Ancient Greece for Kids
www.ancientgreece.com
Ancient Greece (Wikipedia)
History Link 101 - Ancient Greece

BBC Schools - Ancient Greece
www.ancient-greece.org
Ancient Greece - The British Museum
Mr. Dowling - Ancient Greece
 

Gods and Goddesses Project

Map of Ancient Greece
About.com Maps
Index of Greek Maps

Lesson at a Glance Outline

Chapter 11, Lesson 1, The Early Greeks (pp. 328-333)

I. The Land Around the Sea

• A. The area in which the ancient Greeks lived centered on the Aegean Sea.
• B. Greece was ideally located for sea trade, and the sea became the Greeks' link to other peoples, products, and ideas.
• C. Most people in ancient Greece were farmers, growing grapes, olives, wheat and barley.

• II. Early Civilizations

• A. The Minoans developed a system of writing, carried on rich trade, and were master builders.
• B. The Mycenaeans learned from the Minoans and became the dominant civilization in the Aegean region.
• C. From about 1100 B.C. to 800 B.C. Greece was in a decline called the Dark Age, when trade stopped and written language disappeared.

• III. The Rise of the City-States

• A. During the Dark Age, Greece's population increased and isolated villages grew into cities.
• B. City-states were independent, self-governing units that included the territory around the city.
• C. As the city-states grew, they began to fight over boundaries and other things, and some Greeks left to found new city-states.

The Trojan War
(Story used in class)







Greek Mythology

www.mythweb.com

Greek Mythology Introduction

Encyclopedia Mythica

Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology Links

Greek Mythology for Educators

Chapter 11, Lesson 2, Athens: A City-State (pp. 338-343)

I. The Evolution of Democracy

• A. The Athenians developed a form of government that enabled citizens to make decisions, called a democracy.
• B. Tyrants taught citizens that by uniting behind a leader, they could gain the power to make changes.
• C. Citizens in Athens proposed new laws, voted on laws, and served on juries.
• D. Several other city-states in Greece also developed democracies, but Athens' version was the most successful.

• II. Citizenship in Athens

• A. Citizenship was limited to men over the age of 18, and usually to those men whose fathers had been citizens.
• B. Wives, children, unmarried women, foreigners, and slaves were not citizens, though they were protected by Athenian law.

• III. The Economy of Athens

• A. Most Athenians were farmers, with just enough land to support their families.
• B. As Athens became an international trading center, the barter system changed to the use of coins.
• C. Wealthy Athenians were expected to contribute large amounts of money to government projects, and this kept money flowing throughout the city-state.

Chapter 11, Lesson 3, Ancient Greek Culture (pp. 345-350)

I. The Family of Greek Gods

• A. The Greeks believed their gods controlled both the natural and human world.
• B. All Greeks worshipped Zeus and his family of gods, each of whom had a specific role with particular duties and powers.
• C. The Greeks built sacred places called sanctuaries to honor their gods.

• II. Sanctuaries to the Gods

• A. The Greeks used sanctuaries to make sacrifices to specific gods.
• B. Some sanctuaries were also places where oracles, or predictions of the future, were told.
• C. The Greeks also honored their gods and goddesses by holding religious festivals.

• III. Greek Drama

• A. Greek plays were written and performed twice a year at festivals in Athens honoring Dionysus.
• B. Most of the plays were about Greek gods or heroes, combining religion and history with entertainment.
• C. Plays were either tragedies, in which the hero was ruined by a character flaw, or comedies, which made fun of a variety of topics.

Chapter 11, Lesson 4, A Tale of Two City-States (pp. 351-357)

I. Sparta and Athens

• A. The Spartans built a strong army because they feared slave uprisings from the many slaves they owned.
• B. Unlike Athens, Sparta's government was an oligarchy, with power remaining in the hands of a few families.
• C. Sparta's emphasis on maintaining a strong army shaped its economy.

• II. Education in Sparta and Athens

• A. Spartan education focuses on physical skills and military training and began at an early age.
• B. Wealthy Athenian education included reading, writing, arithmetic, poetry, music, and dance, as well as athletics.
• C. In both city-states, formal education was reserved for boys.

• III. Allies Against Persia

• A. Although quite different, Athens and Sparta joined to fight against Persia.
• B. After several losses, the Greeks finally defeated the Persians at sea, and a year later, on land.