What were the 5 Themes of Geography of Ancient Greece?

Water, mountains, and peninsulas.  That's all there is to the geography of ancient Greece, right?

Well, those are a big part of Greece's physical geography, but they don't tell the whole story.

How did ancient Greece's geography affect culture?  How did the ancient Greeks adapt to their geography?  How did they alter it?  Where the heck is Greece, anyway?


In order to get a bigger picture of the geography of ancient Greece, let's try using the 5 Themes of Geography.

Star Wars and the 5 Themes of Geography?

Would you rather eat unsweetened Bantha fodder and wash it down with blue milk than hear any more about the 5 Themes? 


The 5 Themes of Geography can get old because after you apply them once or twice, it’s the same thing every time. Maybe you did examples of the five themes for your city. Ok… Then maybe you did examples from another world city. Mm hmm… These are important exercises, but after that, it’s the same over and over.

It doesn’t have to be this way!

5 Themes of Geography Made Easy! Definitions - Examples - Infographic

Geography is the study of Earth.  That's a big subject.  It's almost too big to even think about.  Never fear!  The 5 Themes of Geography are here to help us with that problem!

What are the 5 Themes of Geography?

I’m glad you asked! Let’s start off with some definitions.

Don't worry about writing it all down.  I've put an infographic below that ties it all together for you along with some examples of how the 5 Themes apply to a very familiar place, New York City.  Later, I will discuss some examples of how to apply the themes to a study of ancient civilizations as well.

Teaching the Five Themes of Geography - Human/Environment Interaction

When you study geography as it relates to history, it really is all about humans' interaction with the Earth's environment. Much of the story of human history is the development of new ways of modifying, reacting to, and adapting to the environment. As such, this is probably the theme that gets the most attention in my ancient world history classroom.

Teaching the Five Themes of Geography - Movement

Movement is how people, things, and ideas get from place to place on Earth. It is a simple theme to teach because it is so concrete. Afterall, all my students got to school today somehow didn't they? Their lunch was made from ingredients that were transported from somewhere. And when I write information on the board or the principal makes an announcement on the school PA system, we are "moving" ideas aren't we?

Teaching the Five Themes of Geography - Place and Regions

Place and Regions can be abstract concepts, but once the definitions are understood, they're easy.

Place is what makes one place different than another. This can include physical characteristics such as the land or human characteristics like the culture of a group of people.

Regions are simply areas that share one or more qualities/characteristics.

Teaching the Five Themes of Geography - Location

Location is of course where something is. However, there is more than one way to specify location.

The first is absolute or exact location. In geography, this is most often done by using latitude and longitude.

The second way to specify location is relative location. This is location based on references to other places or things. For example, I might say my house is near the corner of Oak and Pine. Or, I might say my house is 2 miles west of Interstate-80. These are both relative locations.