Ancient Greece

Section 1: Early People of the Aegean

Minoans Trade and Prosper

The Minoan civilization on Crete reached its height between 1600 B.C. and 1500 B.C.

The Minoans prospered through trade and gained ideas from Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Trade and War in Mycenae

Around 1400 B.C., Crete and the Greek mainland were seized by Mycenaeans, who spoke Greek.

They constructed city-states that were ruled by warrior-kings who grew rich from the sea trade.

Homer and the Great Legends of Greece

Around 1400 B.C., Crete and the Greek mainland were seized by Mycenaeans, who spoke Greek.

They constructed city-states that were ruled by warrior-kings who grew rich from the sea trade.

Homer and the Great Legends of Greece

Around 1100 B.C., the Dorians invaded Greece, and Greek civilization declined.

The art of writing was forgotten.

The epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey tell us about events in this period.

These poems were passed on orally.

Looking Ahead

Although Greece was in decline for centuries after the Dorian invasions, it would be reborn as a powerful and influential culture in time.

Knossos

Knossos

Knossos

Fresco’s in Knossos

Fresco’s in Knossos