BLOCK

Unit 2
Ancient
Greece
43
IMPORTANT CONCEPTS !
The most important concepts you will learn in this unit are:

IVITY
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ng
t o rmi nt
ins cie
Bra ut An
e
abo reec t will
G n
s t ude pts
h ce
Physical conditions that Eac te con d.
wri b oar
affected the development the
of the Greek civilization. on

Archaic Age: Classical Age: The Hellenistic

Concepts of Difference period: The figure
Polis, between Athens of Alexander the
Colonization and Sparta Great

Periods in
Ancient Greece

45
 3

Society and Life in

Ancient Greece

Religion and Architecture and

Culture Sculpture

Religion, Culture
and Art

ANCIENT GREECE
In this unit we will learn about Greek -Science: The Greeks were the first to
civilization. It is considered the base of study philosophy, and they also made
Western civilization. This means that great contributions to mathematics and
many concepts that are important in medicine.
our lives, concepts we still use today, -Culture and leisure: They invented
come from here. the Greek theatre, precursor of our
Greek civilization is important because theatre and cinema. In architecture
it teaches us about: some Greek building elements are still
-Politics: The political system that used today.
we have nowadays in most European -Sports: Greeks invented the Ancient
countries is democracy. This started Olympic Games that inspired today’s
in Athens. Olympic Games.

46
1. The origins of Greek
civilization
1.1 The Greek natural environment
The Greek civilization was located in a long area around the Mediterranean Sea.
Their main cities were in:
• The Balkan Peninsula.
• The west coast of Asia Minor.
• Some islands in the eastern Mediterranean.
Living in the Mediterranean, water and the sea were important elements for them.

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The physical conditions of these areas explained the development of this amazing
civilization.
1. Most of the land was very mountainous, dry and rocky, which made agriculture
very difficult.
2. Living in the mountains made communication and trade by land very difficult, so
the villages were quite isolated from one another.
3. As many Greek people lived on islands, they became expert shipbuilders and
sailors. They traded all over the Mediterranean.
4. Living between mountains or on islands made it hard for people from one territory
to see people from others, so each territory developed in a different way with its
own laws, army, and government. Nevertheless, they spoke the same language
and shared the same culture and religion.
5. For these reasons a Greek state was never created, unlike in Mesopotamia and
Egypt.
47
1.2. The Pre-
Pre-Hellenic people
These people developed interesting civilizations before the Greeks did.
They are divided into:
The Minoan civilization
This developed on an island in the eastern Mediterranean called Crete.
- It’s probably the first civilization in Europe.
- They had powerful monarchs like the mythical king Minos. Its main city was
Knossos.
- They were great traders. They traded all around the Mediterranean selling pottery,
wine, and oil.
- The Minoans were non-warrior people as their main activity was trade.
- This civilization ended after a volcanic eruption on an island nearby called Thira,
around 1500 BC.

Knossos palace
The Mycenae civilization
This developed mainly in the Balkans before 1500 BC.
- They were the first to speak Greek.
- Unlike the Minoans, they were a warrior culture, as their main activity was going
to war and conquering new territories.
- They lived in fortified settlements that were built in high places.

Mycenae
The Dark Age
There isn’t much information about this period, which lasted from the 11th to the 9th
century BC. This is why it’s called the Dark Age.

48
2. Periods in the history of
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greek history is divided into three main periods.

2.1 The Archaic Age (8th to 6th century BC)

2.1.1 The Polis
Around the 8th century BC some Greek These poleis had their own laws and
territories developed into poleis. Polis government, their own army, and their
is the Greek name for a city-state, and own coins. Their economy was self-
poleis is the plural. sufficient.
There were many poleis in the Greek
So what is a city-state? It’s an territories; the most important were
independent territory that includes Athens, Sparta, Thebes and Corinth.
an urban centre and some territories
around it which are used for agriculture,
livestock farming, or forestry.

• Some of these poleis grew considerably.

• As we studied before, the Greek territories were
very mountainous and dry, which made agriculture
difficult.
• As there was not enough food for everyone, some
people left their polis looking for a better life, or
because they wanted to trade and become richer.
• The polis these people came from was called a
metropolis. When they created a new town it was
IVIT Y
called a colony. The relationship between these A C T
two cities was very close.

i n pairs
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49
2.1.2 The Colonies
The perfect place to create a city would include:
- Fertile land and access to fresh water.
- Closeness to the coast so they could trade through the sea.
- An easy place to defend.
- Natural resources such as wood or metals.

These colonies were very important because the Greek colonizers spread the
Greek language, culture and ideas around the entire Mediterranean.

2.2. The Classical Age (5th to 4th century BC)

This period was the most prosperous Those two poleis were either together,
and important for the Greek poleis, fighting their common enemy (the
especially for the two most important Persian Empire), or fighting each other
poleis of their times: Athens and to be the most important Greek city-
Sparta. state.
They were different in many ways.

50
2.2.1 Athens
• In today’s democracy everyone can vote, but in Athenian democracy only
citizens could vote.
• And not everyone was a citizen. Citizens were men whose parents, or at
least one of them, were born in Athens.
• Women, metics (foreigners) and slaves couldn’t participate in politics.
• Athens had a population of about 250,000 but only 40,000 were allowed to
be involved in politics.

Athens reached its Golden Age (its best the world through a new way of
moment) with the ruler Pericles. He thinking.
was a great and very effective military • Euripides and Sophocles created
leader. Under his government, amazing wonderful tragedies.
monuments and buildings such as the • Herodotus composed The Histories.
Acropolis and the Parthenon were • Hippocrates caused a revolution in
created. medicine, changing the way to treat
He also promoted science and art. illness.
• The philosopher Socrates explained

INTERESTING FACT!
Hippocrates is considered the Father of
Medicine. The Hippocratic Oath is an oath of
ethics that contains the good principles a doctor
must practice in medicine. In many countries
nowadays, medical students swear an oath on
this text once they graduate

Pericles
51
2.2.2 Sparta
Sparta had a completely different Sparta had two kings. These two kings
political system, called oligarchy. It was were helped by a Senate composed of
the political system adopted by most of 30 men who were 60 years or older.
the Greek poleis. In this political system Most Spartans didn’t have time for
only a few people ruled the polis. In fact, politics because they were training for
oligarchy means “ruled by few”. These warfare.
few rulers were called aristoi, “the best”.

Unlike the Athenian citizens, the Spartans didn’t study theatre, art or philosophy.
• They studied war.
• The whole life of Spartan men was dedicated to the army.
• They joined the army at 20 years old and left it at the age of 60.
• They were proud to be considered the best soldiers and the strongest
army of all the Greek poleis.
• They had simple equipment, including the spear, the short sword and the
shield, which was the most important piece.
• Losing their shield at the battle field was considered the biggest disgrace.

INTERESTING FACT!
Spartans ate and drank very little and had
minimal possessions; they didn’t have any
luxuries and wore simple clothes. Nowadays we
still used the term “spartan” to define something
that doesn’t provide comfort and is simple or
basic.

52
2.2.3 Wars during the Classical Age
The Greco-Persian Wars
The Persian emperor Darius I conquered some poleis in Asia Minor.
These Greek poleis rebelled as they didn’t want to be part of the Persian empire;
the rest of the Greek poleis joined them to defeat the Persians. Even Athens and
Sparta, who were not friends, decided to join forces!
The Persian Empire was huge and extremely powerful. It covered lands from the
eastern Mediterranean and Egypt, all the way to India.

First Greco-Persian War

The Persians had control of many Greek territories but they wanted Athens to
surrender.
- The Persian navy arrived at the port of Marathon, a city near Athens.
- The Persians were many more in number, but they underestimated the military
ability of the Athenian soldiers.
- Because of this, the Persians were defeated at the Battle of Marathon by the
Greek soldiers.
INTERESTING FACT!
The famous marathon race takes its name from the fastest Athenian
soldier, Pheidippides. The legend said that he ran from Marathon
to Athens to report the victory over the Persians (42.2 km distance,
the same distance as a marathon), and that he died the moment
he reached Athens. However, the real story was probably that
Pheidippides covered the distance from Athens to Sparta (240 km)
in two days to ask the Spartans for help (which the Spartans didn’t
give).

53
 Second Greco-Persian War
The Persian King Xerxes, Darius’ son, wanted to avenge his father so he sent an
even bigger army and fleet than the one that was sent for the first war.
Xerxes conquered many Greek territories but he was finally defeated at the Battle
of Salamis. The Athenian navy and the Spartan army were decisive in this battle.
The Persian Empire could never
conquer the Greek territories. The
consequences of the victory in the war
against the Persians were:
• Athens became the most powerful
polis.
• The creation of the Delian League:
many smaller poleis wanted to join a
league with Athens to prevent another
Persian attack.
• The Persians were no longer
attacking the Greeks, so the Greeks’
self-confidence grew, just as their
poleis grew in wealth and population.
• Greeks became proud of their
culture and language, and the poleis
felt closer than ever before.

The Peloponnesian War

As Athens was gaining too much power, the other big
polis, Sparta, decided to create another league, the
Peloponnesian League.
Their fight to be the most powerful started the Peloponnesian
War between:
I TY
- Athens and the poleis that formed the Delian League, ACTIV
and
- Sparta and the poleis that formed the Peloponnesian
League.
The war lasted for twenty-seven years, when finally Sparta r,
won and became the dominant force. u p s of fou
In gro re Athens
a n
But more than twenty years of war weakened the Greek comp ta in a Ven
p a r ou
poleis. The wars destroyed cities, killed people, and and S m. Once y e
a h
produced famines. diagr rite it on t
,w
finish board.
Philip II, king of the northern territories called Macedonia,
took advantage of this tragic situation to subdue all the
Greek poleis except Sparta.

54
 2.3. The Hellenistic period (3rd to 1st c. BC)
Philip II of Macedonia was assassinated in the 3rd century BC; his son Alexander
succeeded him.
Alexander, also known as
the Great, was an excellent
soldier and leader.
- In only ten years he created
a huge empire from Greece
to western India. He was able
to defeat the Persian Empire.
- His army was formed by
more than 400,000 soldiers.
- He founded cities in the
new conquered territories.
- He spread the Greek
culture all over his territories
but also included ideas from
the eastern territories. This
process of fusion was known as Hellenism. Alexander the Great’s Empire

INTERESTING FACT!
- Alexander had probably the best tutor of his time: the philosopher Aristotle. He
learnt about mathematics, writing and playing music, but also to ride horses and
fight.
- At the age of 13, Alexander tamed a horse that nobody else could. This horse was
named Bucephalus. Bucephalus was with Alexander in many battles until it died;
Alexander loved it so much that he even named an Indian city Bucephalus.
- At the age of sixteen he ruled Macedonia, replacing his father who was out of the
country fighting.
- Alexander never lost a single one of his numerous battles.
- He is one of the most famous conquerors in history. His empire was one of the
biggest the world has ever seen.
- Alexander died very young, when he was 32 years old; some say he was poisoned.
His generals divided his empire into different kingdoms called the Hellenistic
monarchies.

55
3. Economy in Greece

Greece had different economic activities.

• Agriculture: As the land was not very fertile, productivity was very low. The main
crops were wine, wheat and olives.
• Trade: The Greeks were great sailors and shipbuilders. Because of this, they
could sail long distances throughout the Mediterranean in order to sell their
products and buy wood, copper or food. Trade was the most important economic
activity, as they had a favourable strategic location in the Mediterranean.
• Craftsmanship: The Greeks were excellent potters and they made excellent
products to trade.

57
4. Society

Society was divided into two main groups: citizens and non-citizens.
Citizens: These were an important minority. They could participate in politics, had all
the rights, and they had to pay taxes and join the army. Only men could be citizens,
no women, and only if at least one of their parents had been born in the polis. Some
were rich, some were poor.
Non-citizens: They couldn’t participate in politics or hold any public position. They
were divided into different categories:

1. Foreigners: These were called metics. They were freemen that had to pay taxes
and join the army. They couldn’t possess any land; their main activities were trade
and craftsmanship.

2. Women: No matter if they were free or slaves:

They didn’t have any political rights.
They couldn’t go to public shows.
In many poleis they had to stay at home, managing the household.
Like in other cultures, they were under the men’s rule and had to obey them.
Women couldn’t choose their husbands; marriage was arranged.
In Sparta women had more rights than in other poleis, because when the men
were at war, the women had to take care of all the affairs in the polis.

3. Slaves: These were normally prisoners of war or people that couldn’t pay
their debts. They did the hardest work. The worst task was working in the mines.
Sometimes they were freed by their owners.

59
5. Life in a Polis

5.1 The Polis

The Greeks were very intelligent people the images of their gods.
that located their poleis in strategic • The lower part of the city included
places: next to the sea, in order to trade houses, shops, workshops and
and see possible enemies, and in a high public buildings. All the economic
place for protection. All the polis was and social activities were held in the
walled but there were divisions inside. Agora. Theatres or stadiums were
• The high area was the Acropolis. also there.
It was walled and was the sacred • Outside the polis were the
place where temples were built with agricultural and farm lands.

The Agora
- The Agora was the center of all the activity in a
polis.
- It was an open space where the market was
placed; it was also used as a meeting place.
- This open area was surrounded by buildings with ACTIVITY
porticos called stoas.
- The stoas had shops inside.
- The citizens went there to buy, listen to speeches
or discuss politics.
- The streets were narrow and without sewage Oral Activity
systems and garbage collection, so they were very Identify the different
dirty and unhygienic. actions the Greek
people are doing in the
61 polis.
5.2 Daily life
5.2.1 Houses
The style of a house depended on the other rich people’s homes drinking wine
owner’s wealth. and debating, watching spectacles or
Rich people lived in big houses, going to the Agora to discuss politics.
normally with two levels. In the center Rich women rarely left their homes.
of the house there was a big courtyard
with several rooms around it. There was Poor people lived very humbly in small
a private area just for women called the adobe or brick houses.
gynaikonitis. The slaves slept in small Poor people, both men and women,
crowded rooms. worked all hours of daylight, so they
Rich men spent most of their time in had little free time.

ACTIVITY

The students will make a list of topics they can

debate, such as having homework after school, or
using tablets instead of books at school. Choose
one of these topics. Once the class is divided into
two, each group will have a different point of view
on the same topic. The groups will make a list of
reasons to support their point of view. Students
Debating was popular should anticipate what the other group might say in
in Ancient Greece. its argument, and counter those ideas with ideas of
their own.

62
5.2.2 Clothes and fashion
Men and women dressed with long Rich women remained extremely pale
tunics that were fastened with a belt. in order to show that they didn’t work
When it was cold, they would cover outside the house as they were not
themselves with a mantle on one of peasants. They even used makeup to
their shoulders. make their face look lighter.
They normally wore sandals that were Slaves were not allowed to wear
made of leather. makeup and they had to have short hair
Clothes were made of linen and wool. to show that they were slaves.

5.2.3 Food
They mainly ate cereals, vegetables and
fruits.
• Only wealthy families ate meat.
• The main meal was dinner.
• They used their hands, not forks, for
eating.
• Men and women didn’t normally eat
together.

63
5.2.4 Education
In cities like Athens, education was very
important. Boys went to school when they
were seven years old. Schools were
private, so scholars had private tutors;
they had a very complete education
including art, music and physical
education. At the age of eighteen they
left school to be trained in the army for
two years. Not joining the army meant
you couldn’t be a citizen.

Girls didn’t go to school as they were

destined to learn how to run a house.

In contrast, education in Sparta was

focused on the physical training for war.
Boys were to become great soldiers,
girls to be strong Spartan mothers.
Boys stayed with their mothers until
seven years old. Then they went to the
military school called Agoge. The Agoge
was hard and tough. They learnt how to
read and write, but the main teaching was
military training. Boys slept in barracks
ACTIV where they received very little food and
ITY they were often beaten. Life was to be
similar to being at war.

Girls went to school but it was not as

tough; they trained to be fit physically.

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6. Art and Beliefs in Greece

6.1 Religion
Greek people were polytheistic. They venerated many gods and also heroes.
Gods
lived in Mount Olympus and had feelings, passions and human features. They
suffered, loved, and hated like human beings, and they also looked like humans.
They fought against each other. They were immortal. Each polis had its own
patron deity for protection.

INTERESTING FACT!
The Greeks created the Olympic Games around
3000 BC. They were held in a polis called
Olympia. (The name Olympics comes from the
city´s name.) The Olympic Games were held in
honor of Zeus, the king of the gods, who lived
in Mount Olympus. The winners wore olive
branches; they were treated as heroes and
65 received money.
 Heroes
were sons of a god and a human. Although they were mortal they had some super
powers and became legendary, like Achilles or Hercules.
Myths are the stories about gods and heroes, including fights with fantastic
creatures such as cyclops or centaurs.
Oracles: The Greeks went to these women to see if the gods would reveal
something about their future.
The most important oracles were at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.

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Hercules

6.2 Culture
Before the Greeks, humans tried to of philosophy and science. Socrates,
explain the world through religion and Plato and Aristotle were the most
myths, as they did in Mesopotamia or outstanding philosophers.
Egypt. The Greeks were the first to use Archimedes, Pythagoras and Herodotus
reason and logic instead of religion were outstanding scientists.
to explain everything about the world.
Therefore the Greeks were the creators

66 Plato
Another important contribution from the wore masks in order to play men’s
Greeks was the theatre. People loved and women’s roles. The actors were
to go to these public shows and see supported by a chorus.
comedies (plays with a happy end) or Important playwrights were Euripides,
tragedies (plays with a sad end). Sophocles and Aeschylus.
Only men could be actors, and they

ACTIVITY

Work in pairs
Make a list of 10 tragedies
and comedies that you know.
They can be either books,
films or theatre plays. Share
on the board with your
classmates.

The Greeks made special buildings for Greeks were intelligent people, and the
theatres. Some had a large capacity, theatres were so well-made that the
around 10,000 seats. They were built actors could be heard from the very
using the slopes of the mountains, in a top. This means their theatres had great
semi-circular shape. The actors were acoustics.
in the middle, in an open area called
the orchestra. As you know, the Ancient

67
6.3 Art
6.3.1 Architecture
Ancient Greek architecture had such or Mesopotamians. Before,
a great and unique style that even constructions were massive.
today official buildings are inspired by it. • Now constructions were adapted to
What characterizes Greek architecture human proportions, so the buildings
are its harmonious and balanced were smaller and harmonious.
proportions, simplicity and the use of • Greek architecture is so beautiful
columns. and proportional that it has inspired
• The Greeks had a different many later artistic styles.
artistic sense than the Egyptians

The Temples
• The most important buildings were the temples, the houses of the gods.
• The temple was normally rectangular, with a steep base.
• Rows of columns surrounded the building that was divided into:
1. Entrance or pronaos.
2. Main room or naos: The statue of the god was located there. Each
temple was dedicated to one god.
3. Ophistodomos: where the god’s treasure was kept.
• Only priests and officials could enter. But outside the temples there were
ceremonies and rituals that the rest of the people attended. The rituals
included animal sacrifices.
• Building materials: They used
marble and stone. These
resistant materials are the
reason many Ancient Greek
buildings are still standing
today.

Greek Temple. Agrigento

68
The Greeks created the three orders of architecture. Buildings were constructed
in one of three styles, or orders:

Corinthian Ionic Doric

INTERESTING FACT!

The Greeks also created a type of column made

of human figures. Normally they were women
supporting the roof with their heads. These
female columns are called Caryatids.

The Caryatid porch of the Erechtheion in Athens

69
 The Parthenon
The Parthenon was the best-known
temple of Ancient Greece. It was the
biggest building in the Acropolis of
Athens. It was dedicated to the patron
of Athens, the goddess Athena. The
style of the building was Doric and it
contained a huge statue of the goddess
made of gold and ivory by the sculptor
Phidias.

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6.3.2 Sculpture
As in architecture, sculpture was harmonious and balanced. The materials they
used were marble or bronze, and occasionally gold or ivory.
Art represented the ideal beauty of the human body. For this, the sculptor used
canons, which were the rules you had to follow to reach perfection.

There are three main periods in sculpture.

70
1. Archaic Age (7th- 6th century BC)
The first sculptures were quite rigid, without
movement or expression. They had a simple
sort of smile known as the archaic smile. They
represented figures of naked athletes, men called
Kuroi, and dressed women called Korai.

Kuroi

2. Classical Age (5th-4th century BC)

These sculptures were much more natural, with realistic
movement. The sculptors represented ideal beauty and
perfect proportions. For this they followed the canon of the
seven heads. They created gods, heroes and athletes.
Famous sculptors are Polykleitos, Phidias and Myron.

3. Hellenistic period (3rd century BC onwards)

This period was characterized by excessive movement
and expressiveness, reflected in the bodies and faces.
The subjects represented were scenes that involved
emotion, movement and drama such as warrior fights or The Diadumen
mythological topics, like the Laocoön.

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 SUMMARY

KEY WORDS!
Polis Hellenism Philosophy
Colonization Acropolis Harmony
Democracy Agora Human Proportions
Oligarchy Myths Three Orders

1. Physical conditions that affected the development of

the Greek civilization
1. Most of the land was very mountainous, dry and rocky, which made agriculture very difficult.
2. Living in the mountains made communication and trade by land very difficult. The villages
were quite isolated from one another.
3. As many Greek people lived on islands, they became expert shipbuilders and sailors. They
traded all over the Mediterranean.
4. Living between mountains or on islands meant that people from one territory didn’t see people
from others, so each territory developed in a different way, with its own laws, army and
government. Nevertheless, they spoke the same language and shared the same culture and
religion.
5. For these reasons, a Greek state was never created.

73
2. Periods in Ancient Greece
2.1 Archaic Age: Concepts of:

Polis: Polis was the Greek

name for a city-state. This was
an independent territory that
included an urban centre and
some territories around it, used for
agriculture, livestock farming or
forestry. Each polis had its own laws
and government, its own army, and
its own coins. Its economy was self-
sufficient.

Colonization: This was the creation

of different Greek cities around the
Mediterranean in order to trade,
and to find new agricultural lands
and a new way of living.
These colonies were very important
because as the colonizers were
Greek, they spread the Greek
language, culture and ideas
around the entire Mediterranean.

2.2 Classical Age: Difference between Athens and Sparta

Athens Sparta
-The political system was a democracy; -The political system was an oligarchy;
citizens could vote for their representatives. only a few people ruled the polis. Sparta
-Citizens spent their time debating, had two kings. Citizens didn’t vote.
discussing science or philosophy. -Citizens in Sparta spent most of their time
-Women had few rights; they were under training for war.
men´s rules. They rarely left their homes. -Women had more rights, and they had an
-Only boys went to school; they learnt education to be strong and healthy Spartan
about many subjects such as music, art mothers.
and mathematics. -Boys and girls went to school; the main
subject was physical training.

74
2.3 The Hellenistic period: The figure of Alexander the Great
Alexander was known as the Great. He was an He founded cities in the new conquered
excellent soldier and leader, from a kingdom territories.
called Macedonia. He spread the Greek culture all over his
In only ten years he created a huge empire territories but also included ideas from the
from Greece to western India. He defeated the eastern territories. This process of fusion
Persian Empire. His army was formed by more was known as Hellenism.
than 400,000 soldiers.

3. Society and Life in Ancient Greece

3.1. Society
Society was divided into two main groups: -Foreigners: these were called metics. They
citizens and non-citizens. were freemen that had to pay taxes and join the
a. Citizens: These were an important army. But they couldn’t possess any land. Their
minority. They could participate in politics, main activities were trade and craftsmanship.
had all the rights, and they had to pay taxes - Women: No matter if they were free or slaves,
and join the army. Only men could be citizens, they didn’t have any rights.
no women, and only if at least one of their -Slaves: These were normally prisoners of
parents had been born in the polis. Some were war or people that couldn’t pay their debts.
rich, some were poor. They did the hardest work. The worst task was
b. Non-citizens: They couldn’t participate working in the mines.
in politics or hold any public position. They
were divided into different categories:

3.2. Life in Ancient Greece

a. The Agora was the center of all the activity time in other rich people´s houses drinking
in a polis. It was an open space that was the wine and debating, watching spectacles or
market and the meeting place. going to the Agora to discuss politics. Rich
b. Houses: Rich people lived in big houses, women rarely left their houses. Poor people,
normally with two levels. In the center of the both men and women, worked all hours of
house there was a big courtyard with several daylight, so they had little free time.
rooms around it. Poor people lived in small d. Clothes: They wore tunics and sandals.
adobe or brick houses. e. Food: They mainly ate cereals, vegetables
c. Leisure time: Rich men spent most of their and fruits. Only rich people ate meat.

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4. Religion, Culture and Art
4.1. Religion and Culture
The Greeks venerated: The Greeks were the first to use reason and
• Gods, who were similar to humans but logic instead of religion to explain everything
immortal. about the world. Therefore the Greeks were
• Heroes, who were sons of a god and a the creators of philosophy and science.
human. Although they were mortal, heroes Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were the most
had some super powers and became outstanding philosophers. Archimedes,
legendary. Pythagoras and Herodotus were outstanding
• Myths are the stories about gods and scientists.
heroes.

4.2 Art
Architecture • Building materials of marble and
Ancient Greek architecture had a great, stone. These very resistant materials
unique style characterized by: are the reason many Ancient Greek
buildings are still standing today.
• Harmonious and balanced
proportions, simplicity and the use of Greek architecture is so beautiful and
columns. proportional that it has inspired many later
artistic styles; even today many official
• Constructions adapted to human
buildings follow it.
proportions, so the buildings were
smaller and harmonious.

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 Sculpture
As in architecture, sculpture was harmonious and
balanced.
• The materials they used were marble or bronze, and
occasionally gold or ivory.
• They represented the ideal beauty of the human body.
• The sculptors used canons, which were the rules you
had to follow to reach perfection.

5. Why do we study the Greek civilization?

The Greek civilization is important because it teaches us about:
1. Politics: The political system that we have nowadays in most European countries, democracy,
started in Athens.
2. Science: The Greeks were the first to study philosophy, and they also made great contributions
to mathematics and medicine.
3. Culture and leisure: They invented the Greek theatre, precursor of our theatre and cinema.
In architecture, some Greek building elements are still used today.
4. Sports: The Greeks invented the Ancient Olympic Games that inspired our present Olympic
Games.

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YEAR 7