2. Daily Life
Life in ancient Greece was very different for men and
women. Men were expected to take an active part in the
public life of their city, women were expected to lead a
private life as wives and mothers.
However, daily life in Sparta was rather different from most
other city-states. Here women led more active lives, as
this would improve their physical strength and their ability
to have healthy babies.
3. Sport
Ancient Greeks loved sport and most cities in Ancient
Greece had public gymnasiums where people gathered
to train and relax. The Greeks believed that a healthy
body was very important.
The Greeks had four national sports festivals, where
athletes from different city states competed against one
another. The most important of the sports contests was
the Olympic Games. These were played at Olympia,
every four years, in honour of Zeus.
4. Soldiers
The soldiers in Ancient Greece were known as Hoplites.
Hoplites normally carried a 30inch shield with a spear
and a sword. The equipment that one soldier carried in
total weighed as much as seventy pounds!
Soldiers were normal citizens that could afford bronze
armour and weapons. They were normally farmers and
artisans and they were only given basic training.
5. Theatre
Almost every Greek city had a theatre because plays were
part of many religious festivals. At first, theatres were
only used for festivals. The shape of the theatres gave
everyone in the audience excellent viewing and also
meant they could hear the actors well too.
All the actors were men. They wore large masks that
exaggerated facial features and emotions. Greek plays
were either comedies or tragedies. Actors in comedies
wore bright colours and actors in tragedies wore dark
colours.
6. Famous Greeks
Parmenides was the one that found out that the Earth was
round and not flat. A lot of people used to think that the
Earth was flat and that if you walked far enough you’d fall
off. But Parmenides watched an eclipse and realised that
the Earth’s shadow was round.
7. Athens & Sparta
In ancient times the Greeks lived in city states. Each state
had its own laws, government and money but they
shared the same language and religion. The two most
important city states were Athens and Sparta.
At first both Athens and Sparta were ruled by Kings. Then
both were ruled by small groups of powerful people.
Athens was the biggest and most powerful Greek state.
8. Greek Gods (other)
Religion was important to the ancient Greeks because they
believed that it would make their lives better while they
were living and that they would look after them when they
died.
The Ancient Greeks believed in many different gods and
goddesses. The Greeks believed that these gods and
goddesses controlled everything in their lives. There was
a god for every aspect of their lives and it was important
to please the gods; happy gods helped you, but unhappy
gods punished you.
9. Important Events
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490BC when the
Persians were attacking the Greeks to take over
Athens. Although the Greeks were greatly
outnumbered by the Persians because of their really
good warriors (hoplites) the Greeks were able to
hold their ground until the Persians stopped
attacking.
