By Eric Woodhead, Brendan Becker, Annabelle Roth

Thebes is located on ridge in a plain Is surrounded by Lake Yiki and Cithaeron Mountains Has an elevation of 215 m above sea level Had hot summers Rain only falls in winter

Used fertile land to farm Grew maize, wheat, olives, grapes Had goats, pig and sheep for dairy Dairy products were eggs, milk, butter, cottage cheese and yogurt Had olive oil and wine Ate healthy food such as peas and beans Also had cabbage Desserts included fruit nuts

Had to battle often for land Had a War of Independence in 1832 Had democratic government In 480 BCE made an alliance with Athens and Sparta

Believed in many gods Built temples in honor of gods Built statues of gods Had priests

Had pillars Built religious temples for gods Architectural systems Doric, Ionic, Corinthian

Men farmed and fished Had soldiers, teacher and public office workers They were craftsman Women were home makers and raised children Women cooked meals

Painting Jewelry Pottery Sculptures Clay tablets

Called Theban script Wrote on tablets Alphabet had 24 letters Wrote left to right on horizontal line

Long spears called doru Had short swords called xiphos Invented the gear, screw, rotary mills and screw press Also created bronze casting techniques, water clock, water organ, torsion catapult.

Were a war raided city-state Fought in the Second Persian war Also fought in Peloponnesian War Hercules was from Thebes