Download Achievements of Ancient Greece

Achievements of Ancient Greece
The world of the ancient Greeks may seem far away, but it is as close as the
thoughts we think and the words we speak. Let’s look at some Greek
achievements and reason why these achievements are so important to our lives
today.
Government/Law
The Greeks developed small, separate communities of people,
called “city-states”. Each city-state made their own rules and had
their own ruler. As city-states grew in population, citizens
demanded a voice in government. Slowly, these ordinary citizens
gained certain rights, and democracy was born. What is
democracy? Democracy is a Greek word meaning “power of the people”.
Athens (the capital of Greece) was the world’s first democracy. Democracy in
Athens was different than present-day democracy in the United States; only free
men who had been born in Athens, could take part in government actions (vote,
make laws, etc.). Women, slaves and foreigners had no political rights. The
basic principles of democracy come from the ancient Greeks. Athenians were
proud that their government allowed citizens to control their own lives.
The right to a trial by jury was another great contribution of the Greeks. A
jury is a group of citizens that helps decide a case brought to trial. Athenian
juries were large, ranging from 101-501 jurors. Juries in modern democracies
usually have less than 15 jurors.
Art
The word architecture comes from a Greek word that means
“master builder”. The Greeks built beautiful temples as
dwelling places for their gods and goddesses rather than
places of worship. Religious ceremonies were conducted
outside. Temples were built with rows of tall columns.
Another important form of Greek art are sculptures. Creating lifelike
statues was one of the great achievements of Greek sculptors.
Details of the human form, including muscles, hair and clothing,
were all included in the statue. Statues were made from marble
and decorated with bronze and colored wax.
Theater
Greeks excelled in drama, the art of the theater. Going to
the theater was a regular part of Greek life. Theaters could
hold thousands of people, much like modern sports stadiums
of today. The word theater means “viewing place” in Greek.
Rows of seats rose steeply from the stage so that everyone in
the audience could see and hear. These ideas influenced
how theaters are built today. In ancient Greece, there were no women actors.
Men played all the characters, both male and female, wearing masks, of course.
The Greeks performed two types of plays: comedies and tragedies. Comedies
are plays that are funny, make fun of people, and have a happy ending.
Tragedies are plays in which life is treated seriously and usually has a sad
ending.
Literature
The word alphabet comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha
and beta. Many of our English words have their roots in the Greek language.
For example, the word telephone is made up of the Greek words for “far off”
(tel) and “voice” (phone). The Greeks are famous for their epic poems. An epic
poem is very long and detailed. One poet was Homer, who wrote many epic
poems about gods and goddesses. Because few Greeks knew how to read or
write at this time, people relied on the spoken word to pass knowledge to their
children. Homer’s epic poems were so long and detailed, that they would take
many evenings to tell. Two famous epic poems, which are still read in today’s
schools, are The Ilian and The Odyssey.
Philosophy/Values
People of ancient Greece loved to get together to talk about things
they couldn’t see, such as the meaning of life, justice, truth, and
beauty. They called this kind of thinking philosophy, which means
“the love of wisdom”. Philosophers began to question the
traditional belief that gods and goddesses controlled the forces of
nature. Through observation and reason, Greek philosophers
wanted to discover natural laws that explained the universe. One of the great
philosophers of ancient Greece was Socrates. Socrates always encouraged
people to question the things that they thought they knew.
He taught others by asking them questions that forced
them to think about their beliefs. These sorts of ideas
got Socrates into trouble because people believed that
he was trying to corrupt the youth with his new way of
thinking. He was sentenced to death, but his students
continued to teach his beliefs.
Science
For centuries, the Greeks believed that the gods and
goddesses controlled natural events, including health and
sickness. A Greek doctor named Hippocrates changed the
way people thought about health and medicine. He believed
that diseases had natural causes. He taught his students to
carefully observe their patients and write down what they
saw. Hippocrates is often called the “father of modern medicine”.
Today, people who become doctors take the Hippocratic Oath. They promise to
be honest, to preserve life, and to keep information about their patients private.
Centuries after Hippocrates, Greek medical students were able to name and
describe the organs inside the body. They discovered that the heart was a
pump that sent blood flowing throughout the body. And they learned that the
brain was the center of the nervous system.
Astronomy & Math
Astronomy, a word that comes from the Greek word for “star”, means the study
of stars, planets, and other objects in space. An ancient Greek was the first to
suggest that the Earth moves around the sun. This theory has been proven
true. Geometry comes from a Greek word meaning “to measure land”. Using
geometry, Greeks could figure out how much seed to buy for planting a field or
how to lay out a city. A famous Greek mathematician named Pythagoras
believed that numbers were the key to understanding nature. Today, schools
teach the Pythagorean Theorem to students all around the world (a2 + b2 = c2).
The Olympics
Olympic competition was the glory of ancient Greece. Every four
years, athletes would come together to compete in the Olympic
Games. These games were so important that the Greeks would call
a truce from all wars so that athletes could travel safely to the
games. In ancient Greece, women were not allowed to compete in
the games, nor were they even allowed to watch the games. The
tradition of the Olympic Games continues today, with both men
and women from countries all over the globe, coming together to
compete in various games and sports.