Greece+Three

== = __Climate and Geography__ = Greece has a Mediterranean climate.

I always thought that Greece was the most beautiful place and it was always sunny and never too hot – always perfect. This is not always true because while Greece has mild, wet winters and hot dry summers, this usually occurs only at coastal locations. The Pindus mountain range really affects the climate of the country because the areas west of this region are wetter than the areas to the east of this region. The mountainous areas of Northwest of Greece and the mountainous central parts of Peloponnese Peninsula have an Alpine Climate with heavy snowfalls in the winter and thunderstorms in the summer. Greece is 80% mountainous. As well, Greece has over 3,000 islands. With a coastline over 13,000 km long, it is one of the longest in the world. During its long history, the Greeks have learned to master the ocean and become great sailors. If you look at a map of Greece, it looks like a skinny hand stretching over the Mediterranean. They have a famous wind called the Meltemi that blows from the Pindus Mountains southwest down through the Greek Islands. For thousands of years, the Meltemi has helped the Greeks sail from one “finger” of their country to another.

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= = = __Overview__ = = =
 * G **** re **** ece is located in the southern part of ** ** Europ **** e and at the southern end of Balkan peninsular. above or north of Greece is Bulgaria. the coordinates are 35°00 north to 42°00 north latitude, longitude is 19° east to 28°30 east. the time frame for anchant greece was about 336 to 500 B.C this time period is also known as the classical period. Ancient Greece's civilization began 2500 years ago, but it still influences the way we live today. The people could not farm most of their rocky land, it was mountainous so they became excellent sailors. They traveled to distant lands,they brought food back. They learned the alphabet from the Phoenicians ( a sea faring people from modern day Syria and Lebanon). The people were not a unified nation, they lived in a collection of poli. Poli is the plural of polis, a word translated as city. A Greek polis was a small walled area, that was no larger than a few blocks. It had farmland around it and most important were the people who lived there. The people were just as important as the land and buildings. Each polis was a nation of it's own. They also had many things in common, they were independent because they were isolated by the mountains and some were on small islands, but they spoke the same langua **
 * ge. They had to also depend on each other at times to survive. They would meet once a year for a great athletic contest known as the Olympics. Even if they were at war, they would put there differences aside until after the contest. **

__ Adapt to and manage the environment __

 * The ancient Greeks made their living from farming, even thought the landscape was difficult to farm. They were able to grow grapes and olives and grains with the weather conditions. The grapes were picked around September and either made into wine or kept for eating. They picked the olives which were pressed for oil or saved for eating. This was very important for them because the oil was used for lighting and beauty products and athletic purposes. Grain was also farmed and used for bread (barley & wheat). porridge. They also ate cheese, vegetables, fish, eggs, and fruit. Animals like rabbits, boars,deer were hunted as additions to there food supply. They used coriander and sesame seeds as seasoning. Honey was there only sweetener.A **** lso adapted to their environment by staying cool. They used white houses to reflect the sunlight so their houses will be cold. **

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__Lessons We Learned from The Ancient Greeks__
===The Greeks taught us much about how to run a Civilization. Many of the world’s most famous philosophers were Greek, like Plato and Aristotle. They gave us ideas about how to set up laws and look after each other. As well, the Greeks gave us some of our most important ideas about governing ourselves. Democracy, for example, is an Ancient Greek idea that all citizens get a vote and should be treated equally. === ===As well, the Greeks taught us about how to defend ourselves. The Spartans, for example, were fierce warriors who adopted a lifestyle that was quite brutal. We still follow some of their ideas when we set up our armies. === ===Unlike the warlike teachings of the Spartans, the Athenians passed on ideas of harmony such as a sporting event called the Olympics. The Olympics were made around 700 BC by the Ancient Greeks in honor of their supreme God Zeus. To symbolize the spirit of the games, they lit a torch that was placed in a temple rising 42 feet high! This event was so popular that it even continues to this day. === ===Another lesson from the Greeks was ideas around architecture. We still copy many of their ideas when we design our buildings such as columns and temples. In fact, if you look at places like Washington, DC you will see buildings that look just like The Parthenon in Athens. The Ancient Greeks also taught us how to stay cold in extremely warm places. They taught us that having white houses in warm places will reflect the sun. Also they used clay and brick to keep the houses insulated. ===

=__Bibliography__=

[|Ancient Greek Art]
[|Ancient Greek Maps] [|Blank Wikipedia image] [|Geography of Greece] [|Greece] [|Greek Farming] [|History for kids about Greece] [|History of Greece] I found where Greece is located from Wikipedia [|Info about the Olympics] [|Lessons from Ancient Greece] Mr.Dowlings.com [|Photo on the right] [|Time frame] [|I got the picture of Greece on the globe from here] Our friends that helped us were Ariel and Mark Ben and Bryan