Tools of The
AncienTGreeks
Kris Bordessa
A Kid’s Guide to the History & Science of Life in Ancient Greece
Buildinventions, monuments, and works of art
Meetthe people whose ideas changed the world
Learnhow the discoveries of ancient Greece affect us today
Explore the history of Greek civilization with hands-on activities
15Hands-OnActivities
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Nomad PressA division of Nomad Communications
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Copyright © 2006 by Nomad Press
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. The trademark “Nomad Press” and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc. Printed in the United States.
ISBN: 0-9785037-1-6Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to
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Nomad Press2456 Christian St.
White River Junction, VT 05001www.nomadpress.net
Other titles in the Tools of Discovery series:
Tools of Navigation: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Science of Finding Your Way
by Rachel Dickinson
Tools of Timekeeping: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Science of Telling Time
by Linda Formichelli and W. Eric Martin
Tools of the Ancient Romans: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Science of Life in Ancient Rome
by Rachel Dickinson
Tools of Native Americans: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Culture of the First Americans
by Kim Kavin
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ContentsIntroduction .......................................................................... 1
Chapter 1: Ancient Greece and the Beginnings of Democracy ... 3
Chapter 2: Farming, Trade, and the Greek Way of Life ............ 19
Chapter 3: The Arts of the Ancient Greeks .............................. 37
Chapter 4: Greek Gods ......................................................... 55
Chapter 5: Sports and the Olympics ...................................... 69
Chapter 6: Philosophy .......................................................... 79
Chapter 7: Architecture ........................................................ 87
Chapter 8: Science, Math, and Medicine .............................. 101
Chapter 9: Mapping the World and the Stars ....................... 117
Chapter 10: Warfare in Ancient Greece ................................ 129
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hen we look at the modern world and try to figure out why we
live the way we do, we find ourselves turning again and again to a
small nation in the Mediterranean Sea,
and to events that took place there more than
2,000 years ago.
Much of the world around us has
been heavily influenced by people
we now call ancient Greeks. If you
find that hard to believe, just
look to the sky. Our constel-
lations go by names like Orion, Cassiopeia, Andromeda,
and Perseus. Those names come directly from ancient
Greek mythology. Even one of America’s space programs
was named for the Greek god, Apollo.
Some American cities sport Greek names—Athens, Geor-
gia, is one and Homer, Alaska, is another. Some of our most
famous buildings feature sweeping colonnades and imposing
INTRODUCTION
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columns—elements that were prominent in ancient Greek architecture.
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is just one example:
it was modeled after the Greek Parthenon.
From our democratic society to our theater, and from our ar-
chitecture to our names for constellations, ancient Greek cul-
ture has influenced our lives today. When we measure, map,
and mold the world, we use tools that were invented
by the ancient Greeks. Even when we do something
simple like argue or run a race, we have the ancient
Greeks to thank for showing us how to do it best.
Tools of the Ancient Greeks will take you through
the intellectual triumphs and mechanical creations of
this long-gone, but not-forgotten civilization and show
how their world has influenced ours. Biology, astronomy,
athletics, democracy, logic, and reason—the Greeks laid the
groundwork in nearly every field of learning you can imag-
ine. With this book you can follow in their footsteps.
�
Tools of the Ancient Greeks
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hen we talk about ancient Greece, we are referring to the time
period from about 800 BCE to 31 BCE. Those 800 years in an-
cient Greece produced some amazing ideas, inventions, dis-
coveries, and beliefs, many of which we use in our daily lives
today. But before we focus solely on
those clever Greeks, let’s take a quick
look at how ancient Greece evolved.
The First GreeksSituated on the Aegean Sea, ancient
Greece is considered part of the Ae-
gean world. The Aegean world in-
cludes all of the civilizations in this
area. The Minoans were the first great
civilization in the Aegean world.
They lived a peaceful existence on
the island of Crete, near mainland
Greece. Although much information
Ancient Greeceand the Beginnings of Democracy
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CHAPTER
1Learn the names and stories of
the ancient Greek populations
Explore ancient Greek philosophy and inventions
Compare the ancient Greek gov-ernment and way of life to your own
BCE? CE?As you read, you will notice dates with the
letters BCE. This stands for Before Common
Era. The beginning of the Common Era is
marked by the birth of Jesus and begins
with the year 1 followed by the letters CE.
Events that occurred prior to the first year
of the Common Era are classified as Before
Common Era. The years BCE may seem back-
ward, because as time passes, the years actu-
ally become smaller in number. A child born
in 300 BCE, for instance, would celebrate his
or her 10th birthday in the year 290 BCE.
Think of it as a countdown to Common Era.
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