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Greece is made up of the mainland (the Balkan Peninsula and the Peloponnesus) and numerous islands scattered across the Aegean and Adriatic Seas. Most early civlizations developed near a good source of water. Greece is no exception; people settled in small, independent communities along or near the coasts of the mainland and the islands. The land was mountainous and received limited rainfall, but the sea provided lots of resources for the ancient Greeks. One of the earliest civilizations was centered around the island of Crete. Later, several cities in the Peloponnesus gained power -- this civilization was called Mycenean. Around 800 BC small farming communities became organized into larger city-states, called a "polis." As their population grew, the Greeks established colonies around the Mediterranean, from southern Italy to the Black Sea.
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