Section+5-1+Cultures+of+the+Mountains+and+the+Sea

Chapter 5-1: Cultures of the Mountains of the Sea

**__ Key Words: __** - Epics: narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds

**__Important People:__** - Mycenaeans - Dorians - Homer

**__ Key Points: __**

//Geography Shapes Greek Life:// - Ancient Greece = mountainous peninsula - Peninsula juts into Mediterranean Sea - Included 2,000 Islands in Aegean/Ionian seas  //The Sea:// - Shaped Greek civilizations = River shaped river valley civilizations - Rarely travel more then 85 miles to coastline <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Seas = major transportation routes

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//The Land:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Mountains covered 3/4 of ancient Greece <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Developed small individual governments in valleys between mountains instead of one single government <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Made land travel difficult <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Stony land = not much suitable for farming <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Farming land covered 1/4 of ancient Greece

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//The Climate:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Mild climate (48º F in winter - 80º F in summer) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Supported outdoor lifestyle of the Greeks

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Mycenaean Civilization Develops:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Indo - European people migrated into Greece <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Settled around 2000 BC <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Called Mycenaeans <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Leading city = Mycenae

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Contact with Minoans:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- After 1500 BC Mycenaeans contact with Minoans <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Saw value of sea trade <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Started sea trade <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Influenced with writing style and decorations <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Religion, art, politics, and literature

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//The Trojan War:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- 1200 BC Mycenaeans fought ten year war with Troy <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Trojan War = fictional

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Greek Culture Declines Under the Dorians: // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- After Trojan War Mycenaean civilization collapsed <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Far less advanced then Mycenaeans <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Writing disappeared (400 year span) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Result = little knowledge of period of Greek history

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Epics of Homer:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- No writing = word of mouth <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Gave birth to Home (poet <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Composed epics

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Greeks Create Myths:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Create myths <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Stories about their gods <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Gods had human qualities <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- They fought each other for power <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Zeus was ruler of all gods <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Lived on Mount Olympus