Greece

BY: Mitchell, Brett, Branden, and Gavin

In this Book you will learn about Greek culture and its wonderful

features. The Greek culture is a fascinating subject and will keep you

wondering all the time. In these pages you will learn about Greek

myths, wars, architecture, and sports.

Mythology

In ancient Greece, mythology and religion were an important part

of life. In this mythology, the Titans were figures, more powerful than

the gods, who ruled the Earth. Gaea was the Earth Titan. Her husband,

Uranus, was the Sky Titan and ruler of the Titans. Cronus was Uranus’s

son. He became ruler when he overthrew his father. To make sure his

children wouldn’t do the same, he swallowed them as they were born.

Rhea was Cronus’s wife. She was upset that Cronus swallowed her

children. When her third son, Zeus, was born, she gave Cronus a rock in

blankets to swallow instead of Zeus. Zeus eventually grew up and

forced his father to throw up his siblings.

http://www.pablowang.com/myth/Myths/Iliad_files/image002.gif

Zeus was the god of the sky and king of the gods. His brothers

were Poseidon and Hades. Poseidon was the god of the sea. Hades was

the god of wealth and the Underworld. Some myths say that the only

reason Zeus is the king of the gods because he and his brothers decided

to draw lots to see who would be king and Zeus won. Zeus, Poseidon,

and Hades are sometimes referred to as the Big Three. Sometimes a

god or goddess will have a child with a mortal person. This child is

known as a demigod and has special powers. Hercules was a demigod.

http://www.kusadasi.tv/wp-content/uploads/Zeus-greek-mythology-god-of-the-gods.jpg

Heracles, or Hercules, killed his wife and children in a fit of

madness. He was told that, if he completed twelve great tasks, he

would be forgiven. Because he was a demigod, he completed the tasks

with ease. The Odyssey is an epic, or long poem, written by a blind poet

named Homer. It is about Odysseus, a veteran of the Trojan War. It tells

about his sea journey and adventures back to his homeland.

http://humx.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/the-odyssey-of-homer.gif

War

http://clengwell.wikispaces.com/file/view/persian_war.jpg/33839949/persian_war.jpg

In Greek history there have been many wars that have affected the

world. One of these wars is “The First Major Persian war.” That’s what

we’re going to learn about first.

During 539 B.C. Cyrus, The Great ruled Persia and most of west Asia.

The Greco-Persian wars are a sequence of wars fought between the

great empire of Persia and the coalition of Greek city-states. The Ionian

Revolt initiated the first Major Persian war. The war lasted for about a

half a decade from 499 B.C. to 488 B.C.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6mJugzVlsTk/TOPOvKMeleI/AAAAAAAAALI/DOfMRxPp_RA/s400/the_trojan_war_ burning_city.jpg

Now, the second war we are going to learn about today is The Trojan

War. The Trojan War was fought in the city of Troy. Troy is a city that is

now located north of western Turkey. The Trojan War was fought

between the Mycenaean’s and the people of Troy. The Trojan War

started because a Trojan prince named Paris, kidnapped Helen, the wife

of the Mycenaean king. The king’s bother, Agamemnon, then took

soldiers over to Troy to get Helen back. The war lasted for 10 years.

http:// campbell-hist.wikispaces.com/file/view/Peloponnesian _War_Pic.jpg/41333477/Peloponnesian_War_Pic.jpg

Last but not least, the final war we are going to learn about today is The

Peloponnesian War. The Peloponnesian war reshaped the Ancient

Greek world! The war was fought between Athens and its empire

against the Peloponnesian league led by Sparta. The economic costs of

the war were felt all across Greece; poverty became widespread in the

Peloponnese, while Athens found itself completely devastated, and

never regained its pre-war prosperity. The Peloponnesian War lasted

from 431 B.C. to 404 B.C.

The Four Main Periods

Of Architecture

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/art/painting/greekpainting.htm

In Greek history there were four main periods of architecture: The

Geometric (1100-7000B.C), Archaic (700-500B.C), Classical (500-

323B.C), and the Hellenistic (323B.C-now). In the first period, The

Geometric, architects used simple symmetrical designs. In the second

period, The Archaic, Greeks started trading with the Egyptians. During

the third period, The Classical, the Greeks tried to outdo one another

by making splendid paintings. Pottery soon came to Greek islands and

the mainland in the south.

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Aegean/Ephesus/prien_milet_didim/didim.html

Next, the Erechtum, a Greek temple built on the Acropolis of

Athens, a Greek town, was in The Classical period. It contained rooms

to Athena, Poseidon, and Erechtus, which were gods and goddesses of

Greece. The ancient Greeks also built The Temple of Apollo about

300B.C. The temples design is known as dipteral. This refers to two

columns surrounding the inside. The temple was sixty-four feet high.

The Ionic order was a time in Greek history with buildings made

by people from the mainland. The colonizers that made these buildings

soon founded great towns like Ephesis and Miletus whose civilians were

called Ionians. The bases of these buildings were made of super

imposed registers. As times passed though these buildings changed

structure and crumbled

http://www.goddess-athena.org/Museum/Temples/Miletus/Ionia.html

Sports

Greeks enjoy sports, activities, and recreation just like everybody

else. Greeks also enjoy many activities like their national sport soccer.

The Greeks also like to play basketball. In Greece the tourists and locals

also enjoy swimming, and diving into Greece’s blue waters. Also many

Greeks enjoy fishing, boating, sailing, and waterskiing.

http://tourismhoteltrip.com/search/greek-shipwreck-beach

In Ancient times Greece was known for the Olympics in honor of Zeus.

In these Olympics only men competed. To make them selves faster,

they would be absolutely naked with only olive oil spread around on

them. In these games they would hold the javelin throw, discus throw,

a footrace, and jumping. Finally non Olympics recreational games

consisted of field hockey, dice, and juggling. http://www.athenstourgreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/776-BC-first-Olympic-games.jpg

Over time Greece has accomplished a lot in sports even they are

only a small country. For example Greece was the first country to ever

receive a gold medal in the Olympics. The Greeks have also won the

world cup. Next the Greeks found basketball, and went on to winning

the European basketball Championship and getting second in the

basketball world cup.

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We hope that you learned a lot about the Greek culture.

We also hope it was an enjoyable experience and that you

learned more about Greece.

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