Ancient Greece

BY: NICKY AND JOLIE

Intro• Ancient Greece is a civilization that belonged to a period of Greek

history, this civilization lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity (ca. 600 AD).

• Life for men and women in Ancient Greece were quite different. For example, men were supposed to take part in the public life of their city while women were expected to lead quiet lives.

• Slavery was the central feature of life in Greece, many wealthy families would have the slaves do their

household chores and help raise their children.

Social Structure• There are three levels of social structure in Athens, Greece. The upper

class, the middle class, and the lower class and then the slaves.

• The upper class wouldn’t be working because the slaves they have would have been working for them. The middle class is mostly non-citizens, but they are not workers. The lower class is mostly people who were slaves and no more. Slaves were just people who didn’t have much rights, and they were only seen as workers in Ancient Greece.

• Only native- born men could be Greek citizens. The slaves didn’t count as citizens, and did not have any legal rights. In Ancient Greece the population of slaves were one third of the population.

Marriage • Marriages in Ancient Greece were arranged by the parents of the intended

bride and groom, so the bride and groom could not state their opinions.

• Girls married between the ages of fourteen to eighteen, while typically men married in their twenties or even thirties. Spartan men continued to live in the barracks, even after the wedding, until they reached the age of thirty when they could move home with their wives.

• Divorces were easily arranged. Divorces were required if the wife could not bear children or some other reasons.

• Citizens were not allowed to marry a foreigner in Ancient Greece.

Family Life• The husband was the head of the household in Ancient Greece and was

responsible for its members. The wife was responsible for the household work and raised the children.

• In wealthy families, the wife would supervise the slaves, who looked after their children and did most of the work around the house.

• In ancient times women would spun thread and wove clothes, even in the wealthy families.

• A woman was under the legal control of her father before she was married. After marriage, she was under the legal control of her husband

Childbirth• During the ancient times in Greece children were delivered by

midwives unless there were serious complications with the child, then they would have been delivered by physicians.

• Back in the ancient times a great percentage of women died during childbirth, the percentage was so great that it could be compared to the death rate of men that died from war.

• Many newborn babies had a difficult time surviving so therefore they did not receive their names until the seventh or tenth day of life.

• In Ancient Greece if a baby was born deformed they would have been abandoned on the mountains, and sometimes other families would raise them and make them their slaves.

Childhood• The children were wrapped in clothes until they were two years old to

ensure that their bones were strong and was ready. They spend most of their times with their mother. Some girls do not even go to school, thus their mother taught them everything.

• Girls reached puberty at ages twelve or thirteen, at which point they were considered adults and could marry. Girls took their childhood toys and left them at the temple of Artemis.

• This signaled that their childhood was over and that they were becoming adults. After marrying, the women were expected to have a baby. Not being able to bear children was seen as curse

from the gods.

• In Sparta, seven-year-old boys were taken to the barracks by the city and raised. They were trained in the military and were not allowed to leave the barracks until age thirty.

School• The schools in Greece were very small. The students didn’t need much

school supply, all they needed was a used wood board covered with wax, and a wooden pencil that had sharp ends.

• The boys went to school to learn more things to be a good citizen and to take part of the economy, and girls went to school to learn how to be a good housewife.

• Greek students went to school when they were 7 and ended school when they were about 14 to 18. They learned about simple

math, read, and write, and in the afternoon they would learn how to wrestle. Some richer students learned philosophies, which is more advanced thinking and writing. • Some of the richer students continued their education with famous teachers.

Housing• In Ancient Greece, men and women lived in different parts of the house.

The women were to live in either the back of the house or on the upper floors of the house

• Most houses in the ancient times were either built with stone or clay, the roof of the house were covered with tiles or reeds. Reeds are like bamboos but not as sturdy, but when you gather up a ton of reeds it makes a really tough roof.

• Most Greeks built mud houses back then, mud houses are made from mud bricks which are mud that is hardened into the shape of a brick. Since they used mud to build their homes, the mud bricks usually crumble up in a few years so then they had to rebuild it.

Reed roofAncient Greek’s homes

Food • The Greek diet was very healthy. food in ancient Greece consisted of

grains, wheat, barley, fruit, vegetables, breads, and cakes.

• Breakfast was eaten just after sunrise and consisted of bread dipped in wine. Lunch was again bread dipped in wine along with some olives, figs, cheese or dried fish. Supper was the main meal of each day. It consisted of vegetables, fruit, fish, and possibly honey cakes.

• Fish was the main source of protein in the Greek diet. Beef was very expensive, so it was rarely eaten. Wine was the main drink in Ancient Greece.

Religion• The Greeks believed that gods and goddess watch what they do. They also

believed that the things that happens in the world is controlled by the gods and goddesses.

• The Greeks believed in an underworld where the spirits of the dead went after death. If a funeral was never performed, it was commonly believed that that person's spirit would never reach the underworld and so would haunt the world as a ghost forever. There were various views of the underworld, and the idea changed over time.

• They made up a lot of mythologies about how things are. It consisted largely of stories of the gods and of how they affected humans on Earth.

• Many Greek people recognized the major gods and goddesses: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes, Demeter, Hestia and Hera.

Celebrations• There are a total of twelve months each year, there are more than one

celebrations in each month. Through out the year there are about eight big important celebrations, and one of the important celebrations they have is the “Anthesteria”. Anthesteria was one of the festivals held in honour of Dionysos.

• Celebrating festivals were a very big part of life in Ancient Greece, the people did that to worship the gods. During those festivals it usually included a procession and a sacrifice.

• During ancient times in Greece people had several competitions in their festivals, this was seen as another way to honour the gods.

• Most of festivals that the Ancient Greeks held were to honour the gods, for example, the Olympic Games was held in honour of Zeus.

Death• Ancient Greeks believed that on the moment the person dies his or her

soul will become a puff of wind or a little breath. Then the person’s vital breath or soul that is left in the body will enter a palace of hades; hades the king of the dead.

• In ancient times, names were added onto marble sculptures, funerary statues and grave stelai so it was easy to identify the grave. It was until the fourth century B.C, so many family members were added into the scene that it got extremely difficult to identify the dead person from the person’s relatives.

• After a person dies the maid washes and blesses their body with oil, they then dress them up and placed them on a high bed in the house.

Art • Greek architects, sculptors, and painters made important contributions to

the arts. The most influential architectural works were temples.

• Architecture includes houses, religious buildings like temples and tombs, and public building like city walls, theaters and stadia.

• Most of the sculptures included small figurines and life-size statues, small figurines and life-size statues were also on the sides of the buildings, and tombstones.

• There were five kinds of art in Ancient Greece: Acropolis art, Charioteer of Delphi, Kore, Kouros, and Minoan art.

Music• The Greeks usually played lyre: a strummed and occasionally plucked

string instrument. The kithara, also a strummed string instrument, more complicated than the lyre, it was held upright and played with a plectrum. The strings were tunable by adjusting wooden wedges. The Greeks also played the aulos, which has a low, clarinet-like sound.

• When people were playing music, the audience were not allowed to talk or make any noise, just listen, watch and learn.

• People in Ancient Greece loved music, they made it an important part of their lives. Greek people thought of music

as a way of honouring the gods, and making the world a civilized place.

Extra Facts• The spectacular achievements of the ancient Greeks influenced in

government, science, philosophy, and the art has influenced our lives and is still influencing us.

• The war that the ancient Greeks had with the Persians had a great effect on them, even though the Athenian Acropolis was destroyed by the Persians the Athenians still had the courage to rebuild the beautiful buildings whose ruins we can still see today.

• The ancient Greeks traded a lot back then, they traded items with other countries around the world

• Greece is a mountainous land and in the winters the weather is very mild, but in the summer it is very hot, and dry.

• On sunny days women would shelter under a covered area away from the sun, as the ancient Greeks believed that a pale looking skin was a sign of beauty.

Fact BibliographyAncient Greece-Daily Life. The British Museum. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.• http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/dailylife/home_set.htmlAncient Greece. Wikipedia, 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece#Social_structureAncient Greek Art. Wikipedia. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_artAncient Greek Marriage Law. Wikipedia. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_marriage_law Anthesteria. Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service. 22 Jan. 2005• http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9007768Barrow, Mandy. Education in Ancient Greece. Mandy Barrow. Ancient Greece. 19 Apr. 2012. • http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/greece/schools.htmBarrow, Mandy. Houses in Ancient Greece. Mandy Barrow. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. • http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/greece/houses.htmCarr, Karen. Food in Ancient Greece. Karen Carr. Kidipede, 7 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. • http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/food/greekfood.htmCho, Anna. Women of Ancient Greece. Anna Cho.Web. 15 Apr. 2012.• http://webpage.pace.edu/nreagin/F2004WS267/AnnaCho/finalHISTORY.htmlCrabill, Michelle. Ancient Greece. Michelle Crabill. 20 July 2004. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.• http://www.fcps.edu/KingsParkES/technology/ancient/greece.htmDeath and Burial Customs. Oracle Think Quest. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.• http://library.thinkquest.org/C004203/religion/religion06.htmDeath, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 15 April 2012. • http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htmDonn, Mr. Ancient Greek Houses. Mr. Donn. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. • http://greece.mrdonn.org/houses.html

Fact BibliographyFestivals and Games. The British Museum. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.• http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/festivals/home_set.html• http://www.greecetravel.com/holidays/Greek Art. Ancient-Greece.org. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. • http://www.ancient-greece.org/art.htmlGreeks at Home. BBC. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/home_lifeGreek Social Classes. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.• http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sirrobhitch.suffolk/portland%20state%20university%20greek%20

civilization%20home%20page%20v2/docs/7/ryan.html

Krentz, Peter. Greece, Ancient. World Book Student. World Book, 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. • http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar234900&st=ancient%20greece#Minoan Art. University Press. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. • http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Sculpture/Religion in Ancient Greece. Wikipedia, 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_ancient_GreeceRymer, Eric. Children of Ancient Greece. Eric Rymer. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. • http://www.historylink102.com/greece3/children.htmRymer, Eric. Marriages in Ancient Greece. Eric Rymer. History Link 102, Jan. 2004. 19 Apr. 2012. • http://www.historylink102.com/greece3/marriage.htmSchool in Ancient Greece. Oracle Think Quest. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.• http://library.thinkquest.org/J002606/AncientGreece.htmlThompson, James C. Pregnancy and Childbirth. James C. Thompson. July 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.• http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/health%20in%20greece.htm

Picture BibliographyAncient Greece- Social Structure. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. • http://diotima1984.blogspot.ca/2008/05/ancient-greece-socil-structure.html• http://ancientcivilizationss.com/ (this website no longer exists)• http://www.christusrex.org/www1/vaticano/ET1-Etrusco.html Crabill, Michelle. Ancient Greece. Michelle Crabill. 20 July 2004. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.• http://www.fcps.edu/KingsParkES/technology/ancient/greece.htmDeath of Sarpedon. 1972. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.• http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite7_1_05/05/2011_389796• http://www.fc.summit.k12.nj.us/~mccormack/FOV2-0010B7A1/FOV2-001133D4/• http://www.greek-islands.us/greek-gods/• http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/art/music/• http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/people/school.htm• http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/artifacts/antiqua/women.cfm• http://karenswhimsy.com/ancient-greek-women.shtm• http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Funeral.htm• http://projects.cbe.ab.ca/senatorpatrickburns/shelter.htmReed Roof. Deviant Art. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. • http://zoef.deviantart.com/art/reed-roof-138849785• http://www.sassyscrubs.com/fabric_1105.html• http://tatjana-mihaela.hubpages.com/hub/love-men-woman-marriage-divorce-childrenThe train of Dionysos. Sousse Museum, Sousse, Tunisia. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.• http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/Z12.3.html

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