How are natural conditions, the presence of certain minerals and the occupation of the Greeks interrelated?

The natural conditions of the ancient Greeks were different from those of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Their civilization was not on a plain along a large river (Nile, Tigris, Indus, Ganges, Yellow River). They lived on the shores of the Aegean, Ionian and Mediterranean seas. Fertile places on their peninsula and islands (Crete, Samos, Euboea) were few, so it was necessary to develop crafts (pottery, metalworking) and sea trade. It was these conditions that created the Greek civilization with developed navigation (from Gibraltar to Colchis) and with a state system that was new for the ancient world – democracy.