Ancient Greece Essay

The influence of Geography on Ancient Greek civilization Geography is a key factor that influences society in many ways. The geography of Ancient Greek was so varied, and this had a huge bearing on the country’s economics, politics, and many other societal aspects. The map on the text shows that ancient Greece was composed of many spread-out islands (Brooks, 2022).

These islands were surrounded by bodies of water except the northern side where it bordered

Macedonia and Epirus. Mountains were also prominent in Greece, and this influenced how people lived. But how did this geographical setting shape ancient Greek civilization? In this essay, I argue that on the positive side, the geography of ancient Greece that is characterized by location at

Ancient Greek traded extensively with its neighbors, and this contributed to its economic prosperity. The ancient Greece peninsula bordered the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Aegean Sea to the east. The ancient Greeks built many ports on the islands to facilitate the easy movement of goods. This access to the sea also contributed to the ancient Greeks being good mariners who traded with other city-states. The Greeks traveled through the Aegean Sea to other city-states for trade. Common trade exports for the ancient Greeks were olive oil, wine, and amphorae (Brooks,

2022). At the same time, the sea was a source of food which was an important trade item. With time an important trade route developed around Greece with booming trade between the Greek

Murrell 3 islands as well as outside city-states. The contribution of the sea to the economic prosperity of ancient Greece cannot be ignored.

Proximity to the sea also facilitated the spread of Greek influence to other regions. It is through this contact that Greek managed to conquer colonies and effectively rule its

Other important skills that the ancient Greeks learned through contact with the outside world include astronomy, navigation, and building techniques. The ancient

Greeks for example acquired the concept of coined money from Lydia and borrowed the alphabet from the Phoenicians. The sea was an important cultural asset for the ancient Greeks.

The mountainous nature of the Greek peninsula contributed to the economic prosperity of ancient Greece by pushing people to trade. Mountains covered about 80% of Greece leaving only about 20% of land for settlement and agriculture (Brooks, 2022). With this limited space for agriculture Ancient Greeks had no option but to venture into trade, fishing and. Many ancient

Greeks migrated to the coastal areas where an irregular coastline facilitated the development of many harbors. The populations that remained in the sparse inland settlements focused on

Agriculture. Goats and Sheep were the main livestock that the ancient Greeks reared for these could cope better with the hilly train. Olives could also cope better with the hilly terrain,