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Ancient Greece's location and history

I can describe where Ancient Greece was located and briefly outline its history.

New
New

Ancient Greece's location and history

I can describe where Ancient Greece was located and briefly outline its history.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Ancient Greece was in the eastern Mediterranean and at its peak spread to other parts of Europe, Africa and Asia.
  2. Greece is mountainous with thousands of islands, leading to many smaller states making up Ancient Greece.
  3. The Ancient Greek civilisation began c. 900 BCE and lasted until roughly 31 BCE.
  4. By 750 BCE, it had colonies in Italy and Sicily but the decline of Ancient Greece coincided with the rise of the Romans.
  5. Ancient Greek civilisation developed after the Sumerian, Egyptian, Indus and Shang civilisations.

Common misconception

Ancient Greece and Greece are exactly the same place.

Modern-day Greece is part of the area that made up Ancient Greece, but it is smaller than Ancient Greece; the extent of the spread of Ancient Greece changed over time.

Keywords

  • Barrier - a barrier is something that blocks the way or stops something from happening; barriers can be natural features like rivers or human-made like walls

  • City-state - a city-state is a city that rules itself and the land around it

  • Colony - a colony is a place where people settle away from but under the control of their home country

  • Romans - Romans were the people of a civilisation based in Italy that grew to dominate the Mediterranean region

Combine History with some language and culture by learning some basic phrases in Greek, or finding out about traditional Greek foods. Pupils may have experienced holidays in Greece, or may have personal connections to Greece. Ask them to share their experiences.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the countries to the continent they are located in.
Correct Answer:Italy,Europe

Europe

Correct Answer:China,Asia

Asia

Correct Answer:Egypt,Africa

Africa

Correct Answer:Canada,North America

North America

Q2.
What do we call objects or items that were left behind in the past and then found later in history?
ruins
exhibits
Correct answer: artefacts
oddities
Q3.
Complete the sentence. Greece has a coastline on the Mediterranean .
Correct Answer: Sea, sea
Q4.
Which of these is a written source of information about the past?
a portrait of a person at work
a statue of a significant person
Correct answer: a text in an ancient language
a preserved piece of pottery
Q5.
Put the periods of history in order. Start with the earliest.
1 - Stone Age
2 - Bronze Age
3 - Iron Age
Q6.
People who study the past and help us to develop our understanding of it are called what?
teachers
Correct answer: historians
presenters
students

6 Questions

Q1.
Which natural features created barriers between city-states in Ancient Greece?
Correct answer: mountains
walls
fences
forests
Q2.
Which sea does Greece have a coastline on?
North Sea
Dead Sea
Irish Sea
Correct answer: Mediterranean Sea
Q3.
Match the words to the definitions.
Correct Answer:colony,people live away from their home country but still controlled by it

people live away from their home country but still controlled by it

Correct Answer:state,a group of people with a government in a particular area of land

a group of people with a government in a particular area of land

Correct Answer:city-state,a city that rules itself and the land around it

a city that rules itself and the land around it

Q4.
Complete the sentence. Greece has thousands of small that are separate to the mainland.
Correct Answer: islands
Q5.
Put the sentences in the correct order to briefly describe the history of Ancient Greece. Start with the earliest event.
1 - Ancient Greece began around 900 BCE.
2 - Hundreds of city-states were formed.
3 - Athens became the most important city-state.
4 - Greek colonies were formed in Europe, Africa and Asia.
5 - The Roman Empire stopped Ancient Greece from expanding.
6 - Ancient Greece ended around 31 BCE.
Q6.
Complete the sentence. Ancient Greek civilisation developed the Sumerian, Egyptian, Indus and Shang civilisations.
Correct Answer: after

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Lesson appears in

UnitHistory / Ancient Greek civilisation: what do we know about ancient Greece?

History