ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS

Volume 1 Issue 1 July 2004

Ancient Greece - Cradle of Western Civilization

Greek Government
Ancient Greece was not one country. It was a group of areas called city-state. At rst, Kings ruled each city-
state.

A city-state of Athens started a new kind of government called democracy. Democracy means ‘rule by the
people’. Citizens of Athens could vote on how to run their city-state. A citizen was a free male from Athens
who was over 18 years old. Women, slaves and people from other countries were not citizens. They could not
vote or own property.

Ancient Greek Clothing

Men and women in ancient Greece wore a straight chiton - a
long piece of cloth cut into 2 and held together at the
shoulders by pins.

Ancient Greek Culture

Greeks expressed pride in their own city-states by building

large public buildings and holding sporting events. One
famous sporting event was the Olympic Games. It was rst
held in 776 BC. It is still held
today.

Who Ancient Greeks

Worship
Greek people beloved that gods lived on top of a tall mountain called Mount
Olympus. Each god or goddess was in charge of a di erent aspect of human
life and the world. People told stories of the gods and

goddesses to explain the world around them. These stories are now called
myths.

Some Greek gods and goddesses:

•Aphrodite - goddess of love

•Ares - god of war

•Athena - goddess of wisdom and war

What The Ancient Greeks Build

Although individual Greek homes were small, people built huge stone temples
and public buildings.
They had statues on the
inside and outside. Stone carvings of gods and
goddesses decorated the walls and ceilings. The
ancient Greeks expressed their beliefs and culture
through the buildings they built.

Greek Theatre
Huge Greek theaters were built on hillsides for people
to enjoy plays. Plays were either very funny or very sad.
Male actors performed all the parts in the plays. It was
against the law for women to act, Actors wore masks
to show their moods and whether their characters were
male or female.

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Greek Schools
The sons of rich citizens had teachers when they were seven years
old. Poor families could not a ord
teachers, so parents taught their
children what they could at home,
Most girls did not attend school.
Their mothers taught them to make
cloth and cook at home.

In school, pupils learned how to read

and write the Greek alphabet

Pupils also learnt maths. They used

an abacus to count.

Pupils learnt to play musical

instruments such as the lyre. The lyre was a small harp with seven strings
attached to a turtle shell.

Physical tness was also emphasised in ancient Greek schools. In the

afternoons, pupils went to special places, called gymnasiums to exercise.





Why Should We Know About the Ancient Greeks?
The ancient Greeks were intelligent and creative people. Their in uence is still felt today. Many modern
building are built with columns like ancient Greek buildings. People still read Greek myths and Greek plays
continue to be performed. Some ancient Greek ideas such as democracy, still shape the world today.
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