Athens… The birthplace of Everything!

-Centrally located in mainland Greece

-Access to waterways of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas gave rise to trade, industry and a powerful Navy

-Eager to learn and share knowledge!

Athenian Government-Only Free men are considered citizens

-A Democracy takes shape - 500 BCE

-Groups of citizens met daily to discuss issues and laws

-The Council of 500 – elected annually (all names placed in and chosen)

-Proposed laws had to be approved by the Assembly… this group consisted of 6,000 citizens with every one having the right to speak

-Proud of their freedom and enjoyed taking part in the process. LOOK FAMILIAR?

ANYONE?

HOW ABOUT NOW?

Athenian Economy-Trade based

-The Agora… HUGE market place. Like an outdoor Mega Wal-Mart of its day

-Developed their own currency – coins were minted out of Gold, Silver and Bronze. On one side was their patron Goddess Athena and on the other, the symbol of an Owl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP-FsX0QW88

Spooky Similar…

Education in Athens

-It’s all about producing ‘Good Citizens’…. Wait…. Don’t you guys receive ‘citizenship’ grades… weird

-Combination sharp mind and healthy body

-Taught at home until age 6-7 then off to school until age 14 to learn reading, writing, math and literature. Books are expensive and rare… most information is memorized!

-Also had gymnastics, wrestling and music

-Military training began at age 18 for two years

-Boys could continue education if they could afford it; there were also trainings in trades once your military service was through

-Girls received little to no education unless very wealthy (largely domestic education)

“The Golden Age”Religion

-Very religious Polytheistic society

-Athens was complete with beautiful Temples dedicated to the Gods; most famous are the Parthenon (dedicated to Athena) and The Temple at Delphi (dedicated to Apollo)

-The Acropolis was a large hill in Athens on which many important Temples were built

-Mythology is the stories of the Greek Gods and Goddesses that explained culture or tradition

Architecture

-Most of the surviving ruins are support columns. There were three main types:1. Doric2. Ionic3. Corinthian

As each new style came along, the more elaborate the columns became

-Many nations adopted similar architectural styles to the Athenians. Most notable today can be seen in Washington DC with the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson and even the White House.

Theater and the Arts-Sculpture, Plays, Art, Music, Poetry and even philosophy all began in Athens

-Plays were often competitions. Judges would select winners in many categories including tragedy, comedy and leading actors

-Philosophy became popular in Athens with leading philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle.

-Philosophy means the search of wisdom or knowledgehttps://youtu.be/QnQ_WDtBhvI

The Games

-Athenians valued the need for a healthy body

-Games were held in honor of the Gods and Goddesses

-Combat games such as boxing and wrestling

-Horse and chariot races

-Running events

-Games were held every four years at Olympia in honor of Zeus.

Modern Olympics re-established in 1892. The symbol of the 5 rings (representing continents) was unveiled on the flag in 1914 and was intended to represent unity of the nations.