Hello,

Today in Western Civ we mostly just took notes, and here they are:

Geography of Greece:

Mountainous peninsula

Mountains cover 3/4

Approximately 1,400 islands in the Aegean and ionian Seas

Location shaped its culture

Skilled sailors

Poor natural resources

Difficult to unite the ancient Greeks because of the terrain; developed small, independent communities 

Approximately 20% suitable for farming

Fertile valleys cover 1/4 of peninsula

Because of geography the Greek diet consists of gains, grapes and olives

Lack of resources most likely led to Greek colonization 

Temperatures range from 48 in the winter to 80 in the summer

Mediterranean was thought to be the middle of the Earth 

Mycenaens:

Began around 2000 B.C.

Mycenae is located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20ft. think wall

Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1600-1200 B.C.

Controlled trade in the region

1400 B.C. Mycenaeans invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language

Culture in Decline:

Around 1200 B.C. sea people began to invade Mycenae and burnt palace after palace

The Dorians moved into the war-town region

Far less advanced 

Economy collapsed 

Writing disappeared for 400 years

Homer and Myths:

Storied were passed along by word of mouth

Homer lived at the end of the “Greek Dark Ages”

Recorded stories of the Trojan War in The Iliad and The Odyssey (written 750-700 B.C.)

Trojan war was probably one of the last conquests of the Mycenaeans 

Odyssey was 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter

Iliad was