
The Geography of Ancient Greece for Kids
Geography had an enormous impact on the ancient Greek civilization. It led to the development of individual communities, rather than one country. In fact, Greece did not become a country until in modern times (in the 1800s.) Thousands of years ago, the geography of ancient Greece was divided into three regions - the coastline, the lowlands, and the mountains.
The Coastline: Saltwater and Harbors: Ancient Greece was made up of hundreds of city-states, grouped together at the southern end of a very large peninsula that jutted out into the Mediterranean Sea. (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 Lowlands: Rocky and Uneven Soil, Climate and Farming: Summers were hot and dry, and winter were mild and windy. Only about 20% of the land on the Greek peninsula could be farmed. 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. That's one reason the early Greeks tried to set up colonies in North Africa and in Asia. They wanted to control the import of grains and other foods.
The Mountains: Lots of Mountains and Fresh Water: The ancient Greeks needed a source of fresh water to settle down. Greece has lots of mountains. They are not huge mountains like the Alps. But they are big enough to provide two important things - a source of fresh water, running down the mountains in creeks and streams, and a system of natural defense barriers. The mountains made land travel very difficult and contributed to the formation of independent city-states. Not many roads were built, because they would have to avoid the mountains and follow the long, meandering coastline. Besides, connect to what? Each city-state in ancient Greece was its own unit, with its own government and its own way of doing things.
This is one slide from an excellent presentation of ancient Greek geography
Maps of Ancient Greece for Kids and Teachers (Donn)
Great Maps of Ancient Greece (6th grade social studies)
Hercules Detective Agency, short stories for kids that focus on the geography of Ancient Greece
QUIZ: TEST YOURSELF Ancient Greece Geography (Interactive with answers)

Explore Ancient Greece
For Kids: Overview
Early Greece: Minoans, Mycenaeans, Dorians
Rise of Greek City-States
- On Land: Greek Warriors
- At Sea: Greek Ships
- Trojan War
- Persian Wars
- The Delian League
- Peloponnesian War
- Alexander the Great
- The League of Corinth
Investigate Real Life Artifacts
For Kids: Art, Culture, Government
For Kids: Greek Mythology
Ancient Greek Myths for Kids, retold by Lin Donn
- Zeus, Hera, and Little Io
- The Competition, Athena and Poseidon
- Theseus, the Minotaur, and the Maze
- Dionysus and Ariadne
- Icarus and Daedalus, Wings
- The 12 Labors of Hercules
- Demeter and Persephone, Reason for the Seasons
- Apollo's Oracle at Delphi
- Perseus, Andromeda, and the sea god, Poseidon
- King Midas and the Donkey Ears
- And Many More
Ancient Greek Gods & Goddesses
For Kids: Ancient Greek Daily Life
NEW: From the Case Files of the Hercules Detective Agency: Join Herc and his friends as they solve daily life problems of the ancient Greeks
- The Misunderstood Minotaur - How Hercules made a best friend
- The Scaredly Fish
- The Tricked Bully
- The Stone Zoo
- The Bad Barber
- The Constant Chatterbox
- The Monster Under the Bridge
- The Festival Arrow
- The Amazing Matchmaker
- And many more, original short stories by Lin and Don Donn - learn about the ancient Greeks the easy way, through the case files of the Hercules Detective Agency!
For Kids: People
For Kids: Interactive Quizzes
Alexander the Great &
Gifts from the Greeks
For Teachers
For Kids and Teachers: Other Ancient Civilizations
See Also: Early Humans for Kids and Teachers