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OlympicDirty

Tricks!

WtS,/f)rl

When the Olympics are on , thank you,CGreat Gree£e! TV, do you sit spellbound~ '" ' Greeks. Many, awed bv the skill of the ath-, ' i)foUr life. such as' letes? Do you enjoy going:to,::,:~' ~.;!~pics" the theater~ plays? Do you feel lucky to ',WI ,e~oC?racy, had their.,' live in a country where you begi~s in ancient can say what you please Greece~ To find out more about any subject at all?aboufth~dasting achieve-

If you answered yes to any ments of the remarkable of these questions, you might ancient Greeks. read on.

Y AGORAS­

marketplaces and meeting places­

were the heart

'j i 11'\Zeus ApOLLO ARES

King of the gods ,II God of sun, light. truth. God of war ~ music, and prophecy ATHENA APHRODITE

Goddess of wisdom, Goddess of love and

-I

" .)'c':f~t~;

.... Ar DELPHI, the words ofhis!.i. f------- ­ancient Greeks forecasts (called" consulted the god oracles)., whit1t:';: ' Apollo about the could usuallYDe?', future. His priest­ess (left) spoke

interpreted in'a~":' number of··;~}·;t different wa:ys?i:

T: .':.~~.

AMr. OLYMPUS, the highest moun­tain in Greece. is the mythological home of the gods.

--< ::... ...= '" .."' 1= ....:: :110•..."' -1::::r ell

;

0 -..., ell..., c:: :::I :::I ell..., S­o S; C\)

"§: S a So (ii' .... Cii (;,) .... ell ell ~ C\)

-c S-a ~ C") C\) :::I

'<0 c:: en ell ell

ell = en §:g; 3: ai' en.....,

HESTIA ,r-, Goddess of the home

, , and hearth PAN :"V;F

Protector of 17"::'~, HADESrt~: -I' '----=:::- " shepherds God of the underworld!(~{~/'r~~~",-­and their and afterlifeflocks i~~1:(f /~t.::.S~ _~

POSEIDON DEMETER HERMESRuler of the seas DIONYSUS Goddess of grain Messenger of the godsGod of earth fertility

and "line

4

Awesome Athens Ancient Greece was made up of a numberof indepen­dent city-states, and in the fifth centUry B.C., Athens was the most impressive~" During the Golden Age 9f

, Athens (479 B.C•. to 431 . B.C.)~ a widespread rebuild­ing program took place because Athens' had recently been destroyed in the Persian Wars. Impres-'

. sive temples once again gleamed high atop the hill known as the Acropolis.

Trade flourished, making the city prosperous. The finest sculptors, architects, philosophers, and drama­tists were drawn to Athens, eager to become a part of the new center for learning and the arts. Democracy, which had been introduced in Athens around 510 B.C.,

,began to thrive, and Greek citizens could vote and have a say in how their government was run.

More tha

Staas were buildings ; with shops that sold

things from cooking _.TOWER OF THE W.lfOS .pots to luxury goods.

people lived at the foot of the Acropolis and in the surrounding areas. The agora, or marketplace, was the heart of Athenian eco­nomic and social life. Peo­ple flocked there to buy and sell goods and to socialize. Come along for a stroll, now, through the ,~e§.ClIlg!See the grand hWldingsiglittering metal statues, 'and,massive mar­ble temples of ancient

. Athens.

i \ .. Greek Sculpture Statues dotted the ancient Greek world. They deco­rated temples and homes. honoring famous people and marking graves. Some sculptures were of gods, like that of Athena (right) done by Pheidias, the most renowned sculptor of his time. In Athena's right hand is a winged figure of Nike, the goddess of victory. Sculptors used gold, ivory, marble, limestone. terra­cotta (a mixture of clay and sand), wood, and bronze. Reliefs (figures carved on flat pieces of stone) deco­rated many temple walls.

ERECHTHEUM

Temple with marble statues PAHATHENAIC WAY

Main road to the

Acropolis

PARTHENON

Temple to the

,. AN' CITIZ!N COULD

make aspeech and vote at the Assem­bly, the center of political life located on ahill called the Pnyx. However; 6,OOO"peopie had to be present for a meeting to take place! The Council, composed of 500 citizens, was in charge of making up new laws, which were then debated in the Assembly.

BOULEUTERION

Building in which

the City Council

,. ONCE A YEAR, THE

Assembly voted to remove any unpop­ular politicians. Citizens would write down the name of the undesired politi­cian on a piece of

pottery called an ostrakon. exile of Themisto­

more than 61000<.cle~i, an undesired citizens voted m'Ulta,ry and politi:-~. against the person, calleader. he had to leave Athens for ten years. The above

Com Of JUSTICE

Forget about M~i)onald'SI Here's atypical Greek menu.

, Brealdast: Wine-dipped bread and r

h• Bread witl1 goat cheese 0llInc . f'olives and Igs ,

'd or bread or flSI1.Dinner: Barlev porn ge cl1 as

with some vegetable. SU carrots, peas, or cabbage

, pples pearsSnacks: pomegranates. figs, a .

Picture yourself in Athens in 500 B.c.-about 2~500 vears ago. The days are hot ~nd dr:~ so you w~ar a chi­ton, a loose-fitting tunic. If you are a girl, you stay at horne and learn how to spin and weave from your mother. If vou are a rich boy. vou attend school fro'm'the age of seven, studying reading, writing. arithmetic. music. and debating. (Poor boys prob-

As A CITIZEN, ONE

of your duties was to defend the state as a hoplite (heav­

ily equipped) war­rior. Hoplites operated in a huge rectangular forma­tion of many thou­sands of men. In this formation, all men were equal. No one was expected to be an individual hero. This is where the ancient Greeks' idea of fundamen­tal political equal­ity comes from.

ably didn't go to school.) Instead of using pencils and paper, you use a stylus and a wax-covered wooden tablet. Pebbles or an aba­cus help you with your math, On lazv afternoons. you might enjoy knuckle­bones (a game similar to jacks), Perhaps you pick up a lyre and play your favorite tune. No doubt vou participate in some sport_ for sports honor the god5.

/",and they help boys become 1IIr!! \....e' : ..1 1­excellent soldiers. ,;l1Tf ~

Most likelv your house is made of sun:dried mud '-\J'~~.. .~ ;. \0004'

.i>.. ".-'"Jbricks and built around a central courtyard. Stairs i .~

lead to your ~pper-story ' ~.-' - .bedroom. The servants'

- t­

quarters are upstairs, too. -. .~. l As yOU walk into the A WEALTHY peOPLE

main entrance~ a statue of wore jewelry of

Y MUSICAL INSTRU­

ments. Such as cymbals. lyres, and kitharas (harplike instru­ments) kept Greeks entertained and entertaining. Popular wind instruments were the syrinx, or pan­pipes, which were made of reeds. and the auloi (sin­gle pipes) or

v\?9\

£. ~

~~.r;. "'.

..dl:!o.:.i:i AWHEN A BABY

was born. it was shown to its father. who had the right to accept or reject it. If it was rejecTed. it

A EVERY CITY-STATE

had one or more gymnasia, where Greeks fine-tuned their bodies so they could suc· cessfully defend their city-staTe.

the god Hermes greets you. gold, silver. and diauloi (double was abandoned. Gymnasia 'Nere ivory. Poorer peo­ pipes). People who also importantIt's there to prevent evil ple might wear wanted a child meeting places for

spirits from entering. jewelry of bronze. could adopt it. exchanging ideas. lead, iron. bone. and glass.

Where did the idea of lighting a flame to open the Olympics come from? (answer on back cover)

J. II THi Uil{~,~·· ' anTIS backWard: ,events. athletes held ' then propelled " ,

:ColmPEltitolrs-,V stone or lead ' them forWard, to ' . wonL";:. 'nothingI "c, olive wreath from the sacred weights in their give themselves '.. __:-< olive tree was each winner's hands. Jumpers additional force on

prize: first brought their takeoff..

the ":~__ iheir heavily forti­

.......••.. ;·,:.~i~~i~~t;dre n~'lp.'IJ'pn to ha:ve~~,_Greek soldiers.

·.........'...v ...... place in the .• ' inside what they ceptury,B.C~:t thought 'Vas a

'. . before the' hollow horse! These . . . 'height of Greek civ- soldiers opened the

." .' .. , ilization. Near the city gates to the , end of the war, to Greek anny, which

seize Troy, the had secretly Greeks built an returned, a~d enonnous wooden together they horse on wheels, destroyed Troy.

.He wrote The Apology as a response to the enemies of Socrates.

··probablytfie·fir~{~;~·~~· .person to promote· .• the scientific· . method· of obser­vation, in which one first looks carefully and then' comes up witl'l a theory.

'. elect ",,,,;"'c,,,,,",,,t+i\u••, .~:; "<issues (represe"•..,+il'\"~ h;..n,~""""i\ """There were no prD'fesslional

lawyers, so citizens conducted cases in court. Over 200 men·

',". a jury to ensure that Jurors" were bribed or intimidated. All citizens expected to volunteer for jury duty:" ".

14

Drama THE DRISI.S OF

modern theater can be traced to ancient Greece. In its earliest form, Greek theater was songs and dances performed in the marketplace by a group of men called a chorus. Later, huge open­air theaters were built all over the Greek world.

By THE FIFTH

century B.C., two types of plays emerged: tragedies and comedies. Tragedies were serious plays about past heroes who often came to tragic ends. Audi­ences today, as in

.- anciimt times, are '. spellbound by

such tragedies as Antigone and Oedipus Rex (left), written by Sophocles (496-400 B.C.).

Comedies were light-hearted plays that included a lot of clowning around, insults, rude jokes, and slapstick humor. Characters were everyday people who commented on politics and on famous people of the day.

. ~ .

'v ~

Y GREEK MYTHS,

stories about gods and heroes, are still popular today. In one, Daedalus makes wings for himself and his son, Icarus, so they can fly 0 ut of the maze in which they are impris­oned. The wings are attached with wax. Icarus flies too close to the

-.>------ '.:_~~.'- "\. ~e~t~~~at~:i~ax . ' ..'. .' . . him to fall into the . '. Aegean Sea and

ATHE EARLIEST

surviving exam­ples of Greek liter­ature are two epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey, credited to Homer, a blind poet who lived around the eighth century B.C.

Little is known about him. His works give infor­mation about the Trojan War and about the hero Odysseus's return home from the war.

.. 1.5 THE GREEKS created three important architectural styles.History Architecture

ATHE DORIC STYLE

is simple, with A THE CORIIITHIAII1 thick, sturdy ATHE 'OIIIC STYLE style has elaboratel columns and plain has thinner capitals decoratedcapitals (tops). columns than the with acanthus

Doric, and its leaves. Corinthian ! i capitals are deco· columns were not! rated with two often used by the

volutes (swirls). Greeks but became popularAHEROOOTUS in Roman times.(about 480-425

B.C.) is known as A THE PARTHEIION, stood a huge goldthe father of his­ built between 447 and ivory statue . tory because he and 432 B.C., is of the goddess was the first per­ considered by Athena, patron of son to gather facts some to be the .. ' Athens, appea.~ng.:about events and most beautifuL~>,:.:;asthe goddess of' write them down. .building in the --- Warfare. On her . His history of the world. Parts of it right hand .' Persian Wars was still stand today,.' smaU winged'the beginning of . almost 2,500 ure of Nike,Western history . ··Years later. Inside ..goddesswriting. Parthenon .:

16

Digging upthe Past Eventually, ancient Greek civilization was destroyed bv

.I•

war. For 27 vears. Athens and Spart~, a city-state in the south of Greece known for its devo­tion to warfare, bat­tled fiercely in the Peloponnesian \Var (431-404 B.C.). When it was finally over, Sparta was victorious, but not for long. Within about 50 years, the Macedonians from northeastern Greece had conquered both Athens and Sparta, along with many other Greek states.

Over time, other conquests took place. New rulers, customs, buildings, and ideas replaced old ones. How, then, do we know as much as we do about a wav of life that thrived more than 20 centuries ago? Read on to find out.

Y A MINOAN

colony on the island of Santorini was buried over 3,000 years ago by an enormous volcanic explo­sion-one that spewed ash so high that it reached Green­land, more than 3,500 miles away! Parts of Santorini sat under 900 feet of ash, preserving wall paintings that vividly detail the Minoan way of life.

AOle WAY TO Pilla

out about the past is to examine shipwrecks. The oldest known shipwreck in the world dates from about 1200 g.c., during what is known as the Bronze Age. The wreck, discovered off the coast of Turkey in 1959. contained agricul­tural implements, weapons, bronze tools, amphorae (vases), and about six tons of cop­per-enough, when mixed with tin, to equip an army of over 300 men! From this and other find­ings, we know that extensive trade routes existed in the Mediterranean more than 3,000 years ago!

)- AGREAT DEAL OF

our knowledge of ancient Greece comes from the detailed painting on pottery. much of it black on an orange back­ground (black­figure technique). or vice Jersa (red­figure :ec;hr.l~ue).

YPEOPLE FIND OUT

about the past by digging it up. In 1931, the enor­mous task of unearthing the ancient Athenian marketplace began. Houses that had been built over the agora were bought and torn down. Twenty-eight acres of soil were removed. Over 300,000 tons of earth were carted away before the ancient buildings were uncovered. Eventually. the stoa of Attalos was completely rebuilt and many other ancient monuments were brought to life.

AAICIEIT GREECE

was at its height in the fifth century B.C., but the city of Knossos on the island of Crete thrived more than 2,000 years ear­lier. Archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans is credited with dis­covering the

AHEINRICH SCHLIE­

IIAIN (TOP). SOPHIA

SCHLIEMANN (BOT­TOM) WEARING SOME

OF THE JEWELRY

DISCOVERED BY HER

HUSBAIID AT TROY.

Knossos palace, which had more than 1.000 rooms! Excavations done in 1934 also revealed that the Minoans, who lived in Knossos during the Bronze Age, used at least two forms of writ­ing. The Minoan

HEINRICH SCHUE­

mann believed that the Trojan War was not sim­ply a tale told by a blind bard named Homer but that it had actually taken place. Between 1870 and 1873. he began excavating where he felt Troy must have been. He unearthed many

civilization seems to have been thriving until it was struck by an earthquake and later overtaken by the Mycenaeans, early Greeks who lived on mainland Greece.

items (above). some going back 1.000 years earlIer . than Homer's " poem: more th~ 8.000 gold rings. necklaces. bracelets. cups. and plates. .

•

OLYMPICCONNECT-TOE-BOrS Connect the dots to see one anCIent Greek sport that is performed at mod­ern Olympic games. Then add your own face to the drawing and design a uniform for yourself.

45•

16

.4

.. ~ 26.~S

••

• ,0 .21

". \ • :/0 ,.. ~.11

/ ·,6

,... .,2

•

·,7

'V1r •

RII in the blanks with the answers.

1. Ancient Greek marketplace

- 15 8" - 43

2. Ancient Olympic event

22-­

~v.p.

3. Home of the~inoan~ _ ~

19 13 21 4. Modern country of which Athens is capital

26 4 14 - 45 24 ~ J 5. Snack eaten in Greece

-:­ 17 - "3 - - - 20 - - 46

6. Famous temple to Athena~n the Acropolis 0 34 9 41 40 ..

7. Column with two swirls at top ~

6' 12 29 - -' ~ 8. Rve:,,, OlymPiccon"'~ _ _ _ l! /

5 44 2 37 16 32 ~ 9. lon~thin pole throw~in~ympiCS •

35 33 10 36 10. People who conquered Athens and Sparta

Put each numbered letter in the blank with the same number. The result will be aquotation from the wisdom ot Socrates.

1" 2" "3 4"5 6' 7' '8 9' 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18'

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27'

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37'

ACROSS

The gods must be crazy! They've got their names all scrambled. See if you can unscram­ble each name and place it next to the proper description of the god or goddess.

POISONED, NAP, ZUSE, REMSHE, HEPIDATOR, LAPOOL, NEATHA

1. King of the gods ____

2. Goddess of beauty and love _ - - - -.:-:------- ::~;j

3. God of shepherds and flocks _ - ­

4. God of the sea __----- ­

5. Goddess of wisdom ---- "

6. Messenger of the gods _ - ­

7. God of sun, light, ~~t1ruth

3. Conflict between ancient . Athens and Sparta (2 words)

7. Blind Greek poet a. Ancient Greek writing

instrument 9. Fruit snack in ancient

Greece 10. Style of architecture with

thick. sturdy columns 11. Leader 01 Stoic school

of philosophy 12. Mythological Greek who

flew too close to the sun 13. Age. time of

oldest known shipwreck in the world

14. Dominant City-state of ancient Greece

15. throw. Olympic sport

DOWN 1. horse

(Greek military trick) 2. Olympic prize (2 words) 4. German excavator of

Troy 5. Ancient Greek philoso­

pher; promoter of the scientific method

&. Bathtub scientist and pump inventor

MORE READING ON ANCIENT GREECE

Picture Books Roy Burrell. The Greeks, Oxford University Press, 1989.., Susan Peach and Anne Mil· ." lard. The Greeks, Usbome :,,'ii Publishing ltd., 1990•. Anne Pearson, Ancient Greece. Eyewitness Alfred A. Knopf,