Map Exercise 2: The Greek World    (This exercise includes 8 maps)

The world of ancient Greece has often appeared as a kind of golden age that all subsequent ages have respected and in some cases tried to emulate. In this series of map exercises, you investigate the movement of civilization from the Ancient Near East to the Mediterranean. You will follow the development of Greek civilization from the sixth century B.C.E. to Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World. The major points to consider include:

• The importance of geography in development of Greek city-states or poleis
• How constant warfare in the fifth century contributed to the greatness and eventual decline of the city-state
• The tensions created as Greece moved from a world of city-states to the cosmopolis
• The difficulty of administering large areas of land after the death of Alexander
• The legacy of the ancient Greeks