WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION TO GREECE (1/14)
Physical Setting
within the Mediterranean
Aristotle: "The Greek people occupy an intermediate geographical position."
Greece and the Aegean
Plato's Socrates: "We sit like frogs around a pond."
topographical features:
mountains: Mt. Olympus, Mt. Hymettus
islands
harbors: coastline, Piraeus
climate/weather
The Political Effects of the Physical: Geography is Destiny
settlement patterns: e. g., acropoleis (Acropolis, Acrocorinth)
communication
Pre-History
Stone Age peoples
growth of agriculture and technology, specialization of labor
Greece ca. 2200 BC
Periods in Greek History
Bronze Age (Minoan/Mycenaean): ca. 2200-1000 BC
The Dark Ages (1000-750 BC)
The Archaic Age (750-479 BC)
The Classical Age (479-323 BC)
The Hellenistic Age (323-146 BC)
Why Study Greece?
the history of the West
Questions to keep in mind:
Why have the Greeks had such a hold over Western history and civilization?
What made the Greeks unique? Why is it their culture that has had such an impact?
What were their contributions, and how have they been passed down to us?
What would life today be if ancient Greece had never existed?
Continue to the next lecture outline
Updated 1-12-07, bolmarcich[at]mail.utexas.edu