What was the consequence of mountains in greek communities

From early times the Greeks lived in independent communities isolated from one another by the landscape. Later these communities were organized into poleis or city-states. The mountains prevented large-scale farming and impelled the Greeks to look beyond their borders to new lands where fertile soil was more abundant. Natural resources of gold and silver were available in the mountains of Thrace in northern Greece and on the island of Siphnos, while silver was mined from Laurion in Attica.

The steep mountains of the Greek geography also affected the crops and animals that farmers raised in the region. The mountains isolated Greeks from one another, which caused Greek communities to develop their own way of life. Greece is made up of many mountains, isolated valleys, and small islands. This geography prevented the Greeks from building a large empire like that of Egypt or Mesopotamia.

The geography of the region helped to shape the government and culture of the Ancient Greeks. Geographical formations including mountains, seas, and islands formed natural barriers between the Greek city-states and forced the Greeks to settle along the coast. The ancient Greek farmers grew crops that would survive in this environment — wheat, barley, olives, and grapes. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search.

A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides. Smaller peninsulas stuck out from the main Greek peninsula, forming a great deal of natural coastline and many natural harbors. There were hundreds of small islands nearby in the Ionian and Aegean Seas.

The people of ancient Greece took advantage of all this saltwater and coastline and became outstanding fishermen and sailors. There was some farmland for crops, but the Greeks could always count on seafood and waterfowl to eat.

Rivers could not be counted on for transportation because the rivers dried up in the summer and overflowed in the winter. Transportation and food relied very heavily on the sea. The ancient Greek farmers grew crops that would survive in this environment - wheat, barley, olives, and grapes. The many hills and mountains provided shrubs to feed herds of cattle and sheep. The early Greeks also depended heavily upon trade and imports with other regions around the Mediterranean.