2. Map AncientGreece was from 800
to 350 BCE. There for ancient
Greece lasted for 450 years.
3. Background
You may have heard some of the aspects and things that
ancient Athens is known for. So you may have heard
about their mythology, otherwise known as the famous
Greek gods. Some of these famous Greek gods that were
often included in the religion include Athena, Zeus, Hades,
Hera etc. These gods played an enormous role in the
religion of ancient Athens, and are still talked about
today. Another thing that ancient Athens is known for,
and has left for the world is the famous Olympics. Even
today we still have the Olympics which are held every 2
years. So the art and poetry also had a huge role in
ancient Athens, they were extremely known for their
wonderful art work, such as tapestries, weaving and
pottery. Not only were the arts very valuable in ancient
Greece, but the architecture created a style, and
historical artifacts that are shared to people in museums.
Last but not least is the food that people made in ancient
Athens. Mainly people loved growing their own healthy
and nutritious food, such as olives. Olives were for sure one
of the most popular types of food in ancient Athens,
because it was healthy and fresh and they believed that
Athena had granted them with an olive tree.
4. Social Structure
So the social structure in Ancient Greece is quite simple to understand. So you may know
what a social structure is, based on you experience in regular life. A social structure is really
when a whole group of people are divided up into different categories depending on what
they do and their appearance. A great example of this is in high school when each teenager
is divided either in to the “cool” or “non-cool” category. It is quite similar in Ancient Greece as
the people are separated into the groups of where they live. In other words they are divided
into states, and each state is about 2500sq. km. Now next is the group of free people or slaves
which is pretty simple. First of all the slaves are servants/labourers, and they have no legal
rights, prisoners of war, bought from foreigners, and live with owners like belongings. Free
people are also divided up into citizens or metics (foreigners). The citizens are just like they are
now a day, they were born in Athens and are usually quite powerful, can take a roll in the
government, and are sometimes forced to serve in the army depending on the situation. On
the other hand the Metics (foreigners) are born somewhere else on the globe, are not able
to achieve a citizenship, and finally they are forbidden to have homes, own land or speak in
court. Women are not allowed to take part in regular day public work and life, and they got
their social status from their husband’s status. Finally rich people usually had more rights, and
families that owned and had more valuables were often respected more.
Free Men
Women,
children and
foreigners
Slaves and Servants and
criminals
5. Housing
The housing situation in Ancient Greece is similar to
the ones now a day. You may have noticed that in
this modern time people with more money tend to
have larger and fancier homes to live in; well it is
pretty much the same in Ancient Athens. These
massive homes included a kitchen, bathing room,
men’s dining room, sometimes a women’s sitting
room, on top of all of the other features of an
average home. These homes were constructed of
clay, stone bricks and sundried mud bricks. The
sundried mud bricks were original and amazing,
although after a couple years the small houses
started to crumble away. Even though the that the
women lived in the back and upstairs part and the
men stayed in separate parts, they still loved each
other, but it was just the custom back then. The
reasoning for this was because the men tended to
be valued a bit more over the women. The slaves
and servants were extremely lucky because they
usually lived in the home or sometimes in a
separate part of the property. Finally kids lived with
their parents in the home, and were also
considered part of the family.
6. Houses for the Wealthy
Just like in the social structure, the rich people had nicer
and more valued houses than the average people. The
wealthy had their home specifically designed to impress the
guests and visitors. Often the wealthy had more features to
their home, on top of the normal features. It was also
common to have special additions or add-ons in the home.
For example they often had a kitchen, bathing room, men’s
dining room, and sometimes a women’s sitting room. Rich
merchants would often have large properties and gigantic
homes. These homes were often made to keep the heat in
during the winter, and to keep the house cool during the
summer. Overall if you were a rich landlord in Ancient
Athens than you are one lucky person!
7. Food
The Greeks, specifically the Athenians, lived in a very rocky
environment with poor soil for growing. This limited their food to
what could be grown in their surroundings. The food was always
very healthy and fresh. Many types of fruit and vegetables were
eaten such as olives, grapes, figs, beans, apples, and lentils. The
Athenians did not have sugar so they used honey to sweeten
food. Bread was made from types of grain like wheat and
barley. Fish, squid and shellfish were the main types of protein as
Greece is surrounded by oceans. Beef and pork were very
expensive and most of the meat was sacrificed to the gods
instead of eaten. Wine and water were the main drinks in
Athens. Drinking milk and wine straight were considered wrong
and appalling. An example of a day of meals in Greece would
be: bread and wine for breakfast just after sunrise; bread, wine,
olives, figs, cheese and dried fish for lunch and vegetables, fruit,
fish and honey cakes for dinner which was the main meal of the
day and eaten around sunset.
8. Family Life
Family life played a huge role in Ancient Greece, in other
words it was extremely important to the civilization. The
family life and daily life was quite simple for the children.
They lived with their mother’s in the women’s section of the
house until they were seven years old, and often slept in
wooden cribs or wicker baskets. The families often got
along, and though they had a few toys the children simply
played with their imagination and their surroundings. In the
family the husband would be the head person in charge
and the female (Mother) would often be in charge of
taking care of the children and watching the slaves.
Because most families were so strict, they often arranged
weddings for their daughters which led the girls to being
married when they were around 13 years old! All in all the
families had a very specific way of running things, and each
family was different depending on the beliefs, and people.
9. Marriage
The differences between marriages in Canada and in
Ancient Greece are quite significant. For example did you
know that in Ancient Athens you would normally get married
in January, and started after dark? There was a complicated
ritual that a young girl must go through before the ceremony.
These rituals included bringing their childhood toys to
sacrifice to the goddess Artemis to show that their childhood
has finished and their adult life has begun. Depending on
whether you were wealthy or not, you would either ride in a
chariot or a wagon. Most often the friends of the bride and
groom would lead the way while caring torches. Also the
father of the bride was required to organize the weddings.
These are just some of the basics to the Ancient Athens
marriage; there are also lots of common rituals to be done by
both the bride and the groom. Finally if you compare
Ancient Athens marriages to the Spartans marriages, you will
find that they are quite different in various ways.
10. Childbirth
When the children were born in ancient
Greece, they were normally delivered by
midwives, and were most often born on a
birthing stool. If a child was overdue, they
used a simple and effective solution which
was herbs. Herbs were the solution for almost
everything in Ancient Greece, which is quite
different too. Because women married
young, they often had a child young which
led to death because they were often not
ready to take on a child at that young age. It
was often believed that if the lady giving
birth had trouble and difficulties, then the
baby was a girl and on the other hand if the
baby came out easily and the female had
no troubles at all then it was believed the
baby was a boy. Some different things that
were used to birth a child were olive oil, soft
tea sponge, warm cloth, different scents and
a pillow. Finally the goddess of child birth was
Eileithyia, and was extremely important to the
people of Athens.
11. Childhood
The childhood in Ancient Greece is actually quite
interesting to learn about because there are so
many cool facts! The children in Ancient Athens
often kept pets that they found such as birds and
rabbits. The toys that the kids played with were
quite similar to ones today, although they weren’t
as well made or fancy. Some examples of the toys
were rattles, swings, dolls, wicker balls and their
surroundings. Because the children lived in their
mom’s section of the home for the first seven
years, they were mainly raised by their mother. If
you were a boy then you were lucky enough to
get an education because in Ancient Athens they
believed that the girls didn’t need an education.
The reasoning for this was because people
believed that boys were more important than any
other children. Women had a difficult time in
Ancient Athens because they were considered
women when they were only thirteen, and then
they would often get married and give birth.
12. Childhood: Ancient Greece vs. Canada
Childhood in Canada Both Childhood in Greece
- Not many Canadian - Small animals such as - Many babies died
children died soon rabbits and birds soon after birth
after birth were kept as pets
- Children were mostly
- Children are usually - Children had toys raised by their
raised by both their such dolls, rattles and mothers
mother and father swings.
- Only boys went to
- Boys and girls both - Sports, art and types school, girls stayed at
went to school of grammar and home
math are taught in
- Boys and girls are - Girls were considered
school
considered adults woman at 13 and
when they are 19 - Children often relied married around this
on their imagination time
- Children started
for their
school when they - Boys started school
entertainment
were four of five when they were 6 or
7
- Boys and girls are all
treated equally - Boys were
considered more
important than girls
13. Education Education was very important to the
Greeks. In Athens, the main topics students
learned were grammar, music and
gymnastics. Students were taught in the
arts to train them for peace and war. The
educations system in Athens was based
more on the arts than athletics activities
like in Sparta. Boys started going to school
at the age of six. Before that they were
taught at home by their mothers or males
slaves. Until they were 14 boys went to
primary school. There they were taught two
main things, the words from the famous
Greek poet, Homer and how to play the
lyre. There were not many books as they
were very expensive. Boys used writing
tablets and rulers. The teacher was always
male and he also taught subjects such as
drama, public speaking, government, art,
reading, writing, math and music. Parents
had to pay for their children to go to
school. After primary school, students went
to a high school until they were 18. Then
boys were sent to military school for
another two years and graduated when
they were 20. Girls were not allowed to go
to school but lots learned things at home
from their mothers.
14. Religion
The Ancient Greeks were famous for their religion and
mythology. They believed strongly in gods and
goddesses and the afterlife in the underworld. The 12
main gods the Greeks worshiped were: Zeus, Poseidon,
Hades, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Ares, Hera,
Hestia, Demeter and Hephaestus. These gods and
goddesses supposedly lived on Mount Olympus, the
tallest mountain in Greece. It was also believed that the
gods had human qualities and would make life better for
the Ancient Greeks. There was usually a temple or statue
for one god in every city and many things were
sacrificed to them. Greeks also believed that Oracles
could tell the future. The Oracle of Delphi is the most
famous oracle given to the people by the god Apollo.
Afterlife was very important to the Greeks. They believed
that after you died you would move onto your next life
and that for your soul get there you had to have a
funeral. Otherwise, you would be a ghost forever. Priests
were also very important. It was believed that they were
the only ones who could talk to the gods. There were
often ceremonies to celebrate and worship the gods
which were held at temples, alters or shrines.
15. Athena
Athena was the goddess of wisdom, civilization, warfare, strength, battle
strategy, household arts, crafts and justice. Her symbols are the owl and
the olive tree. Zeus’s favourite child was born in the most interesting of
ways. Zeus had a horrible headache and Hephaestus cut open his head
to relieve the pain. Athena then came out in full body armour. The
companion of heroes, Athena has helped many such as Jason, Odysseus
and Heracles. Athena was one of the few goddesses who never married
or had children. Athena was also famous for her creation of the spider.
After challenging the gods, the foolish mortal Arachne was turned into
spider by Athena. The city of Athens was very important to Athena. The
Athenians built the Parthenon on Acropolis in her name and the city was
also named after her. Athena became the patroness of Athens after a
competition with her uncle Poseidon. Both of them granted a gift to the
city of Athens. Poseidon a salt water spring and Athena an olive tree. The
people chose Athena.
16. Clothing
Men and women wore more or less the
same thing in Ancient Greece. All of the
clothing fitted very loosely around the
body. The main article that people wore
was a tunic like garment called a peplo or
chiton. Men’s tunics were shorter than
women’s. The chitons were often held on
with a belt and made of heavy fabric for
the winter and light fabric for the summer.
Cloaks called himations were worn in the
winter. The Athenians wore sandals on
their feet but many of them went around
barefoot. Many Greek women wore
jewellery such as necklaces, bracelets
and earrings. At one point men wore
jewellery too. Women all wore their hair
long. It was considered shameful to cut it
so lots of interesting ways to put hair up
were created. Hair was often braided
curled or put into a bun. Headbands were
also worn to hold hair up. Only young,
unmarried girls were allowed to wear their
hair down.
17. Art and Music
There were many different types of art and music in Ancient
Greece. One of the main types of art in Ancient Greece was
architecture. One of the most famous Greek buildings is the
Parthenon in Athens. A replica has even been made in Nashville,
Tennessee. The Greeks were very famous for their pottery. Vases
were made and used for everything from cups to trophies to funeral
urns. Very few of them were used for decoration. Other forms of
pottery were statues and figurines. Painting was another form of art
in Greece. Many scenes from everyday life and mythology were
painted on panels or canvases and walls. The paint was also used
increase the look of architecture, sculptures and vases. Music was
very important in Greek culture. The first musical instrument invented
was the lyre given to Apollo by Hermes. The lyre is string instrument
originally built with a tortoiseshell. Some other instruments include
kithara, aulos, pan pipes and hydraulis. Music was often played at
festivals, marriages, funerals and religious festivals and enjoyed by
all citizens.
18. Thesmophoria
The Greeks celebrated many types of festivals throughout the year.
Thesmophoria was held in honour of the goddess Demeter and her
daughter Persephone. It celebrated the third year of grief Demeter
had while mourning for the loss of her daughter to the Underworld.
This was a women’s only festival. No men were allowed to come and
only married women. The festival lasted for three days. On the first
day all of the women hiked up to the sacred space where they
would celebrate, on near the hill of Pnyx. This day was called anodos.
The next day, nesteia, was a day of fasting and meant to be a day of
grieving. Women would only eat pomegranate seeds. All of the seeds
that were dropped were not picked up and left behind for food for
the dead. On the last day, usually at night there would be a great
feast of meat in celebration of the goddess Kallengeia, the goddess
of childbirth. The sacrifices in this ceremony mostly consisted of pig
and pomegranate seeds. These items supposedly sunk into the
ground. Not much else is known about this festival as no journals were
kept or letter sent. Many mysteries surround Thesmophoria.
19. Conclusion
Ancient Greek daily life was very interesting. We have
gotten much of our art, government, architecture,
sports, food and language from the Greeks. They have
given us many important things. Our lives may seem the
same in some ways but Ancient Athens and modern
Canada are very different. Women have as many rights
and value as men, girls are allowed to go to school and
children are considered adults at a much later age.
Though different from nowadays, the Athenian culture
has certainly impacted much of our life in the western
world. Greece may be different from what it was in
ancient times but the culture is still there and just as
interesting to see and learn about.
20. Information Bibliography
Doyle, Susan and Tountant, Arnold. “Ancient Worlds”. Canada: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Macdonald, Fiona. “How Would You Survive as an Ancient Greek?”. Belgium: The Salariya Book Co Ltd., 1995
Ancient Athenian Education http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/mcallip/Hist10/Greece/athenian_education.htm
Ancient Greece http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Main_Page/
Ancient Greece Food http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/greece/food.htm
Ancient Greece Gods http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/greece/greekgods.htm
Ancient Greek Religion http://library.thinkquest.org/28111/newpage2.htm
Ancient Greek Daily Life http://greece.mrdonn.org/dailylife.html
Ancient Greeks http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/
Athena- Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena
Athens http://www.sikyon.com/athens/athens_eg.html
Children of Greece http://www.historylink102.com/greece3/children.htm
Clothing in Ancient Greece- Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_in_ancient_Greece
Daily Life http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0210200/ancient_greece/daily_life.htm
Education in Ancient Greece http://greece.mrdonn.org/education.html
Fashion in Ancient Greece http://historylink102.com/greece3/fashion.htm
Food in Ancient Greece http://www.historylink102.com/greece3/food.htm
Houses in Ancient Greece http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/greece/houses.htm
Life of the People http://library.thinkquest.org/6132/Lifeofthepeople.html
Pregnancy and Childbirth http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/health%20in%20greece.htm
Religion in Ancient Greece- Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_ancient_Greece
The Goddess Athena http://www.goddess-athena.org/Encyclopedia/Athena/
What clothes did the Ancient Greeks wear??
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/greece/clothes.htm
21. Picture Bibliography
Ancient Athens Map http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/ClasDram/chapters/051clasgk.htm
Ancient Greek House http://blog.richard-potter.co.uk/tag/materials/page/2/
Athena http://themovieoracle.blogspot.com/
Artemis http://www.teenwitch.com/divine/greek/artemis.html
Childbirth http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/artifacts/antiqua/women.cfm
Demeter and Persephone http://www.epilogue.net/cgi/database/art/view.pl?id=68545
Family http://cwest-domesticconfusion.blogspot.com/2011/02/lot-of-stuff-on-my-mind-this-is-just.html
Greek Flag http://www.greekliving.net/greek-culture/
Greek Flag (2) http://www.burdosclassroom.org/worldhistorywiki/index.php?title=Greek_Geography
Greek Tiles http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/Hudson-Valley-Home/Fall-2008/Frieze-
Frames/
Hairstyles http://www.fashion-era.com/ancient_costume/ancient-greek-dress-chiton.htm
Hermes Greek God http://xfilexplore.com/2011/gods-and-goddesses-in-greek-mythology/
Jewellery http://www.allaboutgemstones.com/jewelry_history_ancient_greek.html
Man in Chiton http://karenswhimsy.com/ancient-greek-clothing.shtm
Map http://sljglobal.wikispaces.com/ieshiatravis
Mount Olympus http://sb.westfordk12.us/pages/6mweb/6mss/travelpages/blue10/bamy/index.html
Olive Tree http://www.watchmanscry.com/forum/showthread.php?p=22992
Olive Tree (2) http://fineartamerica.com/featured/olive-tree-thomas-darnell.html
Oracle of Delphi http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/FAQ-id_cat-6.html
Owl http://www.factzoo.com/birds/owls.html
