THE BEECHMONT CREST GUIDE TO ANCIENT GREECE
What Greece has in common with Louisiana and Florida
Many of the world’s more influential civilizations (China comes to mind in this regard) occupy vast areas of land. But Greece is only about the same size as the U.S. state of Louisiana—approximately 45,000 square miles.
Like the U.S. state of Florida, Greece is a peninsula that is surrounded by water on three sides. This aspect of Greek geography played an important role in the development of Greek civilization. The ancient Greeks were a seafaring people, and they colonized numerous points throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. For example, there were Greek colonies in France, Italy, North Africa, and even on the coastline of the Black Sea. The Greek habit of colonization was one of the factors that extended the reach of their culture.
Then, as now, Greece was blessed with a mild climate. This facilitated outdoor public gatherings—a central feature of communal life in Greek cities like Athens. )If the Greeks had been constantly confined to the indoors because of frequent snowstorms, their civilization would likely have taken a different course.)
The Greek landscape has many topographical barriers like hills, ravines, and waterways. These factors encouraged political divisions. The people living in a particular city might be separated from their neighbors by a mountain range, an expanse of ocean, or both. This contributed to the sense that the people living in the next city were “foreigners.”