Throughout history Greece’s rugged geography has given the advantage to the Greeks when defending their homelands against invaders. While the mountainous terrain has its military advantages, it also comes with economic disadvantages. It makes a unified Greece difficult as the central government struggles for authority. The lack of arable land combined with the lack of land trading routes, has forced Athens to rely on the Mediterranean Sea for trade. As a country with some 6.000 islands, Greece needs to upkeep an advanced military force to defend its very core – the Aegean Sea. The sea allows for the Greek islands and cities to communicate, trade and defend themselves. Greece simply has to do whatever it takes to defend its core. Thats why the country also need to control over the islands of Corfu, Crete and Rhodes to prevent invasions from the sea.