Ancient Greece Research Paper

Greece was known as the "Birthplace of Western Civilization because its culture became the epitome for the succeeding western civilizations. The tale of the ancient Greek civilization is a painful history of foreign supremacy. But their civilization was built on solid foundation and led by efficient leaders that created values and customs that are still being practiced and observed by modern societies. It is for this reason that the Greek civilization flourished, remembered, celebrated and accepted by the whole world. One factor that can be considered as an integral part of the development of Greek civilization is its geography. The geography of Greece had an overwhelming impact on its political, cultural, economic and social growth. The geographical

The last and probably the most important geographical feature is the sea. Having been surrounded by three major bodies of water served as an advantage because it allowed early Greeks to travel and trade. The nearness of Greece to major trade routes allowed the prosperity in maritime commerce. The sea also made the people became fishers, sailors and merchants. They excelled in ship buildings and voyaging because of their knowledge about seas around them. In the Greco-Persian wars, the Greeks used the seas to their advantage. They build smaller more efficient ships to pass through narrow routes and they exhibited their skills as naval armies. Also, the seas allowed the Greeks to depend heavily on trade. The Greeks get what they could not grow through trading. The exchanged olive oil, wine, wool and pottery with grains and other natural resources, which had a limited supply during that time. Because of their proximity to the seas, fish became the Greeks ' staple food. Moreover, trade encouraged cultural diffusion. It enabled the exchange of ideas with other culture and the spread of Hellenistic culture. It also encouraged them to have further knowledge about different existing civilizations at that time. The Aegean Sea is actually divided into three parts, north central and south. In the old days, the Greek seamen gave the different parts of the Aegean Sea different names. The Ionian Sea stretches between the west coast of Greece and the coast of Southern Italy. The Ionian Sea has some of the deepest waters of the Mediterranean and in some parts, can reach a depth of 5,000 meters. The seas around Greece cut in and out of the shoreline creating an interesting lacework coastline with many large and small peninsulas, gulfs and caves. Because of this geographical morphology, Greece has the longest coastline in the Mediterranean. The proximity of the sea also shaped the Greek economy. Because the sea was so easily accessible and because overland trade was difficult, the