Tools of The

AncienTGreeks

Kris Bordessa

A Kid’s Guide to the History & Science of Life in Ancient Greece

Buildinventions, monuments, and works of art

Meetthe people whose ideas changed the world

Learnhow the discoveries of ancient Greece affect us today

Explore the history of Greek civilization with hands-on activities

15Hands-OnActivities

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Nomad PressA division of Nomad Communications

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Copyright © 2006 by Nomad Press

All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher,

except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. The trademark “Nomad Press” and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc. Printed in the United States.

ISBN: 0-9785037-1-6Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to

Independent Publishers Group814 N. Franklin St.Chicago, IL 60610

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Nomad Press2456 Christian St.

White River Junction, VT 05001www.nomadpress.net

Other titles in the Tools of Discovery series:

Tools of Navigation: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Science of Finding Your Way

by Rachel Dickinson

Tools of Timekeeping: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Science of Telling Time

by Linda Formichelli and W. Eric Martin

Tools of the Ancient Romans: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Science of Life in Ancient Rome

by Rachel Dickinson

Tools of Native Americans: A Kid’s Guide to the History and Culture of the First Americans

by Kim Kavin

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ContentsIntroduction .......................................................................... 1

Chapter 1: Ancient Greece and the Beginnings of Democracy ... 3

Chapter 2: Farming, Trade, and the Greek Way of Life ............ 19

Chapter 3: The Arts of the Ancient Greeks .............................. 37

Chapter 4: Greek Gods ......................................................... 55

Chapter 5: Sports and the Olympics ...................................... 69

Chapter 6: Philosophy .......................................................... 79

Chapter 7: Architecture ........................................................ 87

Chapter 8: Science, Math, and Medicine .............................. 101

Chapter 9: Mapping the World and the Stars ....................... 117

Chapter 10: Warfare in Ancient Greece ................................ 129

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hen we look at the modern world and try to figure out why we

live the way we do, we find ourselves turning again and again to a

small nation in the Mediterranean Sea,

and to events that took place there more than

2,000 years ago.

Much of the world around us has

been heavily influenced by people

we now call ancient Greeks. If you

find that hard to believe, just

look to the sky. Our constel-

lations go by names like Orion, Cassiopeia, Andromeda,

and Perseus. Those names come directly from ancient

Greek mythology. Even one of America’s space programs

was named for the Greek god, Apollo.

Some American cities sport Greek names—Athens, Geor-

gia, is one and Homer, Alaska, is another. Some of our most

famous buildings feature sweeping colonnades and imposing

INTRODUCTION

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columns—elements that were prominent in ancient Greek architecture.

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is just one example:

it was modeled after the Greek Parthenon.

From our democratic society to our theater, and from our ar-

chitecture to our names for constellations, ancient Greek cul-

ture has influenced our lives today. When we measure, map,

and mold the world, we use tools that were invented

by the ancient Greeks. Even when we do something

simple like argue or run a race, we have the ancient

Greeks to thank for showing us how to do it best.

Tools of the Ancient Greeks will take you through

the intellectual triumphs and mechanical creations of

this long-gone, but not-forgotten civilization and show

how their world has influenced ours. Biology, astronomy,

athletics, democracy, logic, and reason—the Greeks laid the

groundwork in nearly every field of learning you can imag-

ine. With this book you can follow in their footsteps.

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Tools of the Ancient Greeks

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hen we talk about ancient Greece, we are referring to the time

period from about 800 BCE to 31 BCE. Those 800 years in an-

cient Greece produced some amazing ideas, inventions, dis-

coveries, and beliefs, many of which we use in our daily lives

today. But before we focus solely on

those clever Greeks, let’s take a quick

look at how ancient Greece evolved.

The First GreeksSituated on the Aegean Sea, ancient

Greece is considered part of the Ae-

gean world. The Aegean world in-

cludes all of the civilizations in this

area. The Minoans were the first great

civilization in the Aegean world.

They lived a peaceful existence on

the island of Crete, near mainland

Greece. Although much information

Ancient Greeceand the Beginnings of Democracy

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CHAPTER

1Learn the names and stories of

the ancient Greek populations

Explore ancient Greek philosophy and inventions

Compare the ancient Greek gov-ernment and way of life to your own

BCE? CE?As you read, you will notice dates with the

letters BCE. This stands for Before Common

Era. The beginning of the Common Era is

marked by the birth of Jesus and begins

with the year 1 followed by the letters CE.

Events that occurred prior to the first year

of the Common Era are classified as Before

Common Era. The years BCE may seem back-

ward, because as time passes, the years actu-

ally become smaller in number. A child born

in 300 BCE, for instance, would celebrate his

or her 10th birthday in the year 290 BCE.

Think of it as a countdown to Common Era.

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