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Houghton Mifflin History, World History: Ancient Civilizations

The geography of Ancient Greece greatly influenced the development of Greek civilization. Greece's mountainous landscape meant that only about 20-30% of the land was suitable for farming, forcing the Greeks to rely heavily on the sea for trade and food. They traded agricultural goods like olive oil and wine that grew well in the Mediterranean climate. The rocky soil also led people to settle in coastal city-states called poleis for community living and trade. Being situated along the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas gave the Greeks access to waterways that allowed them to expand their trade network and spread their culture and colonies along coastal regions. The geography helped provide for basic needs and fueled advances in trade, construction, and community that contributed to Greece's

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89 views

Houghton Mifflin History, World History: Ancient Civilizations

The geography of Ancient Greece greatly influenced the development of Greek civilization. Greece's mountainous landscape meant that only about 20-30% of the land was suitable for farming, forcing the Greeks to rely heavily on the sea for trade and food. They traded agricultural goods like olive oil and wine that grew well in the Mediterranean climate. The rocky soil also led people to settle in coastal city-states called poleis for community living and trade. Being situated along the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas gave the Greeks access to waterways that allowed them to expand their trade network and spread their culture and colonies along coastal regions. The geography helped provide for basic needs and fueled advances in trade, construction, and community that contributed to Greece's

Uploaded by

Melissa Giorgi
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Greek civilization started in 1100 B.C.E.

The development of civilization in

Ancient Greece was directly effected by the geography. Greece has numerous mountains

and the land is very rocky and barren. Thus, creating an environment, that made it very

difficult to produce all necessary items to sustain living. Two examples of how the

geography directly affected the Ancient Greeks, is by the landscape and climate of the

country and also the settlement of many people along the mainland, where the sea is

easily accessible.

The landscape of Greece is very mountainous. Mountains cover about 70 to 80

percent of Greece.1 There isn’t very much land that is suitable for farming. Ancient

Greeks turned to growing olives and grapes, which the climate supported. The climate in

Ancient Greece also helped provide a rich, flourishing year round trading market for

these items. Many other surrounding countries did not have a climate like the Greeks did.

The temperature in Greece is very mild all year. During the winter it is about 50 degrees

and the weather is approximately 80 degrees in the summer. There was an over

abundance of olive oil, grapes, wool and pottery. They would trade these items with other

countries in order to obtain grain, timber, animal hides and slaves which the Greeks did

not have an access to. The land in Greece is very rocky, as the economy grew, many

1
Houghton Mifflin History, World History: Ancient Civilizations
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/ca/books/bkf3/reviews/pdfs/LS_6_11_01.pdf

1
people started to develop a new style of community2, called the polis also know as a city-

state. They were built on hills. The main reason for the development of the polis, was

community based living. There would be no control over the people; rather, people would

control themselves. The polis was to be your main concern and would take priority over

anything in your life. Within the community, there were many establishments, some

examples were assemblies where Men would go to discuss matters concerning the public,

there were temples of gods who protected the polis3 and the marketplace, to name a few.

In order to live in a polis, you needed to have a strong sense of community and make it

your number one priority.

Mainland Greece and the Islands of Greece are located along the Aegean and

Mediterranean Sea’s. This provided access to other countries and provided ways for the

Ancient Greeks to trade items so that they could prosper and boost their economy. Many

men became skilled fisherman and sailors. Fish became a huge part of their diet, as there

was not much access to other food. The Greeks would dry the fish or trade it fresh to

other countries, as well. They also, built rowing warships and sailing trade ships. These

ships were built, so that they could navigate the seas and expand their trading with

countries that they could not normally access. The Greek City-States traded goods with

each other, but as they got more advanced, they started trading with Egypt, Italy and also

countries along the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. The Greeks depended on the sea to

connect with other countries and to also connect with each other. By connecting with

other countries, the Ancient Greeks were able to see how plentiful other land was and

2
Brian Levack, The West:Encounters and Transformations, 60
3
Brian Levack, The West:Encounters and Transformations, 60

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how prosperous they could be, if they moved to foreign territory. The Greeks moved all

over the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. In doing so, they were able to get involved with

farming and, in turn, provide healthier lifestyles for their families.

As mentioned above, the Greek geography had a major affect on the people of

Ancient Greece. The climate in Greece gave basic needs for people, which included;

food, shelter and clothing. Not having to worry about these necessitates allowed them to

focus on trade, construction and community. This helped them make huge advancements

that would otherwise not be possible. The geography helped make possible, the

construction of city-state’s and the ability to colonize in other countries. The direct result

was the expansion of culture and intellect that would help the Greeks prosperity for many

years to come.

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