1. Get Ready to Read Section Overview
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Get Ready to Read
Section Overview
This section discusses the culture of the ancient Greeks as expressed in their religion, literature, and art.

2. Get Ready to Read (cont.)
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Focusing on the Main Ideas
The Greeks believed that gods and goddesses controlled nature and shaped their lives.
Greek poetry and fables taught Greek values.
Greek drama still shapes entertainment today.
Greek art and architecture expressed Greek ideas of beauty and harmony.

3. Get Ready to Read (cont.)
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Locating Places
Mount Olympus (uh·LIHM·puhs)
Delphi (DEHL·FY)
Meeting People
Homer (HOH·muhr)
Aesop (EE·SAHP)
Sophocles (SAH·fuh·KLEEZ)
Euripides (yu·RIH·puh·DEEZ)

4. Get Ready to Read (cont.)
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Building Your Vocabulary
myth (MIHTH)
oracle (AWR·uh·kuhl)
epic (EH·pihk)
fable (FAY·buhl)
drama (DRAH·muh)
tragedy (TRA·juh·dee)
comedy (KAH·muh·dee)

5. Get Ready to Read (cont.)
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Reading Strategy
Compare and Contrast Create a Venn diagram like the one on page 154 of your textbook, showing similarities and differences between an epic and a fable.

6. Greek Mythology The Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses.
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Mythology
The Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses.
They thought these deities affected people’s lives and shaped events.
The Greeks believed the 12 most important gods lived on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece.
Greek myths were stories about gods and heroes.
(pages 155–156)

7. Greek Mythology (cont.)
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Mythology (cont.)
In these stories, gods had special powers but looked and acted like humans.
The Greeks followed rituals to win the gods’ favor.
They hoped that the gods would grant good fortune to them in return.
The Greeks believed in prophecy, or predictions about the future.
(pages 155–156)

8. Greek Mythology (cont.)
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Mythology (cont.)
Many Greeks visited an oracle to receive a prophecy.
An oracle was a sacred shrine where a priest or priestess spoke for a god or goddess.
The most famous oracle was at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
(pages 155–156)

9. How did the Greeks believe their gods and goddesses were like humans?
The Culture of Ancient Greece
How did the Greeks believe their gods and goddesses were like humans?
Greek gods and goddesses married, had children, played tricks on each other, quarreled, and fought wars.

10. Greek Poetry and Fables
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Poetry and Fables
Greek poems and stories are the oldest in the Western world and serve as models for European and American poems and stories.
An epic is a long poem about heroic deeds.
The first great epics were the Iliad and the Odyssey, written by a poet named Homer.
(pages 157–158)

11. Greek Poetry and Fables (cont.)
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Poetry and Fables (cont.)
The Iliad is about a battle for the city of Troy.
The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus, a Greek hero.
Greeks believed these two epics were real history.
(pages 157–158)

12. Greek Poetry and Fables (cont.)
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Poetry and Fables (cont.)
A slave named Aesop wrote many fables.
A fable is a short tale that teaches a lesson.
Fables were passed from person to person by oral tradition.
(pages 157–158)

13. Why were the heroes of Homer’s epics considered role models?
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Why were the heroes of Homer’s epics considered role models?
The heroes in Homer’s stories had courage and honor. They worked to be the best they could be, and they fought to protect their honor.

14. The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Drama
Drama is a story told by actors who pretend to be characters in the story.
The Greeks used drama as part of their religious festivals.
The Greeks developed two types of drama— tragedies and comedies.
(pages 160–161)

15. The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Drama (cont.)
A tragedy is the story of a person who tries to overcome difficulties but fails.
A comedy is a story with a happy ending.
Aeschylus was a writer who wrote a group of three plays called Oresteia.
These plays teach that evil acts cause more evil and suffering.
(pages 160–161)

16. The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Drama (cont.)
The Writer Sophocles wrote the plays Oedipus and Antigone.
Euripides wrote plays about real-life people instead of gods.
Aristophanes wrote comedies that made fun of leading politicians and scholars.
(pages 160–161)

17. How are plays of today similar to those of ancient Greece?
The Culture of Ancient Greece
How are plays of today similar to those of ancient Greece?
Actors in plays of today like those of ancient Greece wear costumes. Music and dance also occur in many of today’s plays, as they did in Greek plays.

18. Greek Art and Architecture
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Art and Architecture
Greek artists believed in the ideas of reason, balance, harmony, and moderation and tried to show these ideas in their work.
Although Greek murals have not survived, examples of Greek paintings still exist on decorated pottery.
The most important architecture in Greece was the temple dedicated to a god or goddess.
(pages 162–163)

19. Greek Art and Architecture (cont.)
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Art and Architecture (cont.)
The most famous temple is the Parthenon.
Greek architecture included columns, which were first made from wood.
(pages 162–163)

20. Greek Art and Architecture (cont.)
The Culture of Ancient Greece
Greek Art and Architecture (cont.)
Later, the Greeks began using marble.
Many of today’s churches and government buildings have columns.
Greek sculpture expressed Greek ideas.
(pages 162–163)

21. The Culture of Ancient Greece
What elements of Greek architecture are present in your school or in buildings in your community?
Answers will vary, but should include symmetry and proportion between building parts, the use of columns, pediments, pedestals, or materials such as marble or tiles.

22. The Culture of Ancient Greece
How and why did the Greeks honor their gods?
They honored their gods with rituals, festivals, and temples, so the gods would grant good fortune.

23. The Culture of Ancient Greece
What values did the epic poems of Homer teach Greeks?
courage, honor, loyalty, and the value of the husband-wife relationship

24. The Culture of Ancient Greece
Contrast How do Greek tragedies and comedies differ?
Tragedy: person fails to overcome difficulties because of fate or personal flaws;
Comedy: happy endings

25. The Culture of Ancient Greece
Evaluate Do you think the themes of Euripides’ plays would be popular today?
Answers will vary.

26. The Culture of Ancient Greece
Make Generalizations Why did Greek artists include the ideas of reason, moderation, balance, and harmony in their work?
Artists hoped viewers would be inspired by the art.

27. The Culture of Ancient Greece
Expository Writing Greek literature tells us what the Greeks thought was important. Choose a modern book, movie, or television show. Write a paragraph to explain what it would tell others about our society.
Answers will vary.

28. The Culture of Ancient Greece
List the three most important ways the ancient Greeks have influenced our culture. Give reasons for your choices.