Ancient Greece Inside Out

Ancient Greece Inside Out — page 3
Who were the ancient greeks Greece is a country in southeast Europe It is part of a peninsula which is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides The mainland is very rugged with some mountains reaching all the way down to the sea Europe’s First Great Civilization Greece was the place where the first great civilization of Europe flourished It was at its greatest during the 400s B C E which was about 2,500 years ago We call the people of this civilization the ancient Greeks The names Greek and Greece are modern English names They come from names first used by the Romans about 2,000 years ago The Romans called the people of Greece the Graeci and the land where they lived Graecia The ancient Greeks did not use these names They called themselves Hellenes and their land was Hellas Masters of the Sea The sea was very important to the ancient Greeks Famous Greek philosopher Socrates explained its importance in about 410 B C E when he is reported to have said We live around a sea like frogs around a pond With this statement Socrates explained how the Greek people depended on the sea hopping on and off ships as easily as frogs jumping in and out of a pond The ancient Greeks were excellent ship builders and sailors Their merchants and settlers sailed to faraway lands their battleships fought against enemy fleets and their fishermen knew where to find the best catches 4