Negative Effects Of Geography On Ancient Greek Civilization

The geography of Ancient Greece had positive and negative effects on Ancient Greek Civilization. The mountains that cover Greece have acted as a barrier to Greece, and it separated Greece instead of uniting it. The Ionian Sea, Aegean Sea, Thracian Sea, Sea of Crete, Gulf of Corinth, and Mediterranean Sea surrounded Greece. They acted as a highway for Greece in order to reach other nations as efficiently as possible, as well as providing Greece with a source of income. Clearly, geography shaped Greek Civilization. There were many negative effects because of Greece’s geography. The mountains covering Greece acted as a barrier between city-states, and unity was not an easy task. Document 5 states, “In ancient times, the Greeks lived in independent
This caused earthquakes constantly, which is dangerous for civilians. There were also active volcanoes in Greece. Document 3 explains some of the effects of natural disasters, “Santorini Island or Thera, is one of the most picturesque islands of Greece, the rim of a gigantic sunken volcano. Half of (the) island was sunken after a volcanic eruption in 1450 B.C., which destroyed the island’s civilization.” If a whole civilization is wiped out because of a natural disaster, then this indicates that it was a large problem that Greece was forced to tolerate and work around. The geography of Greece provided many benefits to Greek civilization as well. Because there was no fertile land in Greece, there were many crops that could not be grown. However, hot climates helped to grow an essential crop that boosted Greek economy. Document 6 elaborates on this, “Olives have always grown well in Greece’s hot, dry climate. Olive oil was as good as money to the ancient Greek’s, since they could trade it in other lands for goods not available to Greece… Olive oil was so valuable that when wars were fought, one of the worst things one side could do to the other was to cut down its olive