1. Where did Greece come from? (The Beginning)



The Minoans and the Mycenaeans lived on the island of Crete.

      Greece has been a country for a long time. But where did Greece start anyway? Early Greece grew out of the Minoans and the Mycenaens.
     The Minoan civilization thrived from 2800 BC to about 1400 BC- 1400 years.The Minoans lived on the island of Crete. They were a people of trade and agriculture. Crete was a place of peace.
     On Crete, the Greeks grew wheat, barley, grapes, and olives. They became carpenters and metal workers. They built ships and traded with other Greek towns, Egypt, and Syria.  The Cretan civilization was named after Minos, a legendary king of Crete. We are not certain how their culture died away. What we are sure of is that around 1450 BC, Crete became Mycenaean.


     The Mycenaean civilization inhabited Crete in the form of a few separate kingdoms. They were people of trade, like the Minoans, but also of warfare. Minoan artwork and lifestyle greatly influenced the Mycenaens, but they also developed their own techniques for making jewelry and pottery.
     Around 1200 BC, it seems that the Mycenaens came under attack by foreign invaders and were eventually worn down. Gradually, their great palaces and major cities began to be abandoned. After less than 100 years, Mycenae was no more and the Dark Ages of Greece had become.