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

Nomad PressA division of Nomad Communications

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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

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

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

�

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.

�

Tools of the Ancient Greeks

about the Minoan civilization is lost to history, we

do know that the Minoans lived on Crete for at least

750 years, and most historians think the first Minoans

came from Asia.

Archeologists have unearthed Minoan palaces

with elegant rooms and elaborate wall paintings,

indicating that the Minoan culture was a wealthy

one. One interesting discovery about Minoan culture is

that they didn’t seem to have any military whatsoever.

The Minoans traded with other populations throughout

the Aegean world, including the Egyptians (they even

appear in Egyptian art), but archeologists and histori- Mycenaean.

Minoan.

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CHAPTER 1: Ancient Greece and the Beginning of Democracy

ans can’t find any evidence that the Minoans had

an army, or even soldiers. And although the Mino-

ans were the forerunners of ancient Greece, they

didn’t speak Greek. In fact, no one is sure what

language the Minoans used to communicate.

Around 1450 BCE the island of Crete and the Mi-

noans fell under the power of the Mycenaeans, who

did speak Greek. The Mycenaeans lived on the main-

land of Greece, and their nation was called Mycenae.

They were excellent craftspeople: they built elaborate

underground tombs, giant defensive walls, and the Lion Gate that still

stands today. Like the Minoans, the Mycenaeans were traders. Wealth

came to them through trade with other

lands, such as Egypt and northern Europe.

They traded items such as animal skins

and oil for papyrus, a paper-like

material made from

plant fibers, and am-

ber, a fossilized resin used in making jewelry. But

unlike the peaceful Minoans, the Mycenaeans

were a warlike people, always battle-ready.

Not only did they defend their own people,

they actually went looking for trouble. The

most famous Mycenaean battle of all is one

you’ll hear more about later: the battle of Troy in

the Trojan War.

archeologist: someone who studies the buildings, graves, tools, and other objects of people who lived in the past to learn about their culture

words to know

Q: What language did the Minoans speak?

What language did the Mycenaeans speak?

There weren’t any Greeks in ancient Greece. That term was given to the people of Greece genera-tions later by the Romans. The people we now know as ancient Greeks called themselves Hellenes, after Helen of Troy. Hellenic means Greek.

The Trojan Horse.

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Tools of the Ancient Greeks

The mighty Mycenaeans fell under attack between 1200 and 1150

BCE. It isn’t known exactly what happened, but some historians be-

lieve the Mycenaeans were attacked by the Dorian people from the

north. In any case, in less than one hundred years, the Mycenaeans

abandoned their civilization, and left few clues as to how they lived.

This time period (from about 1100 to 800 BCE) is known as the Greek

dark age because all written language and signs of culture completely

Helen According to legend, Helen was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was

the daughter of the Greek god, Zeus, and Leda, a mortal queen. Men came

from all over ancient Greece hoping to marry the Spartan princess. Helen had

to obey the wishes of her mortal father, Tyndarecus, and she mar-

ried a man named Menelaus, king of Sparta.

The goddess Aphrodite had other plans for Helen. Aphrodite

was in debt to a man named Paris because he had chosen her as the

most beautiful of three women in a contest. In payment, Aphrodite

offered up the beautiful Helen to Paris, and made Paris so attractive

that Helen wouldn’t be able to refuse him. While Menelaus was away, Paris

charmed Helen. People debate whether Paris kidnapped Helen or she ran

away with him, but in any case, Menelaus was not happy.

When Paris and Helen reached Troy, they were married. Menelaus and

his brother, Agamemnon, followed with an army of men to retrieve Helen.

And that’s how the Trojan War began in about 1200 BCE.

Know Your Ancient Greeks

1,600Mycenaean Period

Dark Age

Archaic Period

ClassicalPeriod

All dates are BCE and approximate in many cases

HellenisticPeriod1,100 800 480 323 31

776 BCEFirst Olympic Games

Minoans fall under power of Mycenaeans

900 BCEWorship of traditional

Greek gods begins

Mycenaeans comeunder attack and their

culture disappears

Greek culture flourishes and spreads but ancient Greece gradually loses its independence

The Iliad and Odyssey, legends written about

the Trojan War

Democracy, art, science, literature, and philosophy flourish during this time

Greek city-states spread throughout the Aegean and Mediterranean world during this period

Trojan War foughtbetween early Greeks

and city of Troy

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CHAPTER 1: Ancient Greece and the Beginning of Democracy

disappeared. Even the decoration of pottery used during this time was

only simple geometric forms, not the complicated decorations the My-

cenaeans painted. Most historians think that those who survived the

upheaval settled into an agricultural, almost tribal, way of life.

The age of the Mycenaeans is described in two of the most famous

stories in all of literature: Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Written many years

after the events they describe, these famous poems tell stories about the

Mycenaean civilization. The epics give us some idea of what life must

have been like before the Greek dark age.

Gradually, the civilization that we

know as ancient Greece emerged from

the dark age around 800 BCE. Small

agricultural communities slowly ex-

panded into larger settlements. These

settlements extended from main-

land Greece, across islands scattered

throughout the Aegean Sea, and to

Asia Minor, a peninsula of land across

Homer’s Iliad and OdysseyThe Iliad tells the story of a single event that occurred during the ninth year of the

Trojan War. Achilles, a Greek warrior, became angry at the Greek leader Agamem-

non when Agamemnon took a slave who belonged to Achilles. In retaliation,

Achilles withdrew from battle and prayed that the war would turn against the

Greeks—and it did. Achilles finally returned to battle when his best friend was

killed by the great Trojan hero, Hector.

In the Odyssey, Homer tells of Odysseus’s long journey home after the

Trojan War. Delayed for 10 years by the gods, Odysseus encounters much

trouble on the way and falls in love with the goddess Kalypso. But when given

the choice between staying with Kalypso and becoming immortal, or returning

to his wife who is waiting at home, Odysseus chooses to continue home. Agamemnon

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