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The Land of Ancient Greece

Greece is the southeasternmost region on the European continent. It is edged by a series of mountains, surrounded on all sides except the north by water, and has many large and small islands. The Ionian and Aegean seas and the many deep bays and natural harbours along the coastlines allowed the Greeks to trade by sea and to develop a culture which owed part to many other parts of the world. The Greek world eventually spread far beyond Greece itself, having many settlements around the Mediterranean and Black seas and, during the Hellenistic period, reaching as far east as India. Look at large version of map

The mountains, which served as natural barriers and boundaries, were important to the character of Greece. From early times the Greeks lived in independent communities isolated from one another by the landscape. Later these communities were organized into poleis or city-states. The mountains prevented large-scale farming and forced the Greeks to look beyond their borders to new lands which were better for farming. Natural resources of gold and silver were available in the mountains of Thrace in northern Greece and on the island of Siphnos, while silver was mined from Laurion in Attica. Supplies of iron ores were also available on the mainland and in the Aegean islands.

The Mediterranean Sea affects Greece´s climate, cooling the air in summer and providing warmth in the winter months. Summers are generally hot and dry. Winters are mild and rainy in coastal regions and cold and snowy in mountainous areas.