The Ancient Greece had a fascinating culture and it influenced me to want to learn more about them such as their farming, trading, and etcetera. The Greeks created the Olympics. The men competed naked so, women were forbidden to watch. Farming was part of the Greeks everyday life. They planted wheat, barley, apples, lettuces, and etcetera. The most important vegetable was an olive because it was used for cooking, and the most important fruit is grapes because it was used for wine. The Greeks traded and they usually are citizens that are jewelers, craftsmen, and etcetera. They usually sell dancers, acrobats, and other people that waited on platforms to be sold, and they usually waited around agoras, or marketplaces.
The Greeks had beautiful clothing, jewelry, and etcetera. The clothing that the Greeks wore was made of wool and the clothing was very colorful. “Greek women wore long tunics called, a chiton, made from a piece of cotton or linen material…… Young men wore short tunics, older men preferred long ones” (BBC © 2014, Home Life Section). “The Greek clothing was very colorful and we know because of the vase paintings that the Greeks made. From vase paintings and sculptures, we can tell that the fabrics were intensely colored and usually decorated with intricate designs” (Pearson, 42). “Bright colors were popular, especially among women. Purple was obtained from sea snails, and violet shades comes from insect larva called kermes worm” (Pearson, 42). Greek clothes were made of wool provided by local sheep (Pearson, 42). The Greeks wore colorful clothing and they weren’t very specific of what they wore. “Women and men wore sandals, slippers, soft shoes, or boots, although at home they usually went barefoot” (© 2003- 2012 Unive...
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...ing culture that I decided to learn about. The Greeks wore tunics, and they wore sandals or they went barefoot. The boys went to school at the age of seven and girls stayed home to learn from their mother. The Greek boys always had men as teachers and the teacher’s homes were the children’s school. The Greeks practiced polytheism, and they worshipped many gods and goddesses such as; Hera, the queen of goddesses, and Zeus, the king of all gods. The Greeks had a simple culture, and religion. The Greeks were nice people and all the gods and goddesses because they practiced polytheism. The Greeks created the Olympics to honor Zeus, the king of the gods. The Olympics was only participated by men and the women were forbidden to watch because the men played naked. The women had to stay home and they weren’t allowed to turn on the television unless they finished the game.
Ancient Greece today is most known for the culture: the gods, the dramas, how people lived. What most people do not realize is that there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of different civilizations spread throughout Greece that all had different forms of government. The three main ones were Athens, Sparta, and Miletus. Each was very different from the other. The most powerful out of all three was Sparta: a military based society. The Spartan government had a strong foundation that was all torn down by one bad leader.
Athletics were an expression of the philosophical, religious and civic values that were at the very heart of Greek culture. In the world of the ancient Greeks, well-educated individuals were expected to be balanced mentally, spiritually, and physically (http://www.mediaconcero.com/olympic/olympia/ideal_o.php, September 27, 2004). It was felt that athletics aided in the creation of such an individual. Athletic events during this period were not simply displays of physical prowess, but an integration of the facets of Greek culture.
In the Ancient Greek society, agriculture was something to be praised and admired, and was an integral part of Ancient Greek culture. Agriculture had been the foundation of the ancient Greek economy and an activity that most of the population was involved in. In his books Odyssey and Iliad, Homer defines the model of Greek agricultural culture.
Greece is known for their utilization, almost to a uniform extreme, of all their products which contributed to fashion. There is very few amounts of clothing that have survived the ages of time, therefore most knowledge is derived from painting and sculptures. If we look at the sculptures, bas reliefs and frescos we are able to see the lifestyle of both the Archaic, Minoan and Mycenaean eras. In the Archaic era the use of literature is reopened, where it was stopped during the dark ages. Art has emphasis on sculptures and pottery at this time. Political theory also advanced, including the development of a democracy. They brought the belt along with making clothing practical for use, such as carrying supplies in aprons and covering the head like we would know today as a sort of hoodie. This is the time between 750-500 BC. In the Minoan era the economy was growing and due to the agricultural movement such as herding sheep and growing of flax allowed for the expansion of clothing such as weaving. There was a political change which shows status as a greater importance than before and the clothing was different for political leaders such as the king. They brought the concepts of geometric design as well as natural designs. They also started wearing more fitted clothing, and still wore the belt from the archaic era. This is the time between 2000-1400 BC. In the Mycenaean era the class diversifies into rich and poor, high classes and lower classes. Members of the royal circle, along with the king, is where most of the wealth lied. They had fitted clothing and started what we see as costumes today, drapery in clothing. Most of the customs were passed on from the Minoan era. This is the time between 600-1100 BC.
Greek life in most people’s eyes is considered to be joining a sisterhood or brotherhood such as a sorority or a fraternity. Greek life is an extremely large part in numerous universities. More than half of the students are actually members of a Greek organization. Some may say that Greek life is not for them, but they truly do not know all of the advantages that come from being a member of a Greek organization. Do they realize how several of our nation’s leaders were members of Greek life probably not, since most of them were? One should join Greek life, not only for abundant friendships gained, but because of advantages, for example leadership skills and along with the countless networking
It is always important to look to the past in order to move towards the future. This was done in the formation of Western Society, and more specifically the formation of American society. The Greek culture served as a frame of reference for many aspects of Western life including government, architecture, math and the arts. Ancient Greek culture served as a very broad base for our society to be built upon.
Professor Chris Pelling of UCL wrote The Ancient Olympics. In addition, the author is a member of the UCL Department of Greek and Latin. In this article, the author describe and explain how sports were more than a competition in the ancient Greece. His hypothesis was that sports were a way to get honor and power instead of just competing. It represents more than a simple crown of leaves and olive-branch at the Olympics. It gave power, fame and honor to the athlete and their home city. In addition, they were awarded with many material rewards such as money, and women. For instance, the primary method employed in this research consisted
The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece explains a variety of ways in which the Greeks were influenced by their religion. The Greeks expressed their respect for their gods through sacred acts, primarily festivals and rituals. The festivals were held to honor certain deities such as the Olympic Games, an event held for athletes meant to honor
The worship of gods was not just a practice for the Ancient Greeks it was a passion and they took it very seriously. Huge temples were built across the Peloponnesus and beyond that honored their respective gods in the Greek religion. Parades, sacrifices, banquets, and week long celebrations were held in honor of these gods that the Greeks based nearly their entire society off of. The Greeks would offer their lives, their family’s lives, all of their possessions to please the gods.
Most people provided for themselves and did not engage in any sort of trade. Most Greeks had small plots of land, and even the wealthy Greeks had a small amount of land compared to today. But the wealth and monetary value of Greeks was not based on size, but it was a relative spectrum. Where your “value” was compared to others. This is a phenomenon known as relative wealth, and was seen throughout Greek, Sparta and especially Athens. The economy of Sparta and Athens however had many resources, and impacted and reflected the fundamental institutions of their culture. The Spartan economy was mostly government controlled entity. With most of it’s productivity coming from the Helots and from military conquest. Free trade was also banned and not feasible as most men worked in the military or government. Athens had a sort of free-market and free-trade system, though they did have things socialised by the state. Athens was near the sea and traded very frequently with neighboring regions. It was not only the state that traded but the Athenian citizens, whom were free to become merchants. The economies of both Athens and Sparta reflected upon the essence of freedom and tradition which they both had liked. One economy was built on freedom and trade. The other based on tradition and military venture. These economies expressed the virtues that the two cities
The Ancient Greek Olympics were not only sporting events, it was a celebration to honor the great and powerful Zeus. The Ancient Olympics were held every four years at the famous Olympia, a district of Elis, here all free Greek men were allowed to compete. The first record of the Olympic Games was held in 776 B.C. The main sports were the Pentathlon, the Equestrian Events, Pankration, and Boxing.
There are many traditions and values that the people of Ancient Greece followed very closely. These acts, such as, hospitality and respect for one’s peers are usually overlooked by gods and goddesses. The people are expected follow these traditions or they may feel wrath from a god or goddess.
Ancient Greek agriculture was the very necessity of the empire. People needed food to work and soldiers needed food to fight, defend, and conquer neighboring empires. Nearly 80% of the Greek population was somehow involved in agricultural practices. In Greece, meat was expensive and available only to the elite. This caused the Greek diet to be based on cereals. The main cereal crops that the Greeks grew were barley, millet, durum wheat, and common wheat. The Greeks did not have access to many vast fertile lands since only 20% of the Greek land was in fit conditions to grow crops (Ancient History Encyclopedia, “Agriculture In Ancient Greece”). People looked to agriculture to keep their civilization running day to day.
Life in Greece in ancient times would remind you of your own life in many ways. There was school, family, athletic competition, and social gatherings. Knowing that participants in their sporting events competed nude or that you rarely knew your husband/wife until the wedding day does however, make you grateful for the society that you live in today.
The older of the two, Ancient Greece was a civilization for three centuries, from 800 B.C. to 500 B.C. Ancient Greece advanced in art, poetry, and technology. More importantly, Ancient Greece was the age where the polis, or city-state, was invented. The polis was a defining feature in Greek political life for a few hundred years (Ancient Greece).