ANCIENT GREECE PHYSICAL FEATURES

Greece is the south easternmost region on the European continent. It is well-defined by a series of mountains, surrounded on all sides except the north which is by water, and has countless large and small islands. The Ionian and Aegean seas and the many deep bays and natural harbors along the coastlines allowed the Greeks to prosper in maritime commerce and to develop a culture which drew inspiration from many sources, both foreign and indigenous. The Greek world eventually spread far beyond Greece itself, surrounding many settlements around the Mediterranean and Black seas and during the Hellenistic period, reaching as far east as India.

The mountains that surrounded Greece served as natural barriers and boundaries which dictated the political 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 (city-states). The mountains prevented large-scale farming and impelled the Greeks to look beyond their borders to new lands where fertile soil was more abundant. 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.