, a legendary king of Crete. Minoans are credited as the first European civilization. Greece Athens Black Sea Minoan civilization reached its greatest success between 1750 BCE and 1500 BCE Mediterranean Sea Sparta Troy Asia Minor Minoan civilization was based on trade, setting up outposts throughout the Aegean world. Crete Aegean Sea Egypt Mesopotamia 2
The Palace of Knossos Today from the air PALACE AT KNOSSOS Minoan Civilization Knossos is an expansive palace atop a low hill just a few kilometers outside Heraklion in Crete The palace of Knossos is the grandest of the four Minoan palaces that have been unearthed in Crete It housed 800 rooms for the royal family, banquet halls, and work areas for artisans. The walls of the palace are covered with colorful FRESCOES, watercolor paintings done on wet plaster. The Palace of Knossos What might have been 3
The palace of Knossos was the stage for a number of fascinating myths in ancient Greece. Its complex architecture has been identified as the legendary LABYRINTH or maze Knossos was the place where the MINOTAUR - a terrible monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull He lived in the Labyrinth, tormenting and then eating six youths and six maidens who were sent by Athens every 9 years in tribute to king Minos' rule. The Athenian hero Theseus put an end to this tradition by slaying the beast with the aid of the daughter of Minos Ariadne fell in love with him and gave him a ball of thread which he unraveled as he entered the labyrinth, and after killing the minotaur, he followed it on his way back towards the exit. This is the palace and its famous Labyrinth that was built by the famed architect Daedalus who after completing its construction was held prisoner by King Minos so he would be unable to divulge the palace's plan to anyone else As the story goes, Daedalus and his son Icarus constructed wings made of feathers and wax, and thus were able to fly off the island to freedom. In a tragic turn of events, during their escape youthful Icarus soared higher and higher in the sky despite his wise father's advise. Getting close to the sun was his undoing as the heat melted the wax which held the wings together and he plunged to his death somewhere in the Aegean sea, near the island we now call "Ikaria". 4
Mycenaean Civilization The MYCENAENS (mī suh nee uhnz) the first Greekspeaking invaders who helped with the destruction of Minoan civilization.. Mycenaean civilization dominated the Aegean world from about 1400 b.c.e. to 1200 b.c.e. They were sea traders. They reached out beyond the Aegean to Sicily, Italy, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. They learned writing the Minoans. Mycenaean Civilization They conquered the Greek mainland before overrunning Crete. The Mycenaeans lived in separate CITY-STATES on the mainland. Wealthy rulers amassed hoards of treasure, including fine gold ornaments that archaeologists have unearthed from their tombs. 5