Ancient Greece

1. Ancient Greece

2. Located on the Southeastern Part of Europe

3. Minoans • The first known inhabitants of Greece. • Farmers that settled the island of Crete around 6000 B.C. • Skilled traders, craftsment and artists. • Knossos, Zakro, Phaestos and Mallia are four main palace cities. Knossos was the largest. Minoan and Mycenaen Cities

4. Minoans • Most of their cities were coastal where fertile farmlands and rich sea resources were abundant. • Some could read and write. • Their palaces were often decorated with wall paintings called frescoes. • Much of our information about the Minoans comes from surviving frescoes. • The bull and double-headed axe were sacred symbols.

5. The End of the Minoans • Around 1450 B.C. all the palaces on Crete were suddenly destroyed. • It is believed that a series of natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions led to the destruction of the Minoan way of life.

6. Mycenaeans • From around 1600 B.C. to around 1100 B.C. the Greek mainland was ruled by a group of people we call the Mycenaeans. • They were farmers, craftsmen, traders and very warlike. • The Greek poet Homer told a story about the Trojan War where a united group of Mycenaeans destroyed the city of Troy after a ten year seige. • We no believe Troy’s remains have been found in modern day Turkey.

7. An Acropolis • Their cities were often built on or around easily defended high ground. • They would surround these cities with walls. • This type of fortified city was called an acropolis; which means high city. The Greek City of Athens is famous for its acropolis. A CGI Image of an Acropolis

8. The Fall of the Mycenaeans • Around 1200 B.C. the Mycenaean world was breaking up. • Poor harvests, food shortages and famine forced the Mycenaeans to leave their homes. • As their world fell apart Greece entered a period known as the Dark Ages. • From 1100 B.C. – 800 B.C. a group of Greeks called the Dorians lived in the region but as they had little to no writing little is known about them.

9. Dorians • The art of writing was not the only art lost. • Skilled pottery, jewel making and architecture all suffered during the Dark Ages. • House were made of mud and wood instead of stone. • Their clothes were very simple, including a simple cloth tunic called the “Doric chiton”. • We do know that the Dorians seemed to believe in cremating (burning to ashes) their dead.

10. Archaic Period 800 – 500 B.C. • Around 800 B.C. the art of writing begins to appear again. With this comes written records. • The Greeks seemed to have adopted the Phoenician (another Mediterranean people) alphabet but added several vowels to it. • This modified alphabet is the beginnings of our modern English alphabet. • Luckily, many ancient tales survived the Dark Ages due to the professional poets called bards. • Their stories were greatly exaggerated.