Geographyand the
Settlementof Greece
25.1Introduction
InUnit-1.you exploredthe fascinatin-s
c u lt u rco l' a n c ie nCh
l in a .I n t h is
unit.
y'oul',ill learnaboutthe civilizationo1 ' a n c ic nCre
t e c eThis
.
rernarkable
culture
flourished
between750 and
338
s.c.e
. AncientGreekart. idcas.ancl
wntings
continueto inflLre
nce us today.
Greece
is a srnallcountrvin southe m Eur o pIteis
. shapeda little likc a
hand,
withfingersthat reachinto the
Mediterranean
Sea.The ntainlandol'
0r e e is
cea pe n insula
. A pt'uiu.sttlu
is
land
thatis surrounded
on thrccsides
bywater.
GreecealsoinclLrcles
ntanv
islands
throushout
the Meditcrrancan
AA A"P^
ffi4
ff#$\
AegeanSeas.
Mainland
Grccce is a land ol'steeo.
almostentirclvsurv m ou n tains.
b1,turclLroise-blLre
seas.The
ientGreckslivctl on I'lrrtrsor irr
villagesscatteredthnrughout
country.
Thesefarnrsanclvilla-ucs
isolated.
or scparatcd.ll'onr onc
r by thehigh nruuntains.
Inthischapter.
you will explure
geography i nl'luenced
Greece's
waytheancientGreekslir,'ecl.
You
learn
r"'hythcy lired ilnd farnrecl
i sola ted
communities. Y oLrwill
discover
hou' they used the sea to
ishcolonies and trade with
fionrother lands.
C i crrul anhvarrclthc S cttl cnrcrrtol ' Grcccc
! 't l
25.2 lsolated Gommunities and
the Difficulties of Travel
settlement a smallcommuIn ancient Greece,communities were isolated from one another
nityorvillage
shelter a placethatprovides becauseof the high mountains.It was hard to travel over the
protection
mountains,so there was little communicationbetweenpeoplein
fromweather,
such
different settlements.
a sa h o u se
Travel by land was especially
difficult. People walked, or rode
in cartspulled by oxen or mules.
Roads were unpaved. Sharprocks
frequently shatteredwooden
wheels,and wagonscould become
stuck in mud. Only the wealthy
could afford to ride horses.
Travelerscould stop at innson
the main roads,but many inns
provided only shelter. People
had to bring their own food and
other supplieswith them. Slaves
or pack animals carried bedding,
food. and other necessities.
With all thesethings to carry,
the Greeks had to travel in
that moved more slowly than
someonetraveling alone.And
there was always the dangerof
being attackedby bandits.
Traveling by boat was easier,
but it was still uncomfortable
dangerous.Travelers might be
attackedby pirates or robbed
dishonestsailors.The greatest
danger was from the seaitself.
Suddenstormssometimes
shipsoff courseor sentthem smashinginto the rocky
Even in open waters,shipscould sink.
The Greeks treatedthe seawith great respect.Whenever
ble, sailorskept their shipscloseto shore.They sailedonly
ing daylight and stoppedeachnight to anchor.And a wise
always madea sacrificeto the seagod Poseidonbefore
248 Chapter25
2
far
an
riv
-:
the
ean
few
cirol
farr
T h isa n c ie nG
t re e vk a s es h o w s
g
a
t
h
e rinf g
wo me n
ru it.
:rone another
tver the
)npeoplein
s especiallY
:ed,or rode
)n or mules.
, Sharprocks
wooden
couldbecome
hewealthy
IOTSCS.
op at inns on
nanyinns
er. People
rn food and
hem.Slaves
ied bedding,
ssities.
to carry,
rvel in groups
25.3Farming in Ancient Greece
Mostpeoplein ancientGreecesurvivedby farming.But
farming
wasn'teasyin that mountainousland.Even in the plains
valleys,
the land was rocky and waterwas scarce.No major
nvers
flow throughGreece,and it rainsmostlyduring the winter
nonths.
Withsolittle flat land available.Greekfarmershad to think of
hebestways
to usethe land they had.Somefhrmersbuilt wide
steps
into the hills to creaternoreflat land fbr planting.A
farmers
were ableto grow wheatand barley,but most grew
'wly than
thatneededlessland,especiallygrapesand olives.Greek
lone.And
produceda lot of olive oil, which was usedfor cooking,
: dangerof
andfuel for lamps.
.ndits.
Ancient
Greekf-armers
was easier,
srew food fbr their own families.In
ionto smallvegetablegardens,many farmersplantedhillnfortable and
orchards
of fruit and nut trees.SomeGreekfamilieskept
might be
tomakehoney.Honey was the bestknown sweetenerin the
r robbed bY
ientworld.
e greatest
Greek
farmersalsoraisedanimals.Insteadof cattle,which
seaitself.
lotsof flat land for grazing,they raisedsheepand goats,
times drove
ichcangrazeon the sidesof mountains.Sheepsuppliedwool
y shoreline.
dothing,
while goatsprovidedmilk and cheese.Farmerskept
oxen,mules,and donkeysfor plowing and transportation.
leneverpossrGreekfamiliesalso kept pigs and chickens.
:d only durIheshortage
of good farmland sometimesled to wars between
r wise caPtain
settlements,
with eachone claimingland for itself.As you
rre sailing.
see,
somesettlements
were alsoforcedto look beyondthe
for new sourcesof food and other soods.
Geographyand the Settlementof Greece 249
25.4 Starting Colonies
wholives
colonist a person
i n a colo n y
As the populationsof Greek communitiesgrew, somecommunities did not have enoughfarmland to feed their people.One
solutionto this problem was to startcolonies.Coloniesare settlementsin distantplaces.Many Greek communitiessentpeople
over the sea,hoping they could grow food in new lands and send
it home.Thesepeoplewere calledcolonists.
Colonistshad many preparationsto make before startingtheir
journey. Often they beganby asking the Greek gods if their
efforts would be successful.To do this, they consultedan oracle,
An oracle was a holy personwhom they believedcould communicatewith the gods.
Next, the colonistsgatheredfood and supplies.They made
sureto take a flame from their town's sacredfire so they could
start a sacredfire in their new home.
Startinga colony wasn't easy.First, there was a long seavoyage to survive.Then settlershad to find a place for their colony.
They looked for areasthat had naturalharborsand good farmland. They also tried to avoid placeswhere the local peoplemight
be strongenoughto prevent
them from settling.Finally,
they had to establishtheirnew
community and work hardto
-+
I
Copper € Oil
(D Pottery
Gold
I
Grain
Silver
I
HiOes r
Timber
/
non
0 woot
250 Chapter25
lmportrouteto Greece
makeit survive.
The Greeksestablished
coloniesover a periodof mon
than 300 years,from 1000to
650 s.c.s.The first groupof
settlerscreateda colonycalld
Ionia in Asia Minor, in whati
today Turkey. Later, Greeks
startedcoloniesin Spain,
France,Italy, and Africa,and
alongthe coastof theBlack
The colonieshelpedto
spreadGreek culture.Some
the coloniesbecamequite
wealthy through farmingand
h
trade.Colonistscontinued
enjoy the rights of citizens
home,includingtherightto
ticipate in Greek athletic
25.5
Bes
mainlar
had en<
traded'
little lar
The
and in t
wine frc
timber, i
Most
Merchal
sails. Mt
than for
per hour,
could ta}
Navig
difficult.
compass
had only
them. Thr
sailors wl
they coul
hazards le
houses wi
dangerour
In spitt
advenfuro
more and
trade flou;
Mediterra
25.5Tradingfor Needed Goods
muttle3
;end
heir
cle.
mu)
ld
/oy)ny.
nmight
nt
/,
new
Ito
t
more
)t o
of
:alled
hat is
ks
and
:k Sea.
I
ne of
)
and
dto
Lsback
to parqames.
Besides
startingnew colonies.manyGreeksettlentents
on the
mainland
usedtradeto get goodsthey needed.Somesettlements
had
enough
farmlandto takecareof theirown needs,so they
traded
verylittle. But othersreliedon tradebecausethey had too
little
landto grow everythingthey requirecl.
TheGreekstradedamongthe city-states.
with Greekcolonies,
and
in thewiderMediterranean
region.Olive oil. pottery,and
wine
fromthe mainlandwere tradedtor suchgoodsas grain.
fimber.
andmetal.
Mostgoodstraveledon shipsownedby merchants.
merchant a person
who
Merchant
shipswerebuilt of wood,with largerectan_uular
cloth
ma k e s ' mo nbeyys e llin g o o ds
sails.
Merchants
built their shipsfbr spaceto hold
rather
-eoods
than
for speed.Becauseshipstraveleclaboutthreeto five miles
journeyswerelong.A one-waytrip fiom the mainland
perhour,
could
taketwo months.
Navigating
the shipswas
difficult.
The Greekshad no
compasses
or charts.They
hadonly
thestarsto guide
them.
Thestarscould tell
sailors
wherethey were.but
they
couldnot tell them what
hazards
lay nearby.No lighthouses
warnedsailorsof
dangerous
coastlines.
Inspiteof thesedangers.
adventurous
sailorscarried
more
andmoregoods,and
fade
flourished
alongthe
Meditenanean
coast.
Me rc h a nsth ip slik et h e
o n es h o wnh e res a ile d
the
Chapter Summary
Me d it e rra n eSaenaa ro u n d
Inthischapter,you learnedhow the Greekssettledin isolated
5 0 0B . c . E .
nitiesbecauseof their country'smountainousgeography.
Greekssurvivedby farming, but good farmland was scarce.
theGreekstook to the seas,creatingnew coloniesand trading
otherpeoples.
Inthenextchapter,you will seehow the isolatedcommunities
ancient
Greecedevelopedtheir own customs,including
formsof qovernment.
Geographyand the Settlementof Greece 25l