Ancient GreeceBy professor Xella

Emmanuelle Turner-O’Malley

The civilization of Ancient Greece was in place between 800BCE and 146BCE. It could be found near the Mediterranean Sea in the southern part of Europe. It is still interesting to learn about its legacies, as well as the structure of society, education and clothing worn by people thousands of years ago.

Structure of Society

People had different roles in society in ancient Greece. Men had to vote if they owned land and were over 20. If they did not vote, they would be chased by a slave with a rope covered in red paint so everyone knew they had broken the law. Men also did the shopping, competed at the Olympics and could be actors. Rich men spent a lot of time going to parties. In Sparta, boys learned to become soldiers from the age of 6. Women had very different lives. They could not be actors and could not watch or participate in the Olympics. Women stayed home and looked after the children. Girls married at the age of 15 and their husband was chosen by the father. Girls and slaves could not vote. Many household jobs were done by slaves. It is clear that women and man had very different lives in ancient Greece.

Educating Children

Education in ancient Greece was very different depending on whether you lived in Athens or Sparta. In Sparta, boys went to school to learn to fight and become fit and strong. They were learning to be soldiers in the army. In fact, Spartan girls went to school too, so they could also be fit. But on the other side, in Athens, girls could not go to school. They stayed home and helped to do the cooking and weaving. Sometimes if their mother know how to write, she would teach her daughters. In Athens, boys started at the age of 6. They learned to read and write poems and music. They also studied mathematics. But mainly, they had a private tutor who would have been a slave. Therefore, whether you lived in Athens of Sparta, education was still very important to the ancient Greek people.

Clothing Clothing played a very important part in the lives of

ancient Greeks. Most rich people wore long tunics or cloaks. This showed that they were rich and did not need to work. Other types of clothing included the the peplos, himation and the chiton. The peplos had open sides and it was baggy. The himation looked like a toga and covered one side of your arm. The chiton was very wide on the waist and long in the arms and legs and it went down to your feet. Rich people also wore gold jewellery. The poor people and slaves wore plain clothing made out of wool. They did not wear shoes. So you can see how different clothing depended on people’s wealth in society.

Legacies

There are many legacies that come from ancient Greece that we still use today. For example, they invented the system of government called democracy. Democracy (in Greek) means ruled by the people. In ancient Greece you could vote if you owned land, were over 18 and your mother and father were both from Athens. There are a many other Greek legacies such as mathematics (geometry), plays, architecture (especially columns) that we still see in our world today. The Olympics is another interesting legacy. In ancient times, the events were javelin, boxing, wrestling, chariot racing and the foot race. We still see the some of these events today. Finally, we can thank the Greeks for inventing our alphabet and giving us many myths and legends. So you can see that there are many Greek legacies that are still important to people all around the world today.

In conclusion, this report has described the clothing, education and structure of society in ancient Greece. It is clear that ancient Greece was an important civilization because there are a lot of legacies we still use today.

Reference listBooks

Pat Taylor The Ancient Greeks

Gloucester press Ancient Greece

Online Sources

Date accessed Website

18.10.11 www. bbc.com.uk/schools

19.10.11 www.mrdowling.com/greece

19.10.11 www.woodlands.com