Geography

Even More Geography

- Although fertile valleys cover one quarter of the peninsula, only about 20% is arable (suitable for farming)
- Greek diet consists of grains, grapes, olives, and fish
- Lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization
- Back then, temperatures usually ranged from mid 40s in the winter to low 80s in the summer- although it could get hot in the summer, it was pretty nice year-round

Some early peoples- first Mycenaeans

- their influence began around 2000 BCE
- Mycenae is located on a rocky ridge on Peloponnesus, protected by a 20-foot thick wall
- Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1600-1100 BCE
- controlled trade in the region
- 1400 BCE: Mycenaeans invaded Crete
- Minoan Culture (writing systems, art, language, politics, literature, religion)

Greek Culture Declines under the Dorians

- Homer: a blind man who was the greatest storyteller
- Epics: narrative poems
- Dorian: Greek-speaking people migrated into mainland Greece after the destruction of the Mycenaean civilization