G2S U4 Ancient Greece SR Web

Spartan soldier
History and Geography
Ancient Greece
Marathon runner Spartan women racing
Greek gods
Rosie McCormick
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Ancient Greece
Rosie McCormick
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Ancient Greece
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introducing Ancient Greece. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 2 Life in Ancient Athens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 3 Life in Ancient Sparta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 4 The Persian Wars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 5 Gods and Goddesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 6 The Olympic Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 7 The Great Thinkers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Chapter 8 Alexander the Great. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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CHAPTER
1 Introducing Ancient Greece
The modern country of Greece is in southeastern Europe.
Much of Greece sticks out into the Mediterranean Sea.
Greece also includes many islands.
Two and a half thousand years ago, ancient Greece was
not a single country. It was a collection of city-states.
Each city-state included a town, or small city, and nearby
farmlands. There were many city-states near the Aegean
Sea. But there were other city-states along the coast of
Asia Minor, in southern Italy, and in north Africa.
Map of Ancient Greece, 500 BCE
Thedosia
Black Sea
Ad
ria
Italy
EUROPE
tic
Sea
Mt. Olympus
Tyrrhenian
Sea Aegean
Thermopylae Sea ASIA MINOR
Athens
Peloponnesus Marathon
Sicily Ionian Sea Al-Mina
Thebes Sparta
Syracuse
Athens
Corinth
Argos Cyprus
Crete
Olympia Mediterranean Sea
Troezen
PELOPONNESUS
Sparta Apollonia
city-state
Greek colony AFRICA
0 100 miles
Greek lands 0 400 miles
es
2
Athens was one of the largest of the Greek city-states. Today
we think of Athens as the place where democracy began. We
think of it this way because it had a form of government that
allowed some people to help decide how things were done.
The men of Athens were the ones who had a say. All men who
were over eighteen years of age and who were citizens were
able to take part in what was called the Assembly. The Assembly
got to make some important decisions.

The members of the Assembly decided which laws were passed
and what taxes were raised, as well as other issues such as going
to war—or not. Before making decisions, the members of the
Assembly discussed, or debated, the issues at hand.
To reach a decision, members of the Assembly voted by holding

up their hands. As well as having the Assembly, there were ten
elected generals who were in charge of the army in Athens.
4
There were laws in Athens that said how the city-state should be
run. There were also laws that said how people should behave. If
someone did something that hurt the city-state, often the person
would have to pay a fine or face a physical punishment. Personal
disagreements were usually put before a jury, or a group of people
whose job was to decide who was in the wrong.

CHAPTER
2 Life in Ancient Athens
Athens was a busy trading city. Thousands of people lived
in Athens, and many foreigners visited to trade and work.
Often the skilled craftsmen and artisans who worked in
the city were foreigners. There were enslaved people in
Athens too. Rich families used enslaved workers to run
their households and farms.
6
Because the Athenians believed that male citizens should be
involved in the government of the city-state, they wanted young
men to have a good education. Boys were taught reading, writing,
and math, as well as how to play a stringed instrument called a
lyre. They learned poetry by heart. They also did a lot of physical
exercise and had to do two years of army training.

Women and girls in ancient Athens did not have many
rights. Women could not own property, and they could not
attend certain public events. They could not take part in
sports either. But women had a role in religious ceremonies,
and they were, of course, a very important part of family
life. Girls learned the many skills needed to run a home.
They also learned to spin thread, weave cloth, and sew.
8
CHAPTER
3 Life in Ancient Sparta
Sparta was a city-state about one hundred miles southwest
of Athens. Unlike Athens, it was not near the sea. Sparta and
Athens were, at times, enemies.
The government of Sparta included two kings, a council of
elders, and an Assembly. The kings were in charge of the
army. The Spartan Assembly could not discuss problems;
its members could only vote yes or no.

The Spartans had a very different idea of what was important.
They wanted their children to be tough. When they were seven
years old, boys were sent away from home to train to become
soldiers. Spartan boys were not allowed to wear shoes, and they
were taught to accept pain. The training included becoming part
of a group of soldiers called a phalanx. The soldiers in a phalanx
were very loyal to one another.
10
Spartans raised their young men to be soldiers, so there was
little time for writing and poetry. When Spartan boys became
teenagers, they were given half as much food to eat. This meant
they had to learn to find their own food. Spartan men had to do
twenty-three years of army training.
11

Spartan women had more rights than Athenian women. They
could own land, and some could read and write. Spartan
women learned to ride and play a musical instrument. They
also did lots of sports, such as running and gymnastics. Once
they became mothers, Spartan women were expected to raise
their sons to be brave warriors. Like the people of Athens, the
Spartans also had slaves.
12
CHAPTER
4 The Persian Wars
About 2,500 years ago, the king of Persia and his army
invaded Greece and tried to conquer it. The Persians
were from what is modern-day Iran. The Persians came
in boats across the Aegean Sea. They had many more
soldiers than the Greeks.
Two of the most important battles were the Battle of
Marathon and the Battle of Thermopylae. At the Battle
of Marathon, the Greek army was much smaller, but they
fought bravely and cleverly. The Greeks defeated the
Persians, who escaped to their boats and sailed away.
13

According to the legend, after the Battle of Marathon, a
messenger ran all the way from Marathon to Athens to bring
news of the victory. The messenger fell down and died after he
had delivered his message. The distance between Marathon and
Athens is twenty-six miles. This is the distance runners now cover
in marathon races.
14
The Persians did not stay away forever. They came back with a
mighty army to try once more to defeat the Greeks. To beat the
Persians, Athens and Sparta agreed to join together. They also
had a plan.
To get to southern Greece, the Persian army had to go through
a narrow pass along the coast at a place called Thermopylae.
Only a few Persians could go through the pass at one time. The
Greeks knew that if they could block the pass at Thermopylae,
they could slow the Persians down. And this is what they did.
15

Over three days, the Greeks killed thousands of Persians. But
then the Persians found another path through. The Greek
leader at Thermopylae was Leonidas, one of the two kings of
Sparta. When he saw it was hopeless, Leonidas told most of
the Greeks to retreat. But the soldiers from Sparta and some
others stayed with him. They fought bravely, but there were
too many Persians. All of the Greek soldiers were killed. This is
not the end of the story though. Eventually, the Greeks defeated
the Persians, who were driven out of Greece forever.
16
CHAPTER
5 Gods and Goddesses
The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses.
They believed that these gods and goddesses controlled
the world and that it was important to honor them.
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece. The
ancient Greeks believed that their gods and goddesses
lived at the top of Mount Olympus, or in the air above it.
They also believed that the gods lived there happily
drinking a delicious drink called nectar and eating a food
called ambrosia.
Let’s meet some of the most important Greek gods and
goddesses.
17

Zeus was the king of the
gods and the strongest
of them all. He controlled
Zeus
the weather. Zeus had a
terrible temper. He carried
a thunderbolt around with
him, and a bucketful of
thunderbolts sat next to
his throne on Olympus.
When he was angry, he
would throw thunderbolts
at Earth or at people who
made him mad.
Hera
Hera was the queen of
the gods. Ancient Greeks
believed she ruled over
the heavens. Hera was also
the goddess of marriage
and birth. Hera was
worshipped in all parts of
Greece, and temples were
built in her honor. Hera
could be jealous, though,
and often became angry
with Zeus.
18
Poseidon was Zeus’s brother. When Zeus became king of the
gods, Poseidon became the ruler of the sea. Poseidon had blue
eyes and long hair the color of the sea. He carried a tall, three-
pointed spear called a trident. Poseidon was important to the
Greeks because he controlled the sea and could either let them
have safe journeys or cause shipwrecks.
Poseidon
19

Hades was another
one of Zeus’s brothers.
He was the king of the
Hades
underworld, where
the Greeks believed all
people went after they
died. He was also the
god of wealth, because
precious metals and gems
come from deep inside
the earth. Hades had a
special hat that made him
invisible whenever he
put it on.
Apollo was one of the

sons of Zeus. He was the
Apollo
god of medicine and
poetry. The other gods
loved to listen to him
make beautiful music
by singing and plucking
the strings of his golden
lyre. The Greeks admired
Apollo and visited
temples built in his honor
to ask for his advice.
20
The goddess Aphrodite
was born from the foam Aphrodite
of the sea. She was the
goddess of love and
beauty, and of course
she was very beautiful.
Aphrodite had a son
named Eros. Eros helped
his mother spread the
power of love by making
people fall in love with
each other.
Eros had a bow and Eros
arrows, and when he

shot one of his arrows
into someone’s heart,
that person would fall in
love with the first person
he or she saw. Later on,
in ancient Rome, Eros
was known as Cupid.
21

Athena was another goddess
who was born in a very Athena
unusual way. One day she
jumped right out of the
head of Zeus! Athena wore
armor and a golden helmet.
She carried a special shield.
Anyone who looked at the
shield was turned to stone.
Athena was the goddess of
Greek cities, war, cleverness,
and wisdom. The city of
Athens was named for her,
and the Parthenon temple
in Athens was built to
honor her.
Hermes was one of Zeus’s
sons. He was the messenger
Hermes of Zeus and could run and
fly very quickly. Both his
hat and sandals had wings
on them, and he carried
a magic wand. Hermes
was the god of shepherds,
travelers, merchants,
and thieves. He was the
cleverest of all the gods.
22
CHAPTER
6 The Olympic Games
The Olympic Games were an important athletic
competition in ancient Greece and were held every four
years. Our modern Olympic Games are based on these
ancient games, which took place in the Greek city of
Olympia. The Olympic Games began as part of a religious
festival honoring the god Zeus.
23

At first, only local athletes took part, and there was only one
event—a footrace the length of the stadium. But as the games
grew more popular, athletes came from farther and farther
away, and more events were added. Eventually all of the Greek
city-states took part in footraces, as well as in discus and javelin
(a kind of spear) throwing. There were also competitions in
jumping, wrestling, boxing, and horse and chariot races.
24
The official prize for winning an event at the Olympics was a
wreath of olive leaves, which was placed on the head of the
victor. But the real prize was honor. A victorious athlete would
almost certainly become a hero in his native city-state.
25

CHAPTER
7 The Great Thinkers
The ancient Greeks loved learning. Part of learning is
finding new ways to look at and think about things.
Some ancient Greeks spent their lives doing this. They
shared their ideas with others, and those ideas are
still with us today. Three of the greatest thinkers of
ancient Greece were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. They
lived mostly in Athens. All three of these thinkers had
students who believed in their ideas. These students
spread what they learned far and wide.
Let’s meet these three great thinkers whose ideas and
writings are still important today.
Socrates
Plato Aristotle
26
Socrates was a stoneworker, but he was also a philosopher.
The word philosopher comes from the Greek word philosophia,
meaning “love of wisdom.” Unlike other teachers, Socrates did
not just tell his students things—he also asked lots of questions.
He wanted students to figure out answers for themselves.
If one of his students was talking about justice, Socrates would
ask him what he meant by justice. The student would try to
explain. Then Socrates would ask even more questions. Socrates
believed that by asking questions and searching for answers,
he helped people understand things more clearly.
27

Plato was one of Socrates’s students. Plato loved thinking about
the questions Socrates asked. But as well as being a great thinker,
Plato was a writer.
After Socrates died, Plato wrote down some of the conversations
Socrates had with him and with other students. But that was not
enough for Plato. Next, he tried to imagine what Socrates would
say about subjects they had not talked about. Plato wrote down
about thirty of these imaginary conversations, which people still
read today.
28
Aristotle was one of Plato’s students. Aristotle searched for
knowledge by collecting and examining insects, animals, and
plants. Aristotle believed that there is always more than one way
to explain things. For example, an animal could be understood
by what it looked like, what it was made of, how it moved, and
what it could do. Without realizing it, Aristotle was creating the
beginning of scientific research.
29

CHAPTER
8 Alexander the Great
One of Aristotle’s students became perhaps the most
famous man in the world at the time. His name was
Alexander. Alexander’s father was Philip II, the king of
Macedonia. When Alexander was about twenty years
old, his father was killed, and Alexander became king.
Alexander went on to conquer more land than anyone
had ever done before. He became richer than anyone
else. And he ruled more people than any previous king.
For these reasons, we call him Alexander the Great.
30
Alexander was a strong, intelligent king, and he was also a fearless
fighter. One of the first things he did when he became king
was to attack Greece’s old enemies, the Persians. At the time,
Alexander just had a small army, and he did not have a navy.
Alexander faced the Persian king, Darius III, in a battle and was so
fierce that the king and the Persian army fled. Alexander won a
great victory. Over time, Alexander went on to conquer all of the
Persian Empire, the largest and most powerful empire of its time.
31

Having conquered a lot of land, Alexander returned to Babylon,
a major city in Mesopotamia and the center of his new empire.
Alexander began to make plans for more projects, including
building new cities. Sadly, Alexander caught a fever and died.
He was only thirty-three years old. Alexander is among the
most brilliant military leaders the world has ever known. He
never lost a battle, and he never gave up.
32
According to a famous legend, one day Alexander and his
army arrived in a city called Gordium. In the middle of the city
there was a chariot tied up in such a way that the knot was
very difficult to undo. People said whoever could undo the
knot would rule the world.
Alexander looked at the knot but could not at first see how to
undo it. Then he had an idea. He drew out his sword and split
the knot apart. Alexander had proved himself worthy of ruling
the world! Today, when we say someone has cut “the Gordian
knot,” we mean that the person has found a clever way to solve
a problem.
33

Another story tells of Alexander’s horse, Bucephalus. As the
story goes, when Alexander was a boy, a beautiful, black horse
was brought to his father, the king. But no one, not even the
king, could ride the horse. Alexander stepped forward and
asked if he could try. It seems Alexander had noticed that
Bucephalus was afraid of his shadow. Alexander turned the
horse around to face the sun so that the horse could not see
his shadow. Then Alexander jumped onto the horse and rode
off. When Alexander grew up, he rode Bucephalus into battle.
34
CK HG™
Core Knowledge History and Geography™
Series Editor-in-Chief
E. D. Hirsch Jr.
Editorial Directors
Linda Bevilacqua and Rosie McCormick

Subject Matter Expert
Professor Michael Carter, Department of Classics, Brock University
Illustration and Photo Credits
The Acropolis and Parthenon, Payne, Roger (b.1934) / Private Collection / © Look and Learn / Bridgeman Images: 22b
The Discobolus of Myron. Greek sculpture. From The National Encyclopaedia, published c.1890. / Private Collection / Photo © Ken Welsh / Bridgeman Images: 24b

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History and Geography

Marathon runner Spartan women racing

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Core Knowledge®, Core Knowledge Curriculum Series™,

Trademarks and trade names are shown in this book

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Apollo was one of the

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arrows, and when he

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