Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

By the beginning of the fifth century bce the Greek heartland, the territory which now comprises mainland and island Greece and the west coast of modern Turkey, was only a small portion of the Greek world. From the eighth century onward Greeks had established communities spreading east-west across the Mediterranean from the Levant to southern France and Spain, and north-south from southern Russia to north Africa. Although most of these Greek communities were set in environments which were broadly ‘Mediterranean’ in terms of their climate, geography and vegetation, there is a huge range of local variation even over very short distances. The consequence is that though some practices were common over a wide area, Greeks exploited the environments they inhabited in many different ways, depending on both local traditions and local conditions. In both the northern and southern hemispheres all areas with Mediterranean-type climates are on or close to the 35° latitude lines and bordering the sea ( Grove & Rackham 2003 : 11 and fig. 1.2). Ancient Greek settlement in fact ranged somewhat beyond the fringe of land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Mediterranean climates are characterized by relatively mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Except in the high mountains, few areas suffer from intense and regular frosts. Often the limits of the olive's cold tolerance are perceived as ... log in or subscribe to read full text