The Geography of Ancient Greece Quiz

Answer: Ionia

Ionian Greece consisted of this coastal area and the Cycladic islands upon which Greek settlers made their homes.

Answer: Laconia

Laconia is an area in the south of the Peloponnesus, culminating in a peninsula that juts out toward the island of Cythera.

Answer: Crete

Once the center of Minoan civilization, the island eventually gave way to Dorian Greeks who settled there during the early part of the first millenium B.C.

Answer: Athens

Athens was the primary city on the Attic Peninsula, but not the only settlement there. Cities such as Thoricus and Laureum were also located within the vicinity, not to mention the plain of Marathon.

Answer: Hellespont

The Dardanelles separate Asia Minor from the European mainland along a very narrow 44 mile strip, and connect the Sea of Marmora with the Aegean. The Hellespont was famously crossed by the ancient Persians on their way to battle in the Greek homeland.

The Hellespont also separated the ancient mythological lovers Hero and Leander, Leander eventually being killed while swimming across to meet his love. Hero followed him in death, committing suicide in the same waters. Lord Byron swam the waters of the Dardanelles in the modern era, fancying himself a modern day Leander.

Many more stories can be told about this famed strip of water...but let's move on!

Answer: Ithaca

Not surprisingly, the island is still called Ithaca, though historians are not absolutely certain about whether this is the self-same island cited in works by Homer and several other ancient Greek writers. One of the key settlements on the island is Stavros, which lies near what archaelogists believe to be the site of ancient Ithaca.

Answer: Chalcidice

The Chalcidice is a peninsula of significant size in the southeast of ancient Macedon. Stagira, the ancient birthplace of Aristotle, could be found on the Chalcidice. On their way towards Greece, the Persians dug a channel across the small peninsula at the tip of which rose Mt. Athos, one of the highest mountains of Greece.

Answer: Sea of Marmara

The Sea of Marmara lies between the Daranelles and the Bosporus, and separates the Black Sea from the Aegean.

Answer: Macedonia and Thessaly

Macedonia is famous as the homeland of Alexander the Great. The pass at Thermopylae separated Thessaly, which was to the north, from Greece proper. The key city of Thessalia was Pharsalus, later known as the location near which Caesar defeated Pompey.

Answer: Thrace

The Persians crossed Thrace on their way towards Greece, and Alexander crossed it on his way to conquer the Persians...what comes around goes around!