Ancient Greeks were at the forefront of history, philosophy, athletics and architecture development – this digital package will teach you how to read ancient Greek while offering exciting activities suited to home learning.
Mount Olympus is home to twelve gods and goddesses believed to reside within its confines, along with cheesecake and the yo-yo! Additionally, Greeks invented both products.
Cheesecake
As most people know, ancient Greece made many important contributions to society – from philosophical theories, sophisticated sculptures and architecture, theatre productions and an abundance of theatre performances – but did you know they invented cheesecake too? Cheesecake first made its debut on Samos sometime between 7th and 8th centuries BCE by pounding cheese into a paste before sweetening with honey before baking in a wheat crust. Wedding traditions used this simple form of cheesecake during wedding ceremonies as well as athletes competing at Olympic games held during 776 BC!
The ancient Greeks were an impressive people. We still admire many of their achievements today, such as democracy, the Parthenon, and modern astronomy. Additionally, we came to know some bizarre gods and goddesses such as Zeus (who often committed adultery), Hera who kicked her infant off Mount Olympus, as well as useful inventions like water mills from 3rd Century BC and alarm clocks invented by this amazing civilization – learn about some amazing ancient Greek inventions by playing Twinkl’s Greek Mythology Fact or Fiction Card Game!
Vending Machines
Philosophy comes from ancient Greek and translates to love of wisdom, so it should come as no surprise that Ancient Greeks had much to say about life itself through philosophy, literature, theater, sculptures and architecture.
Greece ranks 17th in terms of coffee consumption worldwide! They even used cinnamon and honey in their brewing methods for an even more tantalizing beverage!
Ancient Greek women took great care in grooming themselves. They dyed their hair blonde, curled it using hot irons and painted their faces white with lead carbonate to enhance their beauty. Bronze mirrors, ivory combs and small bottles of perfume (alabastra) rounded off their accessories collection while they painted over any gaps between natural eyebrows to achieve a uni-brow look.
Ancient Greece offered citizens the ability to participate in law trials with large juries of 500 people – this was how democracy emerged! Additionally, Greek heroes such as Pheidippides ran 150 miles from Sparta to Athens to proclaim victory at the Marathon race; Greeks even invented Olympic Games!
The Olympics
Ancient Greece held an Olympic Festival every four years to honor Zeus. Events like wrestling, long distance running and discus throwing would take place alongside chariot racing and horse racing – both events open only to men; unmarried women had their own festival that ran separate from this.
Athleticians were awarded with crowns made of special olive branches when they won. When breakfast and lunch came around, athletes consumed bread dipped in wine – an indulgence they continued for dinner alongside fish, eggs from chickens or quails and lots of veggies as well as cheeses and olives!
The Greeks didn’t believe in Heaven or reincarnation, but they were very religious about cleanliness and good health! Shaving with razors made from flint was common practice while eyebrows would often be plucked with tweezers for maintenance. Additionally, they were very proud to dye their blonde locks with heated irons before curling them back with hot rollers!
Religion was important in their society and many gods and goddesses were worshipped for different things like music, archery, wisdom and power. Additionally they believed strongly in avoiding being cursed with an “evil eye” by following specific rituals and superstitions to avoid it.
Democracy
The ancient Greeks were responsible for many inventions that continue to make an impactful statement today, such as alarm clocks, plumbing, gears and screws – as well as democracy which still serves us today. Furthermore, they ruled over an expansive territory including mainland Greece as well as thousands of islands!
They also produced many great philosophers and writers such as Socrates, Homer, Euripides and Aristotle – each person taking pride in his or her heritage and culture that was so rich with history.
Most of us may know that ancient Greece was home to the Olympic Games, but there’s so much more to this extraordinary civilisation than this fact alone. From their delicious food to stunning island landscapes, the Greeks represent an exciting culture with fascinating customs and beliefs.
Greeks traditionally believe in the concept of an evil eye – an eye that casts its spell by looking with jealousy or envy at another individual – and have developed special rituals to dispel it! Additionally, their superstition dictates that whenever passing by a church or store and seeing a cross on the roadside it means crossing oneself immediately!
Plumbing
Greece is known as the birthplace of Western civilization, democracy, theatre and Olympic Games – but did you know it is also where plumbing first originated?
Minoan civilization on Crete first created flush toilets around 1500 B.C. for use at Palace of Knossos; over time they became adopted in Greek households as well. But to deal with the vast amounts of waste produced during use, they built aqueducts from mountain springs into towns and cities – some as long as 60 feet! – carrying water along these routed to be carried back downhill via rivers – these even were wide enough to hold two people waltzing side-by-side!
Plumbing developments also included bathtubs; excavations at Olynthus in northern Greece have revealed numerous tiled, self-draining tubs similar to modern tubs reminiscent of their time. Not only were plumbing advances made during this period; culture also flourished dramatically during it – Homer wrote his epics “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” while sculptors created figures called kouroi or korai that carefully represented humans, as did scientists like Anaximandros who devised his theory of gravity while Pythagoras from Kroton made his discovery of his theorem.
As Athens became a prosperous empire, its residents weren’t immune to class conflict. When middle class members fell deeper into debt and even slavery, civil war seemed inevitable. Solon, an influential member of Athens’ council of four hundred was brought in to address the situation and one of his first acts was declaring that Athenians could now appeal magistrate decisions before an impartial jury of fellow citizens.
Gears
The Archaic Period laid the groundwork for Greek civilization that would come to dominate Western culture for centuries. Athens and Sparta emerged as two dominant city-states, each with their own government and culture. Statesman Solon instituted new constitutional and judicial reforms allowing men over 18 to join Athenian assembly ekklesia ekklesia; while fossil writer Xenophanes wrote extensively about them. Furthermore, Pythagoras developed his theorem.
Greek people tend to be superstitious and many believe in the evil eye. This is particularly prevalent among elderly individuals and they frequently carry amulets to protect themselves against it. Additionally, many Greeks believe in horoscopes and often choose different names for their birthdays depending on when they were born!
Before the invention of toilet paper, people used various items to clean themselves such as tree leaves, cornmeal, silk (for those able to afford it), sheep’s wool, cotton balls tied onto sticks or sponges on rods – any combination thereof was then considered acceptable! Nowadays most Greeks speak excellent English which benefits their tourism industry greatly and love animals; their laws regularly update to restrict unnatural breeding practices and unfair treatment of stray pets – such as modern-day definition of “idiot”. Even today there remains some ancient Greek roots to this term!
Screws
Screws have long been used in various fields of industry to produce things like furniture. Today they can also be found in machines and our bodies! Screws were first invented by Archytas of Tarentum – known as the father of mechanics – during ancient Greek. He employed them for harvesting wine and olive oil from grapes and olives respectively as well as bailing water out of boats.
Hex nuts and bolts may have evolved from ancient Greece’s initial use of screws as fasteners; such fasteners were constructed of brass or iron materials and used for assembling machinery or ships.
The ancient Greeks were responsible for numerous innovations that are still used today, such as the Olympics, democracy, clocks and gears; theatre; comedy and tragedy concepts; oracles/divination as a source of insight; as well as believing in omens such as certain animals appearing or birds flying differently. They even invented modern clocks! The Ancient Greeks were very superstitious individuals – often consulting oracles to gain insight into future happenings; believing omens such as animals appearing or birds flying differently was seen as signs that something significant had happened! They believed omens such as appearance of specific animals or birds flying, which made an impactful statement.