SS.6.W.3.5&7

 Our alphabet grew out of the one the Greeks used, so many English words have Greek roots.  The word alphabet comes from the first 2 letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta.  The word telephone is made up of the Greek words for “far off” (tel) and “voice” (phone).

 Democracy, or rule by the people, began in Athens.  Since citizens made decisions for their government, the practice of having citizens serve on juries also began in Greece.  Fortunately, citizenship today includes many more people than in ancient Greece.

 A Greek man named Hippocrates approached medicine in a more scientific way.  He believed that diseases had natural causes and taught his students to carefully observe patients and write down what they saw.  Hippocrates is often called the “father of modern medicine,” and even today people who become doctors take the Hippocratic Oath to be honest and preserve life.

 In the beginning, Greek understanding of the body was limited because they believed that dissection, cutting into a body, offended the gods.  As these beliefs changed over time, later Greek medical students were able to name and describe the organs inside the body.  They learned that the heart was a pump that sent blood throughout the body, and the brain was the center of the nervous system.

 Pythagoras, a Greek scientist, believed that numbers were the key to understanding nature.  He was especially fascinated with geometry which comes from a Greek word that means “to measure land.”  Pythagoras is probably most well known, though, for his Pythagorean Theorem.  Euclid was another important Greek mathematician whose textbook was used for the teaching of geometry for over 2,000 years!

 Astronomy comes from the Greek word for “star.”  A Greek scientist named Aristarchus was the first person to suggest that Earth moves around the sun, although many did not believe him for hundreds of years.  Another Greek, Hipparchus, studied and named more than 850 stars!  He also figured out how to estimate the distances from Earth to the sun and the moon.

 Geography comes from the Greek word meaning “writing about the Earth.”  To describe where places were, ancient mapmakers developed the system of latitude and longitude.  A Greek scientist, Ptolemy, wrote a book on geography that contained over 8,000 places with maps that represented the curved Earth on a flat surface.

 The philosopher Aristotle collected information about many types of plants and animals.  He organized animals into groups such as vertebrates (animals with backbones) and invertebrates (animals without backbones).  He also divided plants into groups such as herbs, shrubs, and trees.  The way we classify, or group, animals and plants today reflects Aristotle’s work.

 The word architecture comes from a Greek word that means “master builder.”  Greek styles are still used in many buildings today.  You already learned about the 3 types of Greek columns.

 These are triangular shapes where roof lines come together.

 A frieze is a horizontal band that runs above doorways and windows.  The frieze may be decorated with designs or carvings.

 Many houses have covered porches.  These porches come from the Greek stoa, a covered line of columns.

 The word theater comes from a Greek word that means “a viewing place.”  The Greeks even invented special effects such as hoists to lift actors off the stage and make it seem as if they were flying.  They also created scenery that revolved, or turned.  Greek dramas are still performed today all over the world.

 The first Olympics were held in 776 B.C.E. to honor the Greek god Zeus.  Today’s Olympics reflect ancient Greek customs.  During the opening ceremony, an athlete lights the Olympic flame.  This custom comes from the time when the first Olympic athletes lit a fire on the altar of Zeus.