1. Chapter 8: Greek Civilization Lesson 1: Greek Culture Bell Ringer On page 213, answer questions #1 and #2 in complete sentences.

2. Greek Beliefs
Greeks were separated by the city- states they lived in, but united by a common culture
Spoke Greek language
Shared many beliefs/customs
Believed the same myths – story that explains practices or beliefs of people, or something in the natural world

3. Who were the Greek Gods? Did not think of Gods as “all-powerful”
They had great powers, but looked and acted like humans
They marry and have children
Greeks did not fear the gods
Believed 12 most important gods/goddesses lived on Mt. Olympus
A gate of clouds protected Mt. Olympus
Humans could not enter
Zeus – king of the Olympian gods
Athena – goddess of wisdom and craft
Apollo – god of the sun and poetry
Aphrodite – goddess of love
Ares – god of war
Poseidon – god of the sea and earthquakes

4. Who were the Greek Gods? (continued)
Each city-state chose one god/goddess as their protector
Wanted gods to reward them, so in their honor they performed rituals – words or actions that are part of a religious ceremony
Worshipped in temples and at home
Festivals were very important to the Greeks
Scheduled public feasts and sacrifices
Held the Olympics every 4 years “for the greater glory of Zeus”
Began in 776 BC and lasted 1,000 years

5. Greek Oracles Believed everyone had a fate/destiny
Certain events would happen to them no matter what
Believed in prophecy
Predictions about the future
Thought gods gave these to warn people in time to change the future
Many Greeks visited oracles – sacred shrines where priests spoke for a god
Most famous was the oracle at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi

6. Epics and Fables
Two great epics of ancient Greece were written by the poet Homer:
The Iliad and the Odyssey
Written about a war between Greece and the city of Troy
The Trojan Horse
A prince of Troy falls in love with Helen, wife of a Greek king
He steals her away to Troy
Greeks attack Troy, but cannot break through the city walls
They build a large, hollow wooden horse and hide their best soldiers inside
The Trojans think it is a gift and roll the horse into the city
The Greeks sneak out, destroy the city, and take Helen back to Greece
The Odyssey
Tells the story of a great Greek warrior named Odysseus
After the war, he faces many obstacles on his way home to Greece
He faces storms, witches, monsters
After 10 years he returns home to his wife

7. Aesop’s Fables Fable – a short tale that teaches a lesson
Examples are “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and “The Tortoise and the Hare”
Aesop was said to be a real person, however history shows he never existed
These stories contain animals who speak and act like people
They are usually funny, and show human weakness
Part of Greek oral tradition – the custom of passing along stories by speech

8. The Impact of Greek Drama
Ancient Greeks created and performed dramas – stories told mainly through words and actions of a cast of characters
These were performed on stage
Greek drama was divided into two categories:
Tragedy – where the main character struggles to overcome hardships but does not succeed and has an unhappy ending
Comedy – a story with a happy ending, today they are filled with humor
Famous Greek writers:
Aeschylus – earliest Greek dramatist, wrote the Oresteia about revenge and murder
Sophocles – a great Athenian writer, questioned whether it is better to obey orders or to do what you believe is right
Euripides – wrote plays about ordinary people, often showed suffering of war
Aristophanes – most famous Greek comedy writer, poked fun at leaders and issues of his time
Drama was more than entertainment
It was a part of religious ceremony
Showed loyalty to their city-states

9. What two types of drama did the Greeks create? How did they differ?
Greek Art and Architecture
Ancient Greeks excelled in the arts/architecture
Ancient Greek art is now called “classical”
Still considered standards of beautiful
Greeks constructed beautiful building
Every city had a temple
Large, graceful columns supported many Greek buildings
The White House has Greek columns
Greek artists loved to sculpt the human body
Wanted to show ideal beauty in human forms
Comparing
What two types of drama did the Greeks create? How did they differ?

10. Chapter 8 Lesson 2: The Greek Mind Bell Ringer Explain the story of the Trojan horse in paragraph form.

11. Greek Thinkers
Greeks believed the human mind was capable of great things
500 BC – 350 BC
Art, architecture, and literature flourished
Developed study of mathematics and science
Philosophy
Means the “love of wisdom”
Helped develop the study of other subjects

12. The Sophists A group of teachers who traveled from polis to polis
They taught many subjects, including rhetoric – the art of public speaking and debate
Did not believe the gods influenced human actions
Rejected the idea of absolute right or wrong
Man people criticized them for teaching people to win arguments, rather than seek truth

13. Who Was Socrates? Lived in Athens, spent most of his time teaching
He never recorded his beliefs, all information came from his students writings
He was a harsh critic of the Sophists
Created the Socratic Method – students find the answers to his questions and develop their own opinions
Athens limited free speech after losing the Peloponnesian War
Socrates was arrested for his teachings
Charged with urging the youth to rebel
Sentenced to death
Drank poison to carry out the sentence

14. Plato’s Ideas Was once a student of Socrates
He founded a school in Athens called the Academy
He wrote a plan for an ideal society/government called the Republic
Divided society into 3 groups:
Philosopher Kings
Warriors
Everyone else
Disliked Athenian democracy because people could be influenced easily
Believed women should have the same rights and education as men

15. Who Was Aristotle?
Wrote over 200 works on government, astronomy, and political science
Started a school called the Lyceum
Taught students the “Golden Mean” – to live moderately
He was interested in science and studied the stars, plants, and animals very carefully
He studied the governments of city- states throughout Greece
Divided governments into 3 types: Monarch, Oligarchy, and Democracy
He believed the best government had aspects of all 3
Influenced the way Europeans and Americans think about government

16. The Greeks and History Herodotus considered the “father of history”
Wrote a history of the Persian War
Carefully researched what was fact or fiction
Thucydides writes a history of the Peloponnesian War
Was a general in the war
Rejected the idea the gods had any influence
Accepted only eye-witness accounts and stayed impartial
Examined causes and effects of the war
Thought that later generations could learn from the past

17. The First Scientists
Ancient Greeks influenced scientific thinking for centuries
Believed the gods were not responsible for natural events
Thales – first important Greek scientist
Developed early ideas of astronomy without telescopes
Pythagoras – taught that everything could be explained with numbers
Developed many new ideas about mathematics

18. Ancient Greek Medicine
Greeks studied the science of treating diseases
Hippocrates – considered the “father of medicine”
Believed disease came from natural causes
Traveled all over to help the sick
Created a list of rules doctors should follow called the Hippocratic Oath
Writing Activity
The Hippocratic Oath said that doctors should do everything they can to help a patient, and also to protect the patient’s privacy. In 4-5 sentences, why do you think these are important rules for doctors to follow?