Ancient Greeks
by dina
Where Western civilisation began
The Ancient Greeks were people who lived in Greece from around 3,500 BC. Ancient Greece is called 'the birthplace of Western civilisation'. About 2500 years ago, the Greeks created a way of life that other people admired and copied. The Romans copied Greek art and Greek gods, for example:
The Ancient Greeks tried out democracy, started
the Olympic Games and left new ideas in science, art and philosophy (thinking about life).
The Ancient Greeks lived in mainland Greece and the Greek islands, but also in what is now Turkey, and in colonies scattered around the
Mediterranean Sea coast. There were Greeks in Italy, Sicily, North Africa and
as far west as France. Sailing the sea to trade and find new land, Greeks took
their way of life to many places.
What was ancient Greece like?
Ancient Greece had a warm, dry climate, as Greece does today. People lived by farming, fishing, and trade. Some were soldiers. Others were scholars,
scientists or artists. Most Greeks lived in villages or in small cities. There
were beautiful temples with stone columns and statues, and open-air theatres where people sat to watch plays. Many Greeks were poor. Life was hard because farmland, water and timber for building were all scarce. That's why many Greeks sailed off to find new lands to settle.
How Greece was ruled
There was not one country called "Ancient Greece." Instead, there were small 'city-states'. Each city-state had its own government. Sometimes the city-states fought one another; sometimes they joined together against a bigger enemy, the Persian Empire. Athens, Sparta, Corinth and Olympia were four of these city-states. Only a very powerful ruler could control all Greece. One man did in the 300s BC. He was Alexander the Great, from Macedonia.
Why Athens was great
Athens was the largest city in Greece, and controlled a region called Attica.
Between the many mountains were fertile valleys, with many farms. Athens became rich because Attica also had valuable sources of silver, lead and marble.
Athens also had the biggest navy in Greece. Athens was a
beautiful and busy city. People came to the city from all over Greece, and from
other countries, to study and trade. The city's most famous building was the
temple called the Parthenon. It stood on a rocky hill called the Acropolis.
Inside the Parthenon stood a statue of the city's protector-goddess Athena.