Daily Life in Ancient Greece By Isabel

Introduction

Ancient Greece dates back to Stone Age hunters.

After the Stone Age came the Dark Age.

Ancient Greece consisted of many different stages. The Neolithic Period lasted from 6000-2900 B.C.. The Early Bronze Age went from 2900-2000 B.C.. Another time period for Ancient Greece was the Minoan Age, which lasted from 2000-1400 B.C..

From 500-338 B.C., Ancient Greece was divided into city-states, which were cities usually surrounded by countryside.

Social Structure

Slaves were not considered citizens. They were mixed in with people from foreign countries and people that were only legally allowed to live in the country.

Slaves owned by the city-state were trained to notice counterfeit money, and also to work as a police force.

• Men who owned land, and were native born were entitled to full citizenship.

• A slave had no power. They could have a family, but had no rights to any involvement in political government.

• Most families had many slaves as servants, and even poor families had a few slaves.

Social Structure Pyramid

Gods/Goddesses

Slaves and Immigrants

Women and Children

Men from the Country (The Assembly)

The Council

The Jury

Marri ge

Marriages in Ancient Greece were arranged by the mother and father of the intended bride and groom.

Girls married between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, and men usually married at around the age of twenty, but some even married at age thirty.

A priest did not run the wedding, but a set of rituals were performed, and for the couple to be officially married, a child had to be conceived.

Divorce was easily arranged. If the wife could not give birth, or if she will not perform adultery, the marriage will end.

Family Life Usually, there were more than just the wife and kids living in

the groom’s house. Sometimes his parents would live with him, and each family had a couple of slaves that lived in their house.

A wealthy woman would never leave the house alone, and would usually go to only weddings or funerals. Poorer women without slaves would normally go out to get water.

If there was a divorce in the family, the children would live with their father, where they would learn how work the farm, or whatever the family business was.

Childbirth In some cities, the babies

would be wrapped up in clothes to ensure that they would have strong limbs.

• Most babies died in the first couple of days that they were born, and most babies were not given names until the were about a week old.

• If a baby was deformed, then it would most likely be left to die on a mountain. More female babies were abandoned than male babies.

• Some abandoned babies were brought up as slaves.

Childhood

In Sparta, children spent most of their time with their mother. Girls would receive their schooling from their mother. The boys, however, learned mostly from their fathers, or they would go to school at the age of seven.

In Sparta, boys were raised away from their families as well. They were taken to barracks, and raised to be in the military. They were not allowed out until they were about thirty years old.

Many toys that are similar to today’s were found then too. Dolls, rattles, tops, and swings are just a few of the things that have been discovered.

Schooling

In Sparta, girls did not go to school, but they were allowed to participate in wrestling and gymnastics. In Athens, girls stayed at home with their mothers, and learned how to clean.

Schooling mainly focused on raising strong soldiers. Teachers didn’t care about math and writing, because it wasn’t used often in latter years.

In Athens, boys went to school at age seven, and were taught how to become wise men, not just soldiers.

They learned reading and writing, physical training, and music. They would also learn how to write plays.

Housing Most houses were planned

around a courtyard, with high walls and a gate in the front.

• Men and women lived in different parts of the house.

• Most houses were built out of stone or clay. Roves were covered in tiles or reed. Houses usually had one or two stories.

• Richer houses had a kitchen, a room for bathing, an eating area for the men, and a sitting area for the women.

Food

Ancient Greeks mostly ate food the could be easily grown in the rocky terrain. Breakfast consisted of bread dipped in wine. Lunch was made up of bread dipped in wine, figs, olives, dried fish or cheese.

Dinner was the most important meal of the day in Ancient Greece. It was eaten at sunset and usually consisted of fish, fruits and vegetables, and sometimes honey cakes.

Fish was the main source of protein, as beef cost a lot of money. Wine was the drink that people usually had. The wine was usually watered down, because drinking it straight out was considered barbaric.

The Greek did not have utensils, so they would usually eat with their hands. Bread was used as a napkin, and after it was used, it would be thrown to dogs or slaves to eat. (Better than eating a napkin!)

Religion: Gods and Goddesses

Zeus

Hera

Poseidon

Ares

Hermes

Hades

Hephaestus

Aphrodite

Athena

Apollo

Artemis

Demeter

People believed in twelve main gods. Their names are:

Religion

Ancient Greeks thought that all the gods were responsible for different things. For example, they thought that Zeus was responsible for thunder and lightning, that Poseidon was responsible for the water, and that Hades was responsible for the underworld.

• Religious practices extended outside the mainland. Ionia and coasts just south of Italy also practiced Greek religion.

• Ancient Greeks believed that there was an underworld where spirits went after death.

• The Greeks thought that they had to sacrifice an animal at the altar when they prayed.

CelebratIons

There were festivals that were held for a few important god that they believed in. These gods were Apollo, Athena, Dionysus, Poseidon, Zeus.

People danced at the festivals, and they we even know the names of some of these dances. When they thought that the youths had been freed from the Minotaur by Theseus, the Ancient Greeks danced the Crane Dance.

Athletic contests were also very common in festivals. Statues would be cleaned and new robes would be put on them. Banquets would be held, and women would weave and create art.

Death

The Ancient Greeks thought that the spirit of a dead person was carried away on a gust of wind.

Relatives of the deceased, mostly women, would prepare the body for the ceremony. The body would be smeared with oil, the body would be dressed and put on a bed in the house. Afterwards, relatives would come and mourn over the body and pay their respects.

Lastly, the dead body would be buried with a few of their belongings, and they would usually have a gravestone put up above where they were buried.

Art

Lots of statues in the “golden age” were shown moving and doing something, like the one below.

• There were three different types of architectural orders. These orders were Doric, which is very plain, Ionic, the thin and elegant style, and Corinthian, which is very elaborate, and included leaves in most designs.

• Most sculptures were created naked or wearing a toga.

Music

Music was used in weddings, funerals, festivals, and banquets.

Even though Ancient Greeks knew how to play many different instruments, there were three that they used most. They were the kithara, which was a string instrument that was plucked, the lyre, another string instrument, and a wind instrument with two reeds.

If you had the ability to sing while you were playing an instrument, it was considered a highly developed skill.

Most Greek men learned how to play an instrument, sing, and dance.

Fact Bibliography April 2012 - Introduction Page - http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/History/

April 2012 Social Structure Page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece

April 2012 Marrige Page - http://www.historylink102.com/greece3/marriage.htm

April 2012 Family Life Page - http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/people/family.htm

April 2012 Childbirth Page - http://www.historylink102.com/greece3/children.htm

April 2012 Childhood Page - http://www.historylink102.com/greece3/children.htm

April 2012 Schooling Page - http://library.thinkquest.org/J002606/AncientGreece.html

April 2012Housing Page - http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/greece/houses.htm

Fact Bibliography Cont.

April 2012 Food Page - http://www.historylink102.com/greece3/food.htm

April 2012 Religion: Gods and Goddesses Page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece#Religion_and_mythology

April 2012 Religion Page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_ancient_Greece

April 2012 Celebrations Page - http://www.fjkluth.com/festival.html

April 2012 Death Page - http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm

April 2012 Art Page - http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Art/

Fact Bibliography Cont.

April 2012 Art Page - http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Sculpture/

April 2012 Music Page - http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grmu/hd_grmu.htm

Image Bibliography

Title Paeg - http://www.ancientsculpturegallery.com/222.html

Introduction Page - http://www.greeka.com/greece-maps/ancient-greece-map.htm

Social Structure Page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Grabstein_einer_Frau_mit_Dienerin.jpg

Social Structure Pyramid - http://cyberchuck-video.homeip.net/wordpress/?p=3198

Marriage Page - http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/marriage/bride.gif

Family Life - http://www.womeninthebible.net/3.1.Family_Work_Religion.htm

Image Bibliography Cont.

Childbirth Page - http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/K12.27.html

Childhood Page - http://www.historywiz.com/didyouknow/spartanfamily.htm

Schooling Page - http://library.thinkquest.org/J002606/AncientGreece.html

Housing Page - http://www.meads.e-sussex.sch.uk/greek/gkhouse.htm

Food Page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_cuisine

Religion Page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_ancient_Greece

Celebrations Page - http://www.fjkluth.com/festival.html

Death Page - http://www.21stcenturycollaborative.com/2010/03/lessig-on-openness/

Image Bibliography Cont.

Art Page - http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Sculpture/

Music Page - http://www.ionio.gr/central/en/events-forthcoming/read/297/