7 Greeks built temples

Who were the ancient Greeks? The ancient Greeks were people who lived in Greece from around 3,500 years ago. But they didn't live only in Greece. Some lived to the north and the east, in lands that we now call Bulgaria and Turkey. Others lived on small, rocky islands in the Aegean Sea. By 500BCE. the Greek world was large, rich and powerful. It stretched from France in the west to Turkey in the east. Many Greek people set sail for North Africa, Turkey, Italy and France. They found safe harbours, where they built new homes and towns, and cleared the land for farming. Wherever they went, the Greek settlers took their own way of life. They must have looked odd to the locals! The Greeks were a talented people. They had good laws and strong armies. They built beautiful temples and theatres. they were great thinkers, artists and athletes. Why did Greece grow bigger and bigger? Greece and its homelands were small, and much of its land was too rocky for farming. By about 750BCE, there was little room left for new towns or farms, and food began to run short. Because of this, many people left to Greece to look for new places to live, and the Greek world began to grow.

古希腊人是谁？ 古希腊人是大约3500年前生活在希腊的人。 但他们并不只生活在希腊。 有些人生活在北方和东方，在我们现在称为保加利亚和土耳其的土地上。 其他人则生活在爱琴海的岩石小岛上。 公元前500年。希腊的世界很大、很富裕、很强大。 它西起法国，东至土耳其。 许多希腊人乘船前往北非、土耳其、意大利和法国。 他们找到了安全的港湾，在那里建造了新的家园和城镇，并清理了土地用于耕种。 无论他们走到哪里，希腊定居者都采取他们自己的生活方式。 他们在当地人看来一定很奇怪！希腊人是一个有才能的民族。 他们有良好的法律和强大的军队。 他们建造了美丽的寺庙和剧院。 他们是伟大的思想家、艺术家和运动员。 为什么希腊变得越来越大？ 希腊和它的故土都很小，很多土地岩石太多，不适合耕种。 到公元前750年左右，留给新城镇或农场的空间已经所剩无几，食物也开始短缺。 正因为如此，许多人离开希腊去寻找新的地方居住，希腊世界开始发展。

Was Greece one big happy country? Ancient Greece was not a single country like Greece is today. It was made up of different states, which were cut off from each other by high mountains, deep valleys or the sea. The states weren't much bigger than cities, but they each had their own laws and army, and often quarrelled with each other. Athens was the biggest city-state. Each state was made up of a city and the surrounding countryside. Many city-states lay close to the sea, and had a harbour, too. Where did the citizens take charge? In Athens, all grown men who weren't slaves were citizens. They could choose their government officials and vote for or against new laws. Citizens could also speak at the Assembly. This was a huge open-air meeting where people stood up and told the government what it should be doing. Sparta was a city-state in southern Greece. It was ruled by two kings from two royal families, who were helped by a council of wise old men. There had to be at least 6,000 citizens at every Assembly, They all met on the slopes of a hill in Athens, and voted by raising one hand. Where did the clock go drip-drop? Citizens who spoke at the Assembly weren't allowed to drone on for too long. Each speaker was timed with a water clock. When the last drop of water had dripped out of the jar, his time was up. He had to sit down and hold his tongue! Most wealthy Greek households had slaves. The slaves did all the hard work, such as building, farming, housework and looking after the children.

希腊是一个幸福的大国吗？ 古希腊不像今天的希腊是一个单一的国家。 它由不同的州组成，这些州被高山、深谷或大海隔开。 这些州并不比城市大多少，但他们都有自己的法律和军队，而且经常互相争吵。 雅典是最大的城邦。 每个州都由一个城市和周围的乡村组成。 许多城邦靠近大海，也有港口。 市民们在哪里负责？ 在雅典，所有不是奴隶的成年人都是公民。 他们可以选择自己的政府官员，投票支持或反对新的法律。 公民也可以在大会上发言。 这是一个巨大的露天会议，人们站起来告诉政府应该做什么。 斯巴达是希腊南部的一个城邦。 它由来自两个王室的两位国王统治，他们得到了一群聪明老人的帮助。 每次议会至少要有6000名公民参加，他们都在雅典的山坡上开会，举手表决。 钟滴滴答答地走到哪里去了？ 在大会上发言的公民不允许讲得太长。 每个演讲者都用一个水钟计时。 当最后一滴水从罐子里滴出来时，他的时间到了。 他不得不坐下来住嘴！大多数富裕的希腊家庭都有奴隶。 奴隶们做了所有的艰苦工作，比如建筑、耕种、家务和照看孩子。

Who were the fiercest soldiers? The soldiers of Sparta were the fiercest army in ancient Greece. They were brave, ruthless and very well-trained. None of the men had ordinary jobs, even in peacetime. They spent their whole lives just training and fighting. Spartan warriors were famous for their long, flowing hair. Before a battle, they sat down and combed it. Perhaps their long manes made them feel like fierce lions! For Spartans, bravery was more important than anything else. To punish cowards, they shaved off half their hair and half their beard! This was a terrible disgrace. Who paid for weapons and armour? Greek soldiers had to buy their own weapons and armour. A wealthy soldier bought himself a sharp spear and sword, a strong shield and expensive body armour. But a poor soldier made do with whatever he could find. And sometimes this was little more than an animal skin and a wooden club! Greek soldiers fought side by side in tight rows called phalanxes. Each soldier's shield overlapped his neighbour's, making a strong wall of shields that protected all of them. In Sparta it wasn't just the men who had to be fit. Women had to do lots of exercises to make sure their babies were healthy and strong. After winning a battle, soldiers sometimes gave their armour to the gods as a thank-you present. They laid it inside a temple or hung it on the branches of a tree.

谁是最凶猛的士兵？ 斯巴达的士兵是古希腊最凶猛的军队。 他们勇敢、无情，训练有素。 即使在和平时期，这些人都没有普通的工作。 他们一生都在训练和战斗。 斯巴达勇士以他们飘逸的长发而闻名。 战斗前，他们坐下来梳理头发。 也许它们长长的鬃毛让它们觉得自己像凶猛的狮子！对斯巴达人来说，勇敢比什么都重要。 为了惩罚懦夫，他们剃掉了一半的头发和一半的胡子！这是一个可怕的耻辱。 谁出钱买武器和盔甲？ 希腊士兵必须自己购买武器和盔甲。 一个富有的士兵给自己买了一把锋利的矛和剑，一块坚固的盾牌和昂贵的防弹衣。 但一个可怜的士兵只能将就着用他能找到的东西。 有时，这只不过是一张兽皮和一根木棍！希腊士兵排成密集的阵型并肩作战，称为方阵。 每个士兵的盾牌都与邻居的盾牌重叠，形成一道坚固的盾牌墙，保护他们所有人。 在斯巴达，不仅仅是男人需要健康。 妇女必须做大量的运动，以确保她们的孩子健康强壮。 在赢得一场战斗后，士兵们有时会把他们的盔甲献给神作为感谢礼物。 他们把它放在寺庙里或挂在树枝上。

Why did ships have long noses? Greek warships had a long, sharp spike at the front. It was called a ram, and in battle it could be deadly. The oarsmen lowed as fast as they could towards an enemy ship and tried to smash a hole in its side with the ram. With any luck, the enemy ship would sink and its crew would all be drowned. Most Greek ships had a big eye painted on either side of the prow. The sailors hoped that these staring eyes would frighten away evil spirits, and protect the men until they were safely home. The biggest warships were called triremes, and had three rows of oarsmen along each side of the boat. With 170 men pulling on the oars, ships zipped through the water at an amazing speed. Each ship had a flute- player who piped tunes with a steady beat. The oarsmen all pulled their oars in time with the music, which meant they didn't get tangled up! Why was it easier to travel by sea? There are many islands in Greece and boats are often still the only way to get from one island to another. But the ancient Greeks used boats to get around the mainland too. Sailing along the coast was much quicker and easier than struggling up steep, stony tracks on the back of a weary donkey!

为什么船的鼻子很长？ 希腊战舰的前端有一个又长又尖的尖刺。 它被称为公羊，在战斗中它可能是致命的。 桨手们尽可能快地向一艘敌舰冲去，试图用撞锤在船舷上砸出一个洞。 运气好的话，敌舰会沉没，全体船员都会淹死。 大多数希腊船只的船头两侧都画着一只大眼睛。 水手们希望这些瞪大的眼睛能吓走邪恶的灵魂，并保护他们直到他们安全回家。 最大的战船叫做三列战船，船的两边各有三排桨手。 170个人划着桨，船只以惊人的速度在水中疾驰。 每艘船上都有一个吹笛子的人，用笛子吹出稳定的曲调。 桨手们都随着音乐及时划桨，这意味着他们没有被缠住！为什么乘船旅行更容易？ 希腊有许多岛屿，船只仍然是从一个岛屿到另一个岛屿的唯一方式。 但古希腊人也用船绕过大陆。 沿着海岸航行比骑着一头疲惫的驴子在陡峭的石径上挣扎要快得多，也容易得多！

Who was the goddess of wisdom? Athene was the goddess of war and also of wisdom, and so her symbol was the wise owl. She had special powers to protect the city of Athens. Because of this, the citizens loved and worshipped her. They built Athene her very own temple, the Parthenon, high on the Acropolis, a hill overlooking the city. According to stories, the gods lived on top of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. But they didn't always behave as you would expect gods to they spent a lot of their time quarrelling! The Greeks believed in many different gods and goddesses. Each one had different powers. Some of the gods were kind, but others were stern and cruel. Hermes messenger of the gods Zeus king of the gods Demeter goddess of crops Aphrodite goddess of love and beauty Hera queen of the gods, goddess of women and children Hades god of the underworld Who told stories about the gods? A famous poet called Homer told many exciting stories about gods and heroes. His long poem The Odyssey tells the adventures of Odysseus, a Greek soldier sailing home to Ithaca from the war with Troy. The sea god Poseidon tries to sink his ship, but with Athene's protection, Odysseus finally gets home. Poseidon was god of the sea. He tried to sink Odysseus's ship by stirring up violent storms. Inside the Parthenon stood a towering statue of Athene—about ten times taller than you! It was covered with precious gold and ivory.

谁是智慧女神？ 雅典娜是战争女神，也是智慧女神，所以她的象征是智慧的猫头鹰。 她拥有保护雅典城的特殊能力。 正因为如此，市民们爱戴和崇拜她。 他们为雅典娜建造了自己的神庙——帕台农神庙，建在俯瞰全城的卫城山上。 根据传说，众神住在希腊最高的山峰奥林匹斯山顶上。 但他们并不总是像你所期望的那样行事，他们花了很多时间争吵！希腊人信仰许多不同的神和女神。 每个人都有不同的能力。 有些神是仁慈的，但有些则是严厉而残酷的。 赫尔墨斯众神的信使宙斯众神之王得墨忒尔庄稼之神阿芙罗狄忒爱与美的女神赫拉众神之后，妇女与儿童之神冥界之神哈迪斯谁讲述众神的故事？ 一位名叫荷马的著名诗人讲述了许多关于神和英雄的激动人心的故事。 他的长诗《奥德赛》讲述了希腊士兵奥德修斯从与特洛伊的战争中回到伊萨卡岛的冒险经历。 海神波塞冬试图击沉他的船，但在雅典娜的保护下，奥德修斯终于回到了家。 波塞冬是海神。 他试图通过激起猛烈的风暴来击沉奥德修斯的船。 帕台农神庙内矗立着一座高耸的雅典娜雕像——比你高十倍左右！上面覆盖着珍贵的黄金和象牙。

Who talked to the trees? The Greeks believed that nature goddesses called dryads lived deep in the woods. Priests and priestesses guarded the holy woods and prayed to the dryads. Then they listened hard for any rustlings in the trees—which might be the nature goddesses' messages in reply! According to legend, dryads wore crowns of leaves and danced in the woods. They also carried axes to attack anyone who damaged their trees. There were over 40 religious holidays in Athens each year. There are paintings of these festivals on wine jars and other Greek pottery. People loved festivals. They didn't have to work and there was lots of free food and drink. Where did Greeks empty their wine? Many Greeks prayed to the gods in their own homes at a special altar. They liked to offer the gods presents of food or wine. Sometimes, worshippers poured a whole jar of wine over the altar. More often, they drank most of the wine themselves, and just gave the gods a tiny drop!

谁和树说话？希腊人相信被称为树精的自然女神住在森林深处。 男祭司和女祭司守卫着神圣的森林，向树精祈祷。 然后他们仔细听着树上的沙沙声——这可能是自然女神的回复信息！根据传说，树精戴着树叶做成的王冠，在树林里跳舞。 他们还带着斧头攻击任何破坏他们树木的人。 雅典每年有40多个宗教节日。 在葡萄酒罐和其他希腊陶器上都有这些节日的画。 人们喜欢节日。他们不用工作，而且有很多免费的食物和饮料。 希腊人在哪里把酒喝光？ 许多希腊人在自己家里的一个特殊祭坛上向神灵祈祷。 他们喜欢向神献上食物或酒作为礼物。 有时，敬拜者把一整瓶酒倒在祭坛上。 更多的时候，他们自己喝了大部分的酒，只给了神一小滴！