1. shieled by lots of natural barriers
2. Peninsulas with lots of little islands ( over 400 inhabited but still hundrends taht are not)
3. Very mountanious (good for defense)
4. Allows for regionalism
   1. causes Greece to exist not as a unifed country, but as citystates.
   2. Allows for some citystates to dominate creatain areas.
   3. Two big city states are Athens and Spara (Some others at this time are Thessaloniki, Thebes, Olympia but they are not so powerful and are easly conquered by the two above or could have been.)

Minoan Civilization: (2000-1450B.C.)

1. Located on the island of Crete
2. Capital is called Knossos
3. Named after a king called Minos
4. Seafaring, and Trading people who were very wealth and advancded for this time period.
5. A theory on their destruction is not for sure known yet but there are two possiblities
   1. Tidal waves from a nearby active volcano that erquted not far from the island destroyed them.
   2. That after the tidal wave the Myceans came in from mainland Greece and took them out.

Myceans

1. They were a warrior population.
2. Goal was to get arete (Honor)
3. Was a warrior culture.
4. Fought in the Trojan war
   1. The Trojan war may not have happen.
   2. Most to all our information of the Trojan war comes from Homer.
   3. The Greeks strongly believe it to be true.
5. They fouhgt with each other for power
   1. This had a negative affect on all of Greece.
   2. The Greeks enteted into the "Dark Ages"

Dark Ages

1. The population of Greece declines.
2. Also their is a decline in cultrual awareness.
3. The Greeks adopt the Phoencian alaphabet and modern Greek starts to emerge.
4. They start to focus on only food production and metal working.
5. They you could say go backwards to the old way of living.

Greek Polis

1.  750 B.C. the Polis comes into play in Greece.
   1. Polis is the center all Greek life, in other words it is the center of the town.
2. Organazation of the Polis
   1. Acropolis is an area of forticifation on high ground that is the center of the polis where religion, and politics take place.
   2. Agora- the low land that is surrondig the Acropolis inside the Polis, and the market and social gathering. (This is still around in Athens to this day it made it very easy for my mother and I to get to where we wanted when visiting Athens.
3. Population of Polis
   1. A few hundred people to a few thousands.
   2. Athens had about 300,000 people.
4. Socail Organization
   1. Citizens with political rights were adult males
   2. Citizens without political rights were the women and children.
   3. Non-citizens were slaces and resident aliens.
5. Political Participation
   1. Considered vital amongst the Greeks.
   2. Leads to distracst/dislikes amongst other city-states.
6. Development of new Army
   1. They developed the hoplites.
   2. Sphalanx
7. Greek Colonization
   1. City-states see to increase their land.
   2. Greeks setup colonies around the Medditterean Sea
      1. One of these colonies is Byzantium.
   3. Growth of wealthy merchants
      1. They wanted political power
   4. Land aristocrats don't want to give up power
      1. Merchants hire up mercanary armyto help take power.
   5. Merchants become Tyrant leaders
      1. People become upset with the tryants
      2. The tryants don't care really about the law.
   6. Political Sytems Emerge
      1. Oligarchy
      2. Democracy