Name: _____________________

Ancient Greece Worksheet
chapter two

Fill in the blank

1. The first population in Greece that spoke Greek was the _______________.
2. Before the rise of _________ culture on the mainland, __________ civilization flourished on the large island of __________. This island civilization did not speak ________; they grew rich through complex _____________ and _________ trade with the peoples of the _______________ and __________.
3. Evidence suggests that _______________ peoples moved into Europe between 4500-2500 B.C. The _______ a descended from these peoples. Their ___________ also has roots in this migration of peoples.
4. While _______ culture did influence Greek culture, the theory that the __________ colonized mainland Greece is false.
5. The first civilizations of Europe were the _______ civilization on Crete and the ________ civilization of mainland Greece and the islands.
6. The ________ language is still unidentified.
7. In the third millennium B.C., advanced metallurgy in _________, ________, __________, and ________ developed on the island of _________.
8. The new technology made metal __________ much more lethal. Previously, weapons were made of _______, and they could not hold a ______ edge like other metals. The new metals made possible the production of durable metal _________, __________, and ____________.
9. Now, in addition to foodstuffs, animals, or land, people expected to be able to acquire wealth in __________.
10. Growing numbers of ________ specialists swelled Bronze Age Aegean settlements. They became indirect agents of ________ change.
11. Mediterranean _______ is the cultivation of _________, ___________, and __________ in one agricultural system. It was fully evolved by the __________ millennium B.C.
12. The new agricultural system produced two valuable new products: ____________ and _________. These products led to the manufacture of great _______________. Further, since the producers of these products had no time to grow their own ______, they had to acquire it through __________. Society therefore became increasingly __________________, both economically and _______________.
13. About ________ B.C. there emerged an Aegean civilization on the ______ island of __________. The civilization was characterized by large architectural complexes labeled _____________.
14. Today, Cretan society is called “__________” after King ________.
15. The Minoan palaces housed the ________ and their servants and served a central ___________ facilities The general population lived _______ the palaces.
16. The first Cretan palaces were destroyed by ___________ about 1700 A.D., but they were _______ on a much grander scale.
17. The Cretans developed a _________ script (probably influenced by Egyptian _______________ ) to help them keep ______________ records. Eventually the characters came to stand for the _______ of words. It was called _____________, and it remains largely ______________.
18. Archaeologists think that Minoan civilization was relatively peaceful because there were no _______ around palaces, towns, and isolated country houses.
19. The palace at Knossos had ______ of rooms, _____ stories, storage jars holding _______ gallons, and indoor __________.
20. Another innovation of the third millennium was the ___________, which fostered international trade.
21. On the Greek mainland, the ____________ civilization flourished. Archaeologists there were inspired by Homer’s tale of the ______________.
22. Graves found at Mycenae contained _________ buried with _______ jewelry, ________ and silver vessels, _______ weapons, and delicately painted ____________.
23. The Trojan War has been dated to the ________ century B.C.
24. Artifacts discovered on Mycenae point to a _________ culture, who enriched themselves by conducting __________ expeditions and dominating local __________. Homer’s masterpiece, The __________, tells their fictionalized story.
25. No wealthy Mycenaean male went to his grave without his __________ equipment. One warrior wore _________ armor, a _________shield, and a _____________helmet.
26. These Mycenaean warriors used the lightweight, two-wheeled _________ pulled by _____________. The wealthy used these for war and also saw them as a _______ symbol.
27. Some have suggested that __________ on __________ where the principal arm of Mycenaean armies.
28. Names of gods and goddesses found in Mycenae, such as ________, ________, and _________, appear in later Greek religion and mythology.
29. Mycenaean warriors ended the palace society of _______ in the fifteenth and fourteenth centuries B.C., presumable in wars over ___________ rivalry in the _____________.
30. The Mycenaean civilization collapsed as the Mediterranean ______ of firmly established powers and trading partners collapsed about _____ B.C. This collapse was likely due to the influx of people caused by ________ strife and ________ of natural resources. These invaders are known as ‘_____ peoples.’ We can surmise that they came from _________ Greece, the _______ islands, _________, Cyprus, and various points in the _______________.
31. Another reason for the widespread destruction from 1200 to 1000 B.C. was the replacement of chariot forces with ____________, mostly foreign _______________.
32. The new arrivals were a combination of ________ and those looking for a new place to ____________. Therefore _________ and _________ were ubiquitous in this era.
33. The invaders destroyed the mighty _______ kingdom in Anatolia about 1200 B.C. The shock was also felt by ______ New Kingdom, which was reduced to a shell of its former self.
34. The city of _______, on the coast of Syria, developed the first ________ from about 1700 to 1500 B.C., and its later form became the base of the ancient _______ and ________ ones.
35. Around ______ the palace residents in Mycenae began to construct massive stone __________. Later Greeks thought these must have been made by ___________.
36. _______ conflict, not foreign _________, offers the most plausible explanation for the destruction of the Mycenaean palaces after 1200 B.C.
37. Only the city of ________ seems to escaped wholesale disaster at this time. Residents prided themselves on the fact that their ancestors did not have to _________ to escape turmoil elsewhere on mainland Greece.

Short answer

1. What is the "thorniest question concerning the Indo-European background of Greek culture," and what issues are involved?





2. What kinds of influences from Egypt influenced the early Greeks, and how did such influences come about?







3. What impact did metallurgy have on early Greek civilization?





4. What were the effects of Mediterranean polyculture?





5. What were the uses of Linear A script?






6. Discuss the palace culture of Minoan Crete.







7. Detail the contact between Minoan and Mycenaean civilization. What were the results for each civilization?