Ancient Greece By Arthur

Men Men had a much better life in Ancient Greece than women. Only men could be full citizens. Only men made the important decisions. Normally, only men fought in armies, took part in sports and met in public.

Sports The Greeks had four national sports festivals, where athletes from different city states competed against one another. The most important of the sports contests was the Olympic Games. These were played at Olympia, every four years, in honour of Zeus. On the first day of the Olympics, sacrifices of grain, wine, and lambs were made to Zeus.

Gods The brothers Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon were the most important gods of all. Zeus was the strongest and wisest of the three and ruled over the earth. Hades ruled the Underworld, the world of the dead. Poseidon ruled the seas. He was also the god of earthquakes and horses.

Food Vegetables were a huge part of the Greek diet. Most Greeks ate a diet that was almost vegetarian. Among the most common vegetables and plants eaten by Greeks were asparagus, fennel, cucumbers, chickpeas, and celery.  They also gathered and boiled dandelions to eat.  The bulbs of certain plants, such as iris, were also edible. They even ate stinging nettles!

Clothes Most clothing was made at home. The fabric used for clothing was also spun and dyed at home.  The same piece of fabric could be used for numerous things. It could be used as both clothing and bedding. The garment was usually simply a square or rectangular piece of cloth, which could be pinned or belted different ways. These garments were usually made from a type of linen or wool. Greece has a mild climate with very hot summers, and so the simpler their clothing, the better.

The Dark Ages Of Greece Historians aren’t sure why, but in from 1100 to 800 BC, the Mycenaean (or Greek) culture went into a period where we have little evidence of culture, art, reading, and writing. This period is referred to as the Dark Ages of Greece. Some historians think that the decline, or fall, in culture was due to invaders called sea-people (like pirates!) who made it impossible for the Greeks on the mainland to trade anything in the Mediterranean Sea, and hurt the Greek economy.

Music The Greeks believed in enjoying life. One of the things that made life enjoyable for them was music and dance. Greeks had an appreciation for beautiful things, and they believed that music and dance were among the most beautiful parts of life. Music seems to have been a part of almost everything that Greeks did.

Slavery There were different kinds of slavery in ancient Greece. Not all slaves were treated alike. In Sparta, there were state-owned slaves called helots. Helots were assigned to work a certain piece of land. They were also forced to give part of what they grew to the state. At times, helots outnumbered the free Spartans by twenty to one. Some people believe that Sparta’s military began because of the need to control the large number of helots.  Helots were sometimes freed, especially if they fought bravely in a war. But their lives were mostly miserable. They were even forced to wear humiliating clothing to identify them as slaves!

Marrige In Ancient Greece, around 400 B.C.E., young girls were given in marriage as soon as they reached puberty, about the age of 12 or 13. Fathers arranged for suitable husbands for their daughters. The marriage ceremony in Ancient Greece was made up of three different phases. First, the young girl who was given in marriage was separated from her childhood household called the “oikos.” Then she would transition to the home of her husband and his family. The last phase of the ceremony would be the shift of her new role as wife to her husband and “daughter” to her husband’s parents. The focus of all the festivities and ceremonies was the bride and her transition to her new household and her new master. As a child, her father was master, but now her husband was her new master or “kyrios.”