Mount Ainos on the island of Cephallonia in Greece

The Greek philosopher Plato, who lived between 428 and 348 B.C. (B.C.E.), wrote about his views on the world of the ancient Greeks. He said the following:

"I believe that the earth is very large and that we...live in a small part of it about the sea, like ants or frogs about a pond."

The sea Plato was referring to was the Mediterranean Sea, and the frogs he was referring to were the Phoenicians, Lydians, Egyptians, Hebrews, and Greeks themselves. In other words, Plato's frogs included all of the civilizations that developed in and around the Mediterranean and Aegean Basins. In large part because of Greece's location, the civilization thrived between 500 and 336 B.C. (B.C.E.). Greek culture, economics, and politics were influenced by the surrounding geographic features. The strong identity of the ancient Greeks is why historians consider it Europe's first major civilization.

Essential Questions

• How did geography impact the economic, social, and political development of Greek civilization?
• How was religion in ancient Greece integral to culture, politics, and art?

 

Warm-Up

The geography of Greece includes many different types of geographic features formed over the Earth's history. Examine each of the images, and then try to determine its geographic feature. Hover your cursor over the image to see if you are correct.

View this printable document if you would like to review the specific definitions of each of these geographic features.