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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!