Y4 Ancient Greece Subject Specific Vocabulary Key Knowledge

What do I already know?

Acropolis ‘High city’ in Greek. This sacred hill was where the city built its most important temples.

amphitheatre

A circular arena with sloping banks of seats.

architecture The design of a building.

Athens

One of the strongest cities in Ancient Greece. An Athenian is a citizen of Athens.

assembly The government organization in Athens that included any citizen who wanted to help make important decisions about the city-state.

column A tall circular support for a building. Columns are usually carved from stone.

democracy A form of government run for and by its people.

festival Special days when people worshipped a particular god or goddess. On these days, the Greeks made sacrifices and held athletic events or plays in honour of the god.

City-states

Ancient Greece was actually a group of city-states with shared customs. These city-states were sometimes at peace with one another, but were also often at war. The two most powerful and famous city-states were Athens and Sparta.

I know that the Ancient civilization came to an end in 332BC when the Greeks went to war with the Egyptians and they won. (Y3) I know that bronze gradually replaced stone as the main material for tools in Britain and by 200BC the period known as the Early Bronze Age had begun. (Y3) I know that the Olympic Games are an important international event featuring summer and winter sports which are held every four years.

Y4 Ancient Greece Subject Specific Vocabulary What did the Ancient Greeks do for us? Important Greeks

gladiator A trained performer who fights with a sword or other weapon as a form of entertainment.

Pythagorus A mathematician and philosopher who is known best for the proof of the important Pythagorean theorem, which is about right triangles.

Aristotle He discovered many things in science and biology. He wrote books about physics, poetry, zoology, biology, politics and governments.

Alexander the Great Born in 356 B.C. in Pella, Macedonia, Alex, who was the son of Philip of Macedon, was an excellent general and organiser. He was called 'the Great' because he conquered more lands than anyone before him and became the overall ruler of Greece.

myth An ancient story, usually about gods and magical events.

legend A story which may not be true, usually about a hero.

Olympic Games

The festival held in honour of Zeus at Olympia in southern Greece.

philosophy

A way of thinking about the world, the universe, and society.

stadium A special place where the Greeks held athletic contests and chariot races.

Spartans The Spartans believed that strict discipline and a tough upbringing was the secret to making the best soldiers.

Zeus

The supreme god of the Olympians, Zeus, was the father of Perseus and Heracles.

Theatre – the Ancient Greeks invented the idea of written drama performed by actors. Democracy - modern democracies learned from the ideas first formed in Athens. Alphabet - the way we write and speak also comes partly from ancient Greece. The Greek alphabet was the first to have symbols for each vowel and consonant sound. Modern alphabets came from this idea.

The Olympic Games - the very first Olympics took place in 776BC. Events at the Greek’s Olympics included wrestling, boxing, the long jump, javelin, discus and chariot racing.