Early Greek Civilizations

Dardanelles

Sea of Marmara

Persian Empire

Why Greek Colonization?

●Only 20% of Greek land was Arable – could support farming

●Needed food to support growing populations

Why Greek Colonization?

Spreads Greek Culture

Early Greek Civilizations

●1.Minoans●2.Mycenaeans●3.Dorians

The Minoans

●•Great trading powers ●•Often compared to

Phoenicians●•Located on Crete●•Traded:

o– swords

o–pottery

o– figurines

o–precious metals

Minoans

Minoans

●•Knossos = Minoan capital city

●•Named for most famous ruler, King Minos

Minoans

●•Legend says Minos kept a Minotaur (half-

human, half-bull) inside labyrinth of palace.

Theseus v. the Minotaur

Minoans

●•Athletic people who enjoyed sports, colorfully painted walls, & beautiful pottery.

Bull-leaping

Frescoes

End of Minoan Civilization

●•Earthquakes & volcanic eruptions

●•1470 BCE – earthquake/possible tsunami devastate city

●•Invaders take advantage of weakened condition

●•Ends around 1200 BCE

Mycenaeans

●Indo-Europeans settle on Peloponnesus Peninsula

●Main city = Mycenae

●Ruled by warrior kings

●Invade Minoans & adopt culture = preserve Minoan ideas

Mycenaeans & the Trojan War

●10 year battle

● Troy vs. Greek city-states including Mycenae

●Helen wife of Sparta’s king Menelauso–‘kidnapped’ by Paris, a prince

of Troy

●Sparta & her allies won

●The Iliad & The Odyssey

Real Cause? Still Disputed

The End of the Mycenaeans

●Collapses not long after Trojan War

●Sea raiders enter city, destroy palace

The Dorians – The Dark Age

●1150-750 BCE●Far less advanced ●No written records -

illiterate society●‘Dark Ages’ of Greek

civilization●Dorians meld into

other Greek city-states