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Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece was the first civilization in Europe. It developed around the eastern
part of the Mediterranean Sea . Many powerful cities , great thinkers and scientists
emerged in ancient Greece. It was also the birthplace of democracy.
History
Aegean Civilizations
Civilization in the eastern Mediterranean began at about 3000 BC on the island of
Crete. The Minoans were great sailors who became rich through trading .
At about 1500 BC Mycenae, a powerful town on the southern Greek mainland
conquered and took control of Crete. Three centuries later the Dorians invaded
Greece from the north and drove the Mycenaeans off to Asia.
City States
After 1000 BC Dorians and Ionians, who settled in the eastern part of Greece started
to build large cities. These cities had their own governments , their own armies and
were independent .
The two most powerful city states were Sparta and Athens. Sparta was the strongest
and most powerful city state with many soldiers and a huge army. It was only
interested in fighting wars. Sparta united surrounding villages and sent armies to
conquer its neighbours and bring back slaves .
Athens, on the other side, concentrated on trade , science and other fields. It was
the first city to form a democratic government.
Persian Wars
At about 500 BC the Persian empire under Darius I invaded many Greek cities on
the Asian coast. By 490 BC the Persians attacked the Greek mainland . Greek
armies under Spartan leadership fought back and defeated the Persians.
Peloponnesian War
Under the rule of Pericles Athens had become the most powerful city-state and
controlled most of the eastern part of Greece. Pericles wanted to make Athens a
beautiful city with many temples. Art , philosophy and general knowledge became
important. Sparta thought that Athens would become too powerful. In 431 BC it
began a war against Athens.
In 430 BC a plague broke out in Athens and killed a third of its population. After
becoming weaker and weaker it finally surrendered to the Spartan army.
Sparta, however , dominated Greece for only thirty years. Then it was defeated by
another powerful city, Thebes.
Macedonian Rule
As Greek city-states became weaker Macedonia, a kingdom to the north of Greece,
grew stronger and stronger. After King Philipp II had conquered all of Greece his
son, Alexander, came to power in 336 BC. He set out to conquer Persia and got as
far east as India . Alexander the Great spread Greek ideas and the Greek way of life
throughout western Asia and the Middle East.
Alexander did not name a successor to his empire . After his death many generals
fought for power and his empire broke up into many kingdoms .
Alexander the Great in battle
Roman Rule
In 140 BC Rome took over Greece and the city states. They stayed under Roman
rule until 395 AD and then became part of the Byzantine empire .
Daily Life in Ancient Greece
Men were the heads of most Greek families. Richer families had slaves who
were commanded by the wives. They had to look after the children and to the
household work.
Most Greek families arranged weddings for their children. Women usually
married at an early age, men much later.
In ancient Greece society was made up of citizens and non-citizens. Citizens
were free men and noblemen. They owned land and took part in government .
Non-citizens were women, slaves and serfs .
Only citizens received education. Teachers in Athens taught general subjects
like music, writing, mathematics and reading. They also concentrated on
physical exercise like running, jumping and wrestling . Education in Sparta was
different. Boys were sent to military schools so that they could become good soldiers
.
Greek people ate food made of grains , mostly wheat or barley . Bread was the
main type of food. They ate fish and eggs for protein and consumed vegetables and
fruit .
Greek men and women wore garments made of linen or wool that hung down to
their knees. They also wore a belt around their waist . A woman’s garment usually
covered her whole legs down to her ankles .
Houses were small in ancient Greece. Because of the mild climate many things were
kept outside the house. Poor families lived in houses made of dried bricks and floors
made of dried and hard mud . Wealthy families had stone floors and separate rooms
for cooking, eating and sleeping.
Philosophy, Science and Arts
Ancient Greece became famous for its great thinkers and philosophers. Socrates,
Plato and Aristotle were great thinkers who looked for logical explanations of
everyday things. Many people in Greece, however, did not believe in what
philosophers had to say. In 399 B.C. Socrates was sentenced to death because of
his teachings and because he did not believe in Greek gods.
Famous playwrights and poets wrote works that are still performed in theatres
today. Architects designed beautiful buildings.
Scientists explored medicine, physics , biology and mathematics. They observed
nature and also carried out experiments.
Religion
People in ancient Greece believed in many gods. On one hand gods and goddesses
were like normal people who showed feelings but on the other hand they possessed
abilities that humans didn’t. They could foretell the future and live forever.
Normal people thought that gods and goddesses watched them and observed what
they did in everyday life. They spoke to the people through oracles, holy places
where priests had contact with gods. The most important oracle was at Delphi.
Zeus was the most important god. He and his wife Hera lived on Mount Olympus.
Other gods and goddesses included
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Aphrodite, the goddess of love
Eros, god of love
Apollo, the god of light
Ares, the god of war
Athena, the goddess of wisdom
Democracy and politics
The idea of democracy, which means government by the people, came from ancient
Greece. Athens was the first city to set up a democratic government.
All free men were members who passed laws and were also allowed to serve on a
jury .
Of the 30,000 citizens in Athens 500 were chosen each year to help run the city.
They received a small amount of money because they could not continue their
normal work.
Words
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ability = skill, talent that you have
amount = sum
ankle = the flexible part between your foot and leg
arrange = plan, organize
art = the use of painting and drawing to show your ideas
barley = a plant that produces grain that you use for making food an alcohol
belt = band of leather or cloth around your stomach
birthplace = where something is born or starts
brick = a hard block of baked clay
carry out = to do something that is already planned
century = a hundred years
citizen = a person who lives in a country and has rights there
command = to give orders
concentrate = focus on
conquer = to get control of a country by fighting
consume = eat
defeat = to win against someone in a war
develop = grow, to get bigger
dominate = to be in control of
drive off = send away
empire = a group of countries ruled by a king or queen
explanation = the reasons you give for why something happened
explore = to find out new things
foretell = to say what will happen in the future
garment = piece of clothing
general = common
general knowledge = to know a lot about many different fields
goddess = a female god
government = the people who rule a country
grain = seeds of crops that are used as food
head = leader
however = but
huge = very big
humans = people
include = also are
independent = free , not controlled by another country
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invade = to enter a country with soldiers
jury = a group of people in a court who decide if a person is guilty or not
kingdom = country ruled by a king or queen
leadership = control
linen = cloth that is made from the flax plant
mainland = the main area of land that form a country, not the islands
Mediterranean Sea = the sea between Europe and Africa
mud = soft wet earth
observe = watch
pass law = make a law or rule that others must keep
perform = act out
plague =an illness that leads to the death of many people
playwright = someone who writes plays
poet = a person who writes lines that rhyme
possess = have, own
priest = a person who performs special church events
protein = natural substance that is in food and that you need to grow strong
and healthy
receive = get
sailor = someone who works on a ship
scientist = a person who is trained in science
sentence = to give someone punishment
serf = someone who lived in the past and worked on land that did not belong
to him
set up = create, organize
settle = to start living in a place
slave = a person who is owned by someone else and works for them
society = people in general
soldier = a person who fights for a country
spread = to share with many people
successor = the person to follow someone
surrender = give up in a war
surrounding = nearby, neighboring
teachings = what a person teaches
throughout = in all of
trade = top buy and sell things
unite = to join together
waist = the narrow part in the middle of your body
weak = not strong
wealthy = rich
wheat = the grain from which you make white bread
wisdom = what you have learned over many years
wrestling = a sport in which two people fight by holding each other and trying
to throw each other to the ground