Discovering Ancient Greece

Discovering Ancient Greece — page 1 — DISCOVERING ANCIENT GREECE ore than three thousand years ago the Greeks began to develop one of the most remarkable civiliza tions of the ancient world In their own time the ancient Greeks spread their influence far and wide by expanding their borders beyond the Greece we know today They founded cities along the coasts of Africa Turkey Italy and France carrying their culture through out the region But their impact did not end there Their achievements in politics philos ophy science and the arts formed a legacy that has had an unmatched influence on Western civilization to this day The ancient Greeks lived in self governing communities called city states In the most famous of the city states Athens they cre ated the world's first democracy The word democracy comes from a Greek word meaning rule by the people Democracy is still one of the most widely used political systems in the world Though often separated by barriers of sea and mountain the city states were united by their common language religion and customs They also shared a body of stories about their gods heroes and the nature of the universe These stories or myths have

Discovering Ancient Greece — page 2 — INTRODUCTION TH MAC DON MLY RIA Grand Sll P B cop on T TS CHALCD1 China D efense I am PHR E CONC RU THESSALAA t LOCRIS LYDIA CHAJA ICA CARIA CADI Seait of Miles As shown on this map the boundaries of ancient Greece and the extent of its influence went beyond the borders of the modern country of Greece influenced world literature and continue to be studied today With such an interesting culture ready to be explored let the discovery of ancient Greece

Discovering Ancient Greece — page 3 — CHAPTER ONE DAILY LIFE ike most cultures of the ancient world Greece had a class system that grouped people into distinct social rankings The hierarchy of priv ilege and authority placed naturally born Greeks particularly men at the top Beneath them were residents who had relocated from other countries called metics They shared many of the obligations of native Greeks but they were denied certain ben efits of citizenship The class of metics also included freed slaves Slaves formed the lowest class They possessed no rights and like metics and freedmen were not considered citizens The Only True Citizens Greek Men Because adult male citizens formed the upper class they dominated public life in ancient Greece In the

Discovering Ancient Greece — page 4 — DAILY LIFE city states with a democratic form of gov ernment only adult males could take part in politics These men represented just a small portion of the population In Athens the best known city state and the birthplace of democracy they made up only 12 percent of the people Athenian men spent their time talking politics and philosophy in the agora or marketplace They exercised in the athletic fields performed military duty and took part in state festivals Some took part in the Assembly which made the city state's laws and policies Despite their high social standing even men were not allowed to publicly criticize their government or the gods In the mili tary men were trained to think and act tactically Athens developed a powerful navy This illustration shows the layout of the agora of Athens In ancient Greek cities the agora was an open space that served as a meeting ground for various activities of the

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