Assignment to Hand In: Map of Greece

The Geography of Greece

Adapted from

Assignment to hand in:Map of Greece

Step 1: Label and colore the blank Map of Greece with the following locations and physical features (Create a Map Key for symbols you use):

Physical Features:
Island of Crete
Island of Thera
Island of Rhodes
Asia Minor
Macedonia
Mount Olympus
Pindus Mountains
Cities:Knossos, Mycenae, Sparta, Athens, Corinth, Thebes, Delphi, Troy
Bodies of Water:Sea of Crete, Mediterranean Sea, Ionian Sea, Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, Gulf of Corinth

Atlas or Map Website Resources to Use:
Ancient Greece Flash Map (Zoom in for detail)
Ancient Greece Flash Map (Zoom in, but not as detailed)
Ancient Greece Map (PDF)
Map of Greece (Zoom once - Relief & Political Map)
Google Earth (Download the FREE software and zoom in for satellite pictures of Greece)

Crete and Mycenae: Identifying the Roots of Greek Civilization

Assignments to hand in:Note Chart on Minoan and MycenaeansComprehension Questions

Step 1: Introduction - Read the following text and look at the pictures.

Crete is an island of 3,189 square miles located in the Mediterranean Sea, halfway between mainland Greece and Asia Minor (AKA Anatolia or modern-day Turkey). According to legend, Crete is the birthplace of Zeus, the King of the Greek Gods. Mycenae (pronounced my-SEE-nee) is a city in the northeast of the PeloponnesianPeninsula on the Greek mainland. Legend states that Mycenae was founded by the Greek hero Perseus after he killed the monster Medusa.

Minoan culture developed on the island of Crete in approximately 3,000 B.C.E. Minoan palace murals and painted pottery show us a bountiful maritime culture, fueled by fishing, farming, and local arts. The Minoans were master seafarers and set up long-distance trade routes with Spain, Egypt, Canaan, and Asia Minor. Socially, the Minoans were an egalitarian culture, with both men and women holding respected positions in the fields of religion, agriculture, and craftwork. Recreation enjoyed by the Minoans included dancing to music and song, "bull-leaping" - a boxing, complete with boxing gloves and mouth guards. The remarkable peace-loving character of the Minoan civilization is suggested by the lack of fortresses, war equipment, and painted battle scenes among the remains of their settlements. The Minoan civilization is historically important to Greece because it was the cultural model of the Myceneaean (pronounced my-sih-NEE-in) civilization - considered the earliest developed culture on mainland Greece.

Mycenae was settled in 2,700 B.C.E. Most of the myths about ancient Greek heroes and their famous battles come to us from the Mycenaeans. Later Greek poets such as Homer used these tales in their writings. The Mycenaeans spoke an early form of the Greek language, and developed an agricultural economy based on grains, grapes, and olives. Like the Minoans, they traded by sea with Egypt and Asia Minor. Unlike the Minoans, the Mycenaeans devoted most of their energies to developing a strong military. The circular royal tombs of Mycenae reveal collections of decorated uniforms, elaborate helmets, chariots, daggers, and axes. Horses were also extremely important to the Mycenaeans, as they were the vehicles of war. Mycenaean documents suggest that their society was hierarchical, with kings and soldiers in positions of power, and prisoners of war enslaved to serve them. Apart from artwork depicting religious festivals and musical performances, very few indications of recreational entertainment were left by the Mycenaeans.

Step 2: Taking Notes - Fill out the CHART: Notes on Minoans and Mycenaeans by looking at and reading about six artifacts from each civilization.

Minoan Artifacts

Mycenaean Artifacts

Step 3: Comprehension Questions - Answer the following questions on a lined piece of paper (or Cut and Paste them into Word) in paragraph form:

1. What did the Minoan and the Mycenaean civilizations have in common?

2. In what ways were the Minoan and the Mycenaean civilizations different?

3. Why do you think so many aspects of Minoan civilization are found at Mycenae?

4. What other geographical areas, besides Mycenae, might Minoan civilization have influenced?

5. What aspects of Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations would you expect to have survived in later periods of Greek history?

Step 4: The End of Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations - Read the following text:

The Minoan civilizations of ancient Crete flourished for approximately 600 years, between 2000 and 1400 B.C.E. Cretan palaces and their surrounding villages were almost destroyed in 1700 B.C.E., when a series of severe earthquakes rocked the island. However, the Minoans rebuilt their cities and renewed production of their trade goods in a relatively short time. Within the next hundred years, the Minoans established settlements - for trade rather than imperialistic purposes - on neighboring islands of Thera, Kythera, Melos, and Rhodes. Minoan and neighboring island cultures were mutually tolerant and supportive, and the Minoans benefited from trade, and continued to create glorious artwork and architecture.

Mycenaean invaders from the Greek mainland disrupted this placid existence. It is unclear to scholars why the Mycenaeans began launching invasive expeditions in the mid fifteenth century B.C.E. It is possible that they wished to replenish supplies of copper and other ores - which Mycenaean mines had stopped yielding - needed for their production of weaponry. It is also possible that violent land-ownership disputes and trade-route conflicts caused a massive Mycenaean exodus to Asia Minor, leaving the Mycenaean economy in a weakened state. A third possibility is that the Mycenaeans could no longer fend off hostility from encroaching cultures on mainland Greece, and sought safer settlements on Crete. Whatever the case, Linear B documents recovered from Mycenae record an invasion of Crete in 1450 B.C.E., and the peaceable Minoan civilization soon came to an end. Captive Minoan architects and artists were sent to Mycenae to serve the Mycenaean kings. Meanwhile, the Cretan palace of Knossos was occupied by militaristic Mycenaean rulers. They introduced weapons, chariots, and battles into Cretan mural painting, and added the burial of weapons alongside military dead to Cretan funeral customs.

Approximately 350 years later, in 1100 B.C.E., the Dorian Greeks - united tribes from northwestern Greece and Asia Minor - invaded the settlements in the Peloponnesus, the southern Aegean islands, and Crete. Their successful campaigns ended Mycenaean rule. However, through the Dorians, elements of Minoan and Mycenaean cultures were incorporated into the art, architecture, and literature of Classical Greece.

Supplemental Videos:
Crete (Minoan civilization)
Mycenae

Supplemental Websites:
Minoan Civilization
The Mycenaeans

The Odyssey Assignment

Assignments to hand in: Note Chart on Ancient Greek Values in The OdysseyComprehension Questions

Introduction: Look at the picture below and read the following text:

The Odyssey is a 12,000-line Greek epic poem dating from the eighth century B.C.E. An epic poem is a long poem divided into sections, or "books," that focuses on the extraordinary deeds and adventures of a hero. According to ancient Greek tradition, heroes were men who were born to one divine and one human parent. The story of The Odyssey recounts the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus during his 10-year voyage home to Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War in the thirteenth century B.C.E. Odysseus is considered the ideal Greek hero: an aristocratic soldier of superior strength, intelligence, and courage, favored by the Gods.

The poem is traditionally ascribed to Homer (circa 700 B.C.E.), who is considered the earliest Greek poet. Little is known about Homer's life, but ancient Greek playwrights referred to him as a "gifted blind poet." Some scholars believe that a line from a choral song attributed to Homer confirms this description:

"If anyone should ask you whose song is sweetest, say: blind is the man and he lives in rocky Chios."

Other scholars believe that "Homer" was the name given to a collective group of bards who sang Mycenaean folktales to entertain the nobles of Ionia, located on the west coast of Asia Minor.

It is generally believed that the exact author of The Odyssey is not as important as the ancient Greek values it contains. By listening to the stories in the poem, ancient Greeks learned standards of honorable behavior. These values, forged in the "Age of Heroes" during the Mycenaean Period, became the foundations of ancient Greek society.

Download and print the following handouts:Note Chart on Ancient Greek Values in The OdysseyExcerpts from The Odyssey

Interpreting Excerpts From The Odyssey: Fill out the Note Chart on Ancient Greek Values in The Odyssey by following these steps:
1. Look at each PICTURE below.
2. Read the DESCRIPTION of the picture below and the description in the EXCERPTS handout.
3. Listen to the AUDIO TRACK (Windows Media Player will do) and read along with each passage on the Note Chart.
4. Fill out the column, "Greek Value Illustrated in Excerpt." Choose from the following GREEK VALUES and explain why you chose the one you did. (You may click on any of them for a definition of each value):

AthleticismHospitalityIngenuityIntuitionJusticeLoyaltyRespect Teamwork

5. Draw a VISUAL that represents that Greek value in the corresponding column on your Note Chart.

Excerpt A: In this picture we see a vase painting of Penelope seated in front of her loom and next to her son Telemachus. Penelope's unfinished weaving stretches across the top of the loom and is decorated with patterns and fanciful creatures. This scene appears on a Red-Figure vase dating to the second half of the fifth century B.C.E. (Audio Track)

Excerpt B: In this picture we see a vase painting or Odysseus and one of his men blinding the Cyclops Polyphemus with a large branch. Odysseus is the figure in the center. Polyphemus holds a wine cup, illustrating Odysseus's plan to make the Cyclops drunk before attacking him. This scene appears on a late-geometric vase dating to 670 B.C.E. (Audio Track)

Excerpt C: In this picture we see a vase painting of Circe stirring the potion that turned Odysseus's men into animals. The men surround Circe, who looks masculine herself, while Odysseus approaches at left with a sword to stop her. This scene appears on a Black-Figure vase dating to 550 B.C.E. (Audio Track)

Excerpt D: In this picture we see a vase painting of Odysseus seated at the mouth of Hades, in front of the ghost of one of his men, Elpenor. Odysseus has sacrificed two calves to the spirits of the dead so they will converse with him. He speaks first with his dead shipmate Elpenor, while waiting to speak with the prophet Tiresias. The figures appear to be floating because the geographic features that were originally drawn around them have faded. This scene appears on a Red-Figure vase dating to the second half of the fifth century B.C.E. (Audio Track)

Excerpt E: In this picture we see a vase painting of Odysseus tied to the mast of his ship as he listens to the song of the Sirens. One of the winged Sirens swoops down in front of him, while two others are perched on cliffs in the upper right and left corners. Odysseus's men, their ears plugged with wax, row the boat oblivious to the charm of the Siren song. This scene appears on a Red-Figure vase dating to 475 to 450 B.C.E. (Audio Track)

Excerpt F: In this picture we see a vase painting of two men, a pig, and a piglet. The scene is commonly thought to represent Odysseus, left, and the swineherd Eumaeus, who unknowingly put Odysseus up for a night before the hero returned home to confront his wife's suitors. This scene appears on a Red-Figure vase dating to 470 to 460 B.C.E. (Audio Track)

Excerpt G: In this picture we see a vase painting of a banquet scene like the one Odysseus might have encountered on his return home. The male guests hold drinking cups, recline on benches piled with striped cushions, and listen to a female servant play a double pipe. This scene appears on a Red-Figure vase dating to 450 B.C.E. (Audio Track)

Excerpt H: In this picture we see vase paintings that show Odysseus using a bow and arrow to slay Penelope's suitors. Two female servants stand behind him. Caught by surprise, one suitor is wounded and another hides behind an overturned bench. These two paintings appear on opposite sides of a Red-Figure vase dating to 450 to 440 B.C.E. (Audio Track)

Comprehension Questions - Answer the following questions on lined paper in paragraph form:

1. What values seem to have been most important to the early Greeks?
2. Why do you think these values were so important?
3. Which Greek values do you think are similar to American values today? Which do you think are different?
4. Why do you think the ancient Greeks illustrated their values through epic literature?

Supplemental Videos:
Mythology - Homer's Odyssey
Great Books - The Odyssey