the land of greece Flashcards
Fundamental features of Greece’s geography
Surrounding sea
Mountains (usually the centre of the peninsula)
The Aegan Sea
The greek sea, where the main greek islands were
Aegan islands promoted major communication between shores, even before seafaring - Palaeolithic Stone Age rafts were pushed along from island to island
How and why was the sea important in Greece?
It was a mode of connection and communication - as Greeks relied on seaborne trade and transport by seafaring
NOT a barrier
Also important in Greek culture, war, diplomacy and other international achievement
Sea was a necessary condition for imperial states
[Athens became great in 400s BC by sea]
Seafaring
Greeks copied seamanship of the Phoenicians of Lebanon circa 900-700 BC - overtaking them and becoming the best seafarers of the ancient world
Seafaring was fast and efficient for:
- seaborne trade and transport
- finding better farmland; new cities were established to take advantage of nearby natural harbors and waterways
- military tactics; fastest way to bring harm to enemies at various points, stopping imports and starving enemies
What about the geography of Greece encouraged or helped seafaring?
Encourage:
Mountains, scarce farmland and immensely long overall coastline of 2000m total - made Greeks take to sea to compensate for their home region’s lack of space and fertility
Help:
Mediterranean and Aegan Sea has; no tides, broken by islands and peninsula and a calm weather window in the summer
HOWEVER because of bad navigation, Greeks depended on visible reckonings and landmarks (stars / coastal landmarks) to not stray far from shelter - making for coastal routing
Seafaring vessels
Made of timber
Power from wind (for heavier ships) and oars (smaller craft - better control and uniformity);
Most ships had a single mast, hoisting one square sail made of patch work linen / canvas
Good progress was only made if wind was fully or nearly astern
Merchant vessel
CIRCA 500 BC
Larger type; carries freight - sailing day and night - resting on mattresses, feeding from supplies abroad
Deep draft
Wide beams
Heavy mast
Hulls usually closed at the top by a deck
Carried only a small crew
Shipwrecks were common because of long range voyages
War vessel
CIRCA 480 BC
Designed for speed; difficult to spend nights abroad ship - needs to pitch camp ashore
Slender
Shallow drafted
Low riding
Hull was typically undecked or partly decked
Every foot of space was taken up by oarsmen and soldiers
Conditions for safe seafaring
Shipping and navy operations were confined to May to mid September when the weather is sunny and calm
NOT in winter - due to violent storms, reduced visibility by rain and fog, as well as short daylight
Peloponnese
The mainland’s Southern peninsula - heartland of the earliest stages of Greek civilization
Sparta, Corinth, Argos, Epidaurus
Mount Olympus
Located in north eastern Greece; remote location with minimal inhabitance and no farmland
“Home of the Gods”
Highest mountain in Greece
What was the consequences of the mountainous landscape?
Disunity
Landscape was displaced by the mountains - only 20% of the landscape is prime farmland - with another 10% being marginal farmland on the hillside
Prime patches of farmland
Plain of Messenia; in Peloponnese - the most fertile in Greece
Plain of Boeotia; east central Greece - major city Thebes
Thessaly in the north
What was the effect of this limited farmland?
Food and water supply anxiety was a constant, therefore, competition for resources caused:
- Neighboring cities were enemies or rivals
Farming plain is needed for a city to be successful
Border wars and wars for full possession of a farming plain often took place
Border War examples
Chalcis and Eretria in central Greece - 700 BC
Athens and Megara
Megara and Corinth (won) - 600s to 500s BC
Tegea and Mantinea in the north central Peloponnese - 400s BC
Sparta neighbor wars
by 700 BC - Sparta conquered Plain of Laconia (farming plain); and invaded Plain of Messenia in southwest Peloponnese
Messenians were reduces to slaves (helots); and kept in Messenia as farm laborers for 300 years
by 600s BC - Sparta owned Laconia and Messenia (2/5 of Peloponnese)
Other solutions to the land and farm problem
Population control;
700s BC - city states sent out shiploads of men to find new farmland in South Italy, North Africa etc.. (Greek Colonization era of 700s-500BC)
Seeking livelihood by sea;
commercial fishing, long distance sea trading, piracy
OR Purchasing extra grain from abroad;
only available to cities with strong economies and seaborne trade networks
- Athens 600 BC bought grains from Ukraine and southern Russia
- Corinth 600 BC bought grains from Sicily
Greece’s climate
Dry; with only a rainy season from October to April
Summers are hot and dry
Winters are more rainy and is when vegetation flourishes
HOWEVER rain fell less on the eastern side vs the west;
because of north to south spine of central mountains blocking eastward progress of prevailing water - causing the rain-cloud dump on the western half
- Athens receives 15 inch of rain
- Corinth receives 43 inches of rain
= Cause for the farming problem
Natural resources from the greek mountains
Timber
Limestone and marble
Mineral wealth: metal deposits - iron copper, silver
What are the effects of ground limestone?
Caves;
the relatively soft limestone gets hollowed out by running water, underground, over thousands of years
Loss of surface water, vertically, down into the ground;
(rain or springtime runoff)
- Worsening perpetual water shortage
- Few rivers and lakes: instead, porous limestone allows water to fall from the surface to underground
Main crops of ancient Greece
MEDITERRANEAN TRIAD:
Grain (barley and wheat)
Olives
Grapes
Other fruit trees: figs, pears, pomegranates
Legumes: beans, peas, chick peas
Grain goddess
Demeter
Persephone (her daughter)
Olive goddess
Gift of the goddess Athena
Grapes god
Dionysus
