Why was the Aegean Sea important to ancient Greece?

Asked by: Andre Moncrief

In the Golden Age of Greece and beyond, the Aegean Sea continued to serve an important function in trade and in war, helping the Greek culture and civilization to flourish until the Romans, like the Sea Peoples before them, employed the waterways for conquest and subdued Greece.

What is Aegean Sea in Ancient Greece?

The Aegean Sea [Greek: Egeo Pelagos] is part of the Mediterranean Sea located between Greece and Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). It covers about 214,000 sq. kilometers and its maximum depth is 3,543 meters, east of Crete. The Aegean Sea was the home of the Minoan civilization which flourished in Crete from c.

What was the importance of the sea in Ancient Greece?

The Greeks of antiquity turned to the sea for food and for transport for war commerce and scientific advancement and for religious purification and other rites. Yet the sea was simultaneously the center of Greek life and its limit. For while the sea was a giver of much it also embodied danger and uncertainty.

What is special about Aegean Sea?

The Aegean Sea has a maximum length of 430 miles and maximum width of 250 miles. It is considered to be an elongated embayment between the Anatolian and Greek peninsulas. The maximum depth of the Aegean Sea is 11,624 feet, located east of Crete.

In what way did the Mediterranean sea and the Aegean Sea most help Greek societies?

The sea helped the Greeks economy because they could sail to other regions and trade with them. The Greeks traded goods such as fish, olive oil,wine wool and fine pottery. They were able to buy grain, timber, animal hides, slaves and flax which was used to make linen.

Why did the Greeks turn to the sea to meet their needs?

Because farming didn’t produce huge surpluses, and travel across the terrain was difficult, the Greeks came to depend on the sea. People living near the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Ionian Seas became fishers, sailors, and merchants.

How did the seas influence ancient Greece?

Greece’s steep mountains and surrounding seas forced Greeks to settle in isolated communities. Travel by land was hard, and sea voyages were hazardous. Most ancient Greeks farmed, but good land and water were scarce. They grew grapes and olives, and raised sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens.

How did water affect ancient Greece?

The Mycenaeans used the sea to improve their civilization. The Mycenaeans’ strong naval fleet5 controlled nearby waters and conquered other cities. The Mycenaeans also used trade with other kingdoms to get the resources they needed. Ancient Greece’s location on the sea made trade an important part of its economy.

How did the Mediterranean sea affect ancient Greece?

The Mediterranean sea influenced ancient Greece by allowing for travel across the whole Mediterranean, providing a trade route for The Grecian people, and by creating peninsulas for city-states to settle on.

Why was the Mediterranean sea important?

From ancient times the Mediterranean Sea served as a great highway, linking the lands around its shores. It played an important role in the Roman Empire, in the rise of Italy’s maritime* cities, and in the expansion of the Islamic world across northern Africa to Spain.

What lives in the Aegean Sea?

Marine Fauna
Several species of dolphins, whales, sea turtles and sharks, as well as the endangered Mediterranean monk seals can be found in the eastern Aegean alone. Archipelagos’ researchers study these rare animals and analyze the effects of jellyfish blooms in the Greek waters.

Why is it called Aegean Sea?

According to Greek Mythology, the Aegean Sea owes its name to the King of Athens, Aigeas (Aegeas). King Minos ‘Minoas’ of Crete in order to punish the Athenians who had killed his son Androgeo, declared war on Athens and won. The Athenians subsequently became subjects of the Minoan Empire.

When was the ancient Aegean?

Aegean civilizations, the Stone and Bronze Age civilizations that arose and flourished in the area of the Aegean Sea in the periods, respectively, about 7000–3000 bc and about 3000–1000 bc.

How was the Aegean Sea formed?

The history of the Aegean Sea began during Oligocene about 35 myr ago. The Island of the Aegean actually started being formed in the middle Miocene about 12–11 myr after the sea began to penetrate to single land mass of Aegeis. The Island was formed at the end of the Miocene 6—5.3 myr.