11 Interesting Ancient Greece Geography Facts You Didn't Know

The rise of ancient Greek civilization started more than 2,500 years ago.

Ancient Greece was made up of various cities like the famous Athens and Sparta. Every city had its own governing council with its own peculiarities.

Stone age hunters mark the history of the beginning of Greece. After that came the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations, who were early farmers.

Then multiple wars and invasions occurred during the Middle Ages. Dorians from the north invaded the west and spread along with it. They had a city in central Greece which was surrounded by countryside.

From 500 to 336 BC, Greece had multiple small city-states. Greece has a lot of history and geography, which has also affected the nature of civilization. Greece gave rise to different architecture, styles, and art forms.

Greece gave rise to what we now call the western civilization. Greece has a beautiful and rich culture, history, and then there is Greek mythology with its Olympian gods, which has bewitched us all.

Do you like to read about the world of ancient Greece and the northeastern Mediterranean civilization? Do check out more such interesting facts like ancient Greek clothing facts and ancient Greek culture facts.

What were the main geographical features of ancient Greece?

Ancient Greece was hot and dry during the summer, while in winters, it was wet and windy. Greece is made up of the Greek mainland, many small surrounding islands, and three seas, namely the Aegean sea, the Myrtoan sea, and the Ionian sea.

There are various sorts of valleys and mountains in Greece. In fact, about 80% of Greece is made up of mountains.

Therefore, the main geographical features of ancient Greece are considered to be mountains, sea, and islands. The mountains of Greece were one of the main factors by which the people were divided, and so were the states. Hence, the city-states were, most of the time, isolated from each other.

This also means that these communities grew independently from one another. Each of these city-states had its own government as well.

They did not have any main central government looking over the entire civilization. Hence, the end goal of the civilization was to create an extensive, ever-expanding empire.

The main geographical feature of Greece is that it is surrounded by seas. Greece lies in the Mediterranean sea.

Hence, Greece was able to utilize this sea to grow economically and become a stable civilization. Being near seas and oceans meant that people of Greece could build ships and ports to enter into trading with other lands.

These mariners became skillful traders and even traded within Greece throughout their city-states. The sea was also an essential asset to the community as from it, people could source a lot of seafood.

Other varied diet items included olives from the olive tree (olive oil was also made), lamb, and fruits. This unique Greek landscape with a large peninsula at the southern end played a very crucial role in establishing a strong community that developed well socially and politically.

How did geography affect ancient Greece?

The geography of Greece had a large impact on the culture, activities, and development of ancient Greece. Greece, which is made up of islands, seas, and mountains, was a country into small city-states. These were small, independent groups. Because of their unique geography, they were able to start trading by water, eat seafood and grow different trees for fruits.

The peculiar geography also paved way for creating different governments and a unique specialty to each of its city-states. Mountains, northern Aegean islands, and seas have formed a natural boundary and paved the way for the formation of the city-states and the culture of ancient Greeks.

These natural boundaries helped ancient Greeks to look beyond their own land for farming. There are also some religious beliefs that are connected with mountains.

For example, ancient Greeks believed that Mount Olympus was the home of ancient Greek gods and goddesses. Mount Olympus (the tallest mountain in the country) is located in northern Greece. Like northern Greece, other parts like central Greece also have influences.

For example, Greece has the famous city of ancient Greeks, Athens. Ancient Greeks were forced to settle along the west coast due to geographical locations.

This has helped the Greek islands and the ancient Greek land with development of farming and fishing. Hence, in those ancient times, they became skilled sailors and traders, and they were able to form a trade-based empire.

Ancient Greece Major Cities

Ancient Greeks' community structure was in the form of city-states. This formation is basically made up of a significant city in central Greece and then the surrounding countryside.

In a city-state, there were outer walls, which gave ancient Greeks protection. They also had various large open spaces, which they used for making temples and buildings for the government, which were situated on the top of the mountains. A very famous example that everyone can remember is the Parthenon of Athens.

It was the temple devoted to the goddess Athena. Most people on the Greek island lived in major cities, which provided things like trading, politics, and art.

There were more than 1,000 city-states in Greece. But there were some city-states that were the most popular and huge. These include Athens, Corinth, Syracuse, Rhodes, Elis, Argos, and Sparta.

Each of these major city-states ruled itself. They had an independent government and political activity. This made the unity within the city-states strong.

They each had a unique culture, art, and philosophy. Like Athens, they valued art and education, while Sparta had a council of elders and two kings who emphasized a strong army and protection system. Athens strived for a strong navy.

How did geography affect ancient Greece's economy?

Greece has very extreme geography, which includes mainland Greece, islands, mountains, and seas (like the Aegean sea). Hence, it cannot be compared with other huge empires like Mesopotamia.

Mountains turned out to be huge natural barriers. These natural barriers (natural regions) separated various city-states that Greece had.

Early Greeks resided in these city-states. Greeks all spoke the same language, which made it easier to engage in various social activities. Independent states had their own government and governing styles.

This made all of the city-states unique in their economic and cultural values. Being near the blue Aegean sea and the Cyclades islands helped the economy since trading, farming, and fishing were some famous occupations, and the economy was largely influenced by these occupations.

Some of the major city-states of Greece included Athens and Sparta. Sparta's economy depended on conquering other ancient Greeks as well as farming.

Every village had its own olive groves. Olives have been cultivated in Greece, including the southern city, from olive trees for more than 6,000 years.

Since Sparta did not have much land mass to expand farming to make food available for everyone, they took land from their neighbors. Athens' economy depended more on trade. Athens had harbors and traded with different city-states and other lands to get the goods and food they needed.

This is how geography affected ancient Greece's economy. Presently, Greece has 10 national parks with activities such as bird watching and multiple heritage sites.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ancient Greece geography facts, then why not take a look at ancient Greek food facts or ancient Greek temples facts.