2. Introduction
Ancient Greece was an interesting civilization that existed 3000
years ago. It covered a large piece of land and a group of
islands near the Mediterranean Sea. The ancient Greeks were
great inventors and many of their legacies are still used today.
3. Legacies
The Greeks left many great legacies for future
civilizations. They created a kind of government
called democracy, which allowed citizens to vote
for the people who ruled. Lots of countries still
use democracy, such as the United States of
America and Japan. The Greeks also invented
the first fire engine and were the first people to
make coins and use maps. They held the first
Olympics in ancient Greece in 776 B.C.E. The
Greeks also created sundial to tell the time and
made many discoveries in the fields of geometry
and science. They created algebra, the alarm
clock, and even the catapult. As you can see, the
Ancient Greeks’ inventions were important
legacies that are still used in modern society.
4. Beliefs & Religion
The Ancient Greeks believed there were 12 gods. They
thought the gods controlled everything. They thought
the gods lived on the top of Mount Olympus. The group
got its name from Mount Olympus. They thought the
gods were immortal because they had a kind of golden
blood called ichor. They also thought the gods fought
the older gods called titans. According to the stories,
they chained the titans to the underworld but Zeus
made the titan Atlas carry the world on his back. The
Greeks thought the gods looked like normal humans
but were braver, more clever and stronger. The gods
watched everything all the time. The Greeks built many
temples to worship the different gods & goddesses.
They built the Parthenon in honor of the goddess
Athena. Some people took gifts with them to give to the
god. If it was an animal, the priest take the animal and
sacrificed it. A sheep was the most common gift. A bull
was the best gift. In the temple of Apollo, there was an
oracle who could speak with the god Apollo. A male
pilgrim would ask a priest or priestess for permission.
Then he/she would get into a trance and speak
mysterious language which often had to be translated
by a priest or priestess. The Greeks thought that after
their death they would go to the underworld. Thus, The
ancient Greeks thought the gods had great power over
their lives so they worshiped them in many ways.
5. Writing & Language
A great deal of what we know about ancient Greece
comes from their writing. They invented their own
alphabet and many of our English letters are based on
this first alphabet. The word alphabet even comes
from the first two letters of the ancient Greek’s
alphabet (alpha + beta). Some English words start
and end in Greek words. For example, -
metry(measuring), -logy(studying) and -
graphy(writing). The ancient Greeks wrote everything
by hand. They scratched their writing on wax tablets.
Some people wrote on papyrus but papyrus was very
expensive. Only boys could learn to read, write and
spell. In Ancient Greece, famous writers wrote many
poems, plays and stories. Some famous writers were
Homer and Sappho. Herodotus was a writer who
wrote about the past. Sophocles wrote many plays.
Homer wrote a poem called about the Trojan War. In
summary, the ancient Greeks were the first to create
an alphabet and their stories and plays are still read
6. Leisure
The ancient Greeks enjoyed a variety of leisure
activities. They went to theatres to watch plays.
And also did sports. They thought sport was fun
and good training for war. The Ancient Greeks
developed the first Olympic Games. They held the
Olympics in honor of the Greek god Zeus. The
Olympics first began in 776B.C . They celebrated
it for five days every four years. Originally, there
was only one kind of event, which was a 170
meter one-foot race. Later, there were more
sports such as running, horse-racing, chariot-
racing, boxing, wrestling, discus, javelin and long
jump. There also was a sport that was racing in
armor. The winner would be called the Best
Greek. The winner would be awarded a garland of
olive leaves. Poems were written about the
winner. In Athens, only men could participate in
sports but in Sparta women could also play
sports. During the Olympics, 100 oxen were
burned as a sacrifice then given to the spectators
to eat. As you can see, the ancient Greeks
7. Conclusion
In conclusion, the Greeks left many great legacies and famous
buildings for the modern world. It is interesting to learn about the
knowledge and lifestyles of these ancient people.
8. Reference List
Author Date Title
Anita Ganeri 1993 Focus on Ancient Greeks
Pat Taylor 1998 The Ancient Greeks
John Malam 1998 Ancient Greeks at a Glance
Nick Legget 1992 Ancient Greece
Date Accessed Website
25/10/2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/
