The Mediterranean Basin Geography of Greece is located

The Mediterranean Basin

Geography of Greece is located at the southernmost tip of Europe and has one of the most unusual geographic formations of any country in Europe. Including the islands, it has an area of 50, 959 square miles (about the size of the state of Alabama) and an estimated (200 l) population of 11, 000

Geography of Greece – Greece is washed on three sides by seas; by the Ionian Sea to the west, the Aegean Sea to the east and the Libyan Sea to the south. To the north lie Albania, Fyrom and Bulgaria. To the northeast is Turkey. Lying at the crossroads of three continents, Greece is a stepping-stone to Asia and Africa. It is for the most part a mountainous country with approximately four-fifths of the area made of mountains. Indented by gulfs and inlets, the coastline is one of the longest of any country in Europe.

Geography of Greece – The main geographic divisions of Greece are (I) the northern region which includes Epirus Macedonia and Thrace; (2) central Greece which includes Thessaly; (3) the Peloponnese which is separated from the mainland by the Corinth Canal; and (4) the islands of the Aegean Sea to the east of the mainland, the Ionian islands to the west, and Crete, the largest Greek island, to the south.

Greece and the Eastern Med

MAJOR PERIODS IN GREEK HISTORY – ca. 3000 B. C. E. BRONZE AGE – ca. 1580 B. C. E. Minoan-Mycenaean civilization – ca. 1100 B. C. E. DARK AGE – ca. 750 B. C. E. ARCHAIC PERIOD – ca. 500 -323 B. C. E. CLASSICAL PERIOD (323 B. C. E. d. of Alexander) – 323 -31 B. C. E. HELLENISTIC PERIOD – 146 B. C. E. Greece becomes Roman province – 31 B. C. E. -324 C. E. ROMAN PERIOD (31 B. C. E. Battle of Actium)

MAJOR PERIODS IN GREEK HISTORY – 324 C. E. Founding of Constantinople – 5 th-6 th c. C. E. LATE ANTIQUITY; BYZANTINE CIVILIZATION begins – 1453 C. E. Sack of Constantinople by Turks – 1827 The Modern Greek State is born – 1834 The Bavarians move the capital to Athens – 1922 ASIA MINOR CATASTROPHE – 1940 Italian Invasion of Greece is resisted successfully – 1941 Hitler comes to the aid of Musolini, and the Germans occupy Greece until 1944 – 1981 GREECE BECOMES THE 10 TH MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

BRONZE AGE The second millennium B. C. in Greece gave birth to three great civilizations: 1. the Minoan on Crete 2. the Cycladic in the islands of Central Aegean. 3. and the Mycenaean on the mainland Greece

CYCLADIC CIVILIZATION – The Cycladic civilization has been developed in the islands of Cyclades and it has been the field of investigation of the Greek pioneer archeologist Christos Toundas. It covers a time period from 3000 until 1100 BC and reached its zenith during the first millennium. – The statuettes, the famous Cycladic marble figures, namely small cycladic statues made of marble from Paros - are the most impressive findings of this period. Such statuettes, as those of the Neolithic era, mainly represent the form of Big Mother, Goddess of fertility and eternal life. The tools, golden jewels and ceramics discovered, date to the same epoch and offer important information for the daily activities of people at that time.

CYCLADIC CIVILIZATION – Eruption of the volcanic island of Thera (Santorini) – The actual date of the eruption is a subject of great debate: It was originally thought to have erupted around 1450 BC, but recent claims are that the eruption occurred around 1645 BC. – The eruption caused extensive damage not only to the island itself, but also to the surrounding area. – It has been speculated that the eruption of Thera was a pivotal cause in the destruction of the bronze age civilization of the Minoans, but evidence exists that some areas of the Minoan civilization survived the eruption intact without being affected by tidal waves, earthquakes, or ash fall. – Geologists consider the eruption of Thera to be the most massive and singularly destructive event in recorded history. The ash that fell during the eruption of Thera also fell on Knossos, and other parts of Crete

THE MINOANS – The Minoan civilization-the first European civilization- developed in Crete about 2. 600 B. C. – Named after the legendary King Minos, the Minoans were characterized by a flourishing economic, political, social and cultural organization. The construction of impressive palaces such as those in Knossos, Malia and Phaistos represent their remaining legacy. – During this period, the first writing in the Greek World appeared for the first time in Crete and is called Linear A. – The Minoans had also developed a strong fleet which allowed them to become involved in trading and colonization.

THE MINOANS – The Minoan civilization was first brought to light by the excavations of the English archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. – Beginning in 1900, Evans unearthed the ruins of a great palace at Knossos, the dominant city in Crete after 1700 B. C. Rising at least three stories high and sprawling over nearly six acres, this "Palace of Minos, " built of brick and limestone and employing unusual downward-tapering columns of wood, was a maze of royal apartments, storerooms, corridors, open courtyards, and broad stairways. – The origin of the Greek myth about the Labyrinth? – Furnished with running water, the palace had a sanitation system that surpassed anything constructed in Europe until Roman times, including the oldest known flush toilet. – Walls were painted with elaborate frescoes in which the Minoans appear as happy, peaceful people with a pronounced liking for dancing, festivals, and athletic contests.

THE MYCENAEANS – The Mycenaean civilization took its name after the discovery of the city of Mycenae by H. Schliemann in 1876. – According to Homer that was the legendary home of King Agamemnon, leader of the Greek fleet that sailed against Troy to recapture the hand of Helen. – The Mycenaean society was formed with an elite group organized around the judicial and executive authority of a single figure, with varying degrees of power. – The Mycenaeans had a great military excellence and conquered Crete and took the control of the Minoan trade network. – The Mycenaean also used a written language called Linear B, developed from Minoan Linear A, used only for register the flow of goods and produce into the palaces. – Between 1250 and 1150 B. C. , a combination of peasant rebellions and internal warfare destroyed most of the Mycenaean palace and the Mycenaean civilization disappeared.

THE MYCENAEANS – The Mycenaean Palaces (with the exception of Pylos) are heavily fortified, with massive walls constructed of immense, irregularly shaped stones. – – Cyclopean Masonry Warfare Society Funeral Masks The Lion Gate

END OF GREEK BRONZE AGE The collapse of the Mycenaean palaces and civilization occurred mysteriously at 1100 BC. Various theories have been proposed: (a) Economic Factors (b) Climatic Changes (c) Internal Social Upheaval: (d) Invasion from Outside the Aegean World: At about 1050 BC virtually all signs of civilization in mainland Greece disappear. No urbanized culture exists in mainland Greece. All the major Mycenaean sites are abandoned, and knowledge of the Linear B writing system is lost. For 150 years (1050 -800 BC) there is very little information about what happens in Greece This period is called THE DARK AGES Around 800 the Greeks invented the alphabet on the basis of Phoenician script

Geometric Art • A close examination of this kratur not only reveals the intense need for the artist to fill every niche, but it also shows the stylized figures common across the Greek speaking world at this time. That in itself testifies to the resumption of trade.

Other examples of early art

Archaic Age • Parataxis is everything

Mediterranean Influence • At the end of the Greek Dark Ages, ~800 BCE, the interdependence among the states bordering on the Mediterranean can be seen in the sculpture.

Egyptian Influence • Another kouros to compare. Pay attention to the hair and the posture. Especially the placement of the hands and the feet.

Two other Kourai In these Kourai, it is easy to distinguish between the earlier, more primitive, or at least, eastern influenced Kourai and the slightly later, more classical one on the left. However, compare both with the Three Goddesses statues from the Classical period. (next slide)