Ancient Greece - History, mythology, art, war, culture, society, and architecture. History: Ancient Greece for Kids Ancient Greece was a civilization that dominated much of the Mediterranean thousands of years ago. At its peak under Alexander the Great, Ancient Greece ruled much of Europe and Western Asia. The Greeks came before the Romans and much of the Roman culture was influenced by the Greeks. Ancient Greece formed the foundation of much of Western culture today. The Acropolis of Athens by Salonica84 Periods Historians often divide up the history of Ancient Greece into three periods: Archaic Period - This period ran from the start of Greek civilization in 800 BC to the introduction of Democracy in 508 BC. Athens and Sparta were the two main city states that ruled much of ancient Greece. Fun Facts about Ancient Greece The Greeks often ate dinner while lying on their sides. Back to History for Kids
Primary History - Ancient Greeks Who were the ancient Greeks? Who were the ancient Greeks? Discover different ancient Greek cities and find out how they were ruled. How did the Olympic Games begin? Learn how the Olympic Games began over 2,700 years ago! What was it like to live in an ancient Greek family? What was everyday life like in ancient Greece? Who were the ancient Greek gods and heroes The Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses. The ancient Greeks at war Learn about ancient Greek soldiers, the Spartan soldier state and read about famous Greek battles. What do we know about ancient Greek culture? Find out what ancient Greek theatre was like and learn about different ancient Greek festivals and art How did the ancient Greeks change the world? What did the ancient Greeks do for us? 3 class clips We have a selection of great videos for use in the classroom Links BBC History for Kids
Facts about Ancient Greece for Kids The earliest Greek civilizations thrived nearly 4,000 years ago. The Ancient Greeks lived in Greece and the countries that we now call Bulgaria and Turkey. The Ancient Greece empire spread over Europe as far as France in the East. The ancient Greeks developed new ideas for government, science, philosophy, religion, and art. Ancient Greece was split into many different states, each one was ruled in its own way. - (How Ancient Greece influenced modern day culture.) The influence of the Ancient Greeks are still felt by us today. Trial by Jury Greek Myths Democracy The word 'democracy' is Greek.
Free Historical Costume Patterns A list of free historical costume patterns including medieval, Elizabethan and Victorian patterns. Free Patterns Menu: Period Clothing Patterns and Cutting DiagramsVictorian and Edwardian era jacket, suit, shirt, skirt, petticoat, and bodice patterns for women, men, and children. Adapting the Elizabethan Lady's wardrobe for lower class useGeneral instructions for an apron, neckcloth, partlet and flat cap with .pdf pattern downloads. Diderot’s Tailors and Seamstresses in his Ground Breaking EncyclopediaPeriod pattern for an 18th century French Robe Franciase. Making a Gored Kirtle PatternFlemish gown based roughly on the 1570-1580 loose kirtle described in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 1560-1620.costumingdiary.comHistorical Costume PatternsFollow On Want more free historical costume patterns?
Food in Ancient Greece The Greek diet consisted of foods that were easily raised in the rocky terrain of Greece’s landscape. 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. Fish was the main source of protein in the Greek diet. Wine was the main drink in ancient Greece. The Greeks did not have any eating utensils, so they ate with their hands. Men often gathered for dinner parties called symposiums. Daily Life in Ancient Greece Children Clothing Fashion Food Home Life Marriage Men and Women's Roles Shopping Women Historyphoto101.com - Great History Photos, Right Price Follow our updates on Facebook or Twitter Pictures on this page are for viewing only. Please see Pictures Galleries for Royalty Free images for Educational uses. Copyright © 2000-2014 All Rights Reserved History Source LLC. Contact Us: Suggest a Site - General Comments
Ancient Greece - Q-files Encyclopedia The Parthenon is a temple to the goddess Athena, completed in 432 BC. It was built in the Acropolis of Athens, the ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop. The Parthenon (top) in Athens, built in 432 BC About 2500 years ago, Greece enjoyed a time of wealth, discovery and invention. It was known as the “Golden Age” of Greece. A map of Greece in around 500 BC A map of Greece in about 500 BC Greek city-states Greece civilization grew up around the shores and islands of the Aegean Sea. This painting, called The School of Athens, by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael, shows the Greek philosophers Plato (c.428–c.348 BC, left) and Aristotle (384–322 BC, right). The philosophers Plato (left) and Aristotle (right) Science and ideas The ancient Greeks had many ideas that have passed down to us today. Myths and drama Actors perform a play in an amphitheatre while the work of an ancient Greek town continues around them. Actors perform in an amphitheatre. Consultant: Philip Parker Timeline
Greek Slaves Slave woman playing a kithara. You can tell she is a slave because she has short hair. In ancient Greece, most people who worked at jobs - teachers, doctors, nurses, construction workers, policemen, hair-dressers, mail carriers, cooks, nannies, bakers, miners, farmhands, dancers, musicians, craftspeople, and accountants - were slaves instead of free people. This was partly because free Greek people had no money to pay workers with (until the Archaic period), and because they had no clocks (to measure how long somebody had worked). But it was also because it is cheaper to force people to work for you than it is to pay them. A man cooking - probably a slave(Louvre Museum, Paris) Most people who were slaves in Greece had been born free. There were a lot of jobs, and so about a third of the people living in ancient Greece were slaves. Most people in ancient Greece who were slaves worked in the fields, plowing and planting seeds and harvesting wheat and barley and olives. or
Ancient Greek Instruments Kithara Lyra: originally called Chelys, because of the tortoise shell used as its sound box. According to Nicomachus of Gerasa (Ist cent. AD), the tortoise-shell Lyra was invented by god Hermes, who gave it to Orpheus. "Orpheus taught Thamyris and Linos, and Linos taught Hercules. When Orpheus was killed by the Thracian women, his lyra was thrown into the sea, and washed ashore at Antissa, a city of Lesbos, where it was found by fishermen, who brought it to Terpander, who in turn carried it to Egypt and presented it to the Egyptian priests as his own creation." We don't know how many strings the original Lyras had. Cithara plucked instrument with 5 strings originally, but later with as many as 12 strings. Barbitos or Barbiton is an instrument of the Lyra family and resembles a Lyra, but it has longer arms and narrower sound box. Phorminx probably the oldest of the Cithara type instruments.
Ancient Greek Economy Bronze Age storage jars at Knossos The Greeks did not have the same idea of an economy that we have. The word "economy" is Greek, but to the Greeks it meant something like "rules of a household" (the "eco" part of economy is from the Greek word for house, "oikos", and the "nomy" part is from their word for law). Because they did not think about the economy as a whole, it is hard to talk of a government economic policy. But even without any policy, people do still make things, use things, buy things, and sell things, and that is what an economy is. Even as far back as the Stone Age, many Greeks were sailors, and sailed all over the Eastern Mediterranean. Finally, other Greeks were pirates, who simply raided wherever they could and took whatever they could get. More on the Greek economy Or, check out these book suggestions on Amazon.com or at your local library: Trade & Warfare, by Robert Hull (2000). Ancient Greek Jobs (People in the Past Series-Greece), by Haydn Middleton (2002). or
Greek Alphabet The letters in the Greek alphabet presented below are used for printed Ancient Greek texts. The earliest Greek texts that have survived were written with a radically different script called Linear B. For a detailed and wonderfully well argued discussion of the origins of the Greek alphabet, see Roger D. You can find fonts for displaying or writing Greek text as well as utilities for converting older fonts to the new Unicode standarde on our fonts page. Three sets of pronunciation suggestions are given in the table below: first the pronunciation of each letter in Modern Greek, then the reconstructed Hellenistic Koine pronunciation, and finally the reconstructed pronunciation for the Classical period (before about 350 BCE). The Erasmian pronunciation used in many schools to teach Biblical Greek and sometimes even Classical Greek is not given on this page. To hear online examples of both Classical and Modern Greek pronunciation, see the discussion at the end of the alphabet below. Roger D.