Legacies of Ancient

Greece

Legacies of Ancient

Greece

A legacy is something that is

handed down through time.

These can be ways of doing things or

simply ideas.

The ancient Greeks developed many

ideas and ways of doing things that we

still use today.

Let’s explore some of their most important legacies!

DemocracyDemocracy

The word democracy comes from the Greek

word démokratia (Démos = the people,

Kratos = power, force) so thAT means

“power of the people."

Democracy was started in AthensBy Pericles

Only adult male citizens of Athens

could vote. But this was the first time in

history that the citizens of an area ran their own government.

Democracy

Athens developed the first democracy

Greek word meaning “power of the

people”

A government where the people have the right to make decisions about leaders and

laws

The U.S. government is based on Athenian

democracy.

TheatreTheatre

Theatre in ancient Greece

developed due to the worship of

the god Dionysus.

Dionysus was the

Greek god of wine

and pleasure

Greek theatre was especially important

because of the development of the tragedy and

the comedy.

Greek tragedy is a play that deals with

tragic events and has an unhappy ending,

especially concerning the downfall of the

main character.

Comedy is A play characterized by its

humor, showing amusing people or events in which the

main character ultimately triumphs

over adversity.

Trial by Jury

Trial by Jury

Trial by jury began in

ancient Greece in the polis of

Athens.

Here is how the system worked:

• There were 201 - 501 people on each jury.

• They would listen to the defendant and the accuser give a speech.

• They would then vote on guilt or innocence.

• Both sides would give a speech on what the punishment should be and the jury would vote

again to decide which to choose.

OlympicsOlympics

Once every four years, men in Greece would

travel to Olympia to compete for

their polis in the Olympic games.

The Greeks would compete in events such as running,

wrestling, javelin, discus, and jumping.

These games were held in honor of the Greek’s chief god Zeus and his

wife Hera.

The Olympics always went on in ancient Greece no matter what. Wars were

even stopped so the games could be played!

architecturearchitecture

The Greeks were excellent builders and are known for

their architecture, especially their use of columns.

There were three main types of columns used by the Greeks and they are still used today.

Doric columns have tall thick shafts with a very plain

top or capital

Ionic columns have a slightly decorated

capital with tall, slim shafts.

Corinthian columns have highly decorated capitals. These can be with leaves or

other designs.

One of their greatest

architectural achievements

was the Parthenon.

mathematics

mathematics

The Greeks were also interested in math. They

developed the first universities in the world and

math was part of their studies.

A well known Greek

mathematician was

Pythagoras.

He is credited with proving the

Pythagorean theorem which is used in geometry

today.This theory proves that the long

side of a right triangle (when squared) is equal to the sum of

the other two sides (squared). It is written as follows: AA22 + B + B22 = =

CC22

philosophyphilosophy

The ancient Greeks believed in wisdom. They

had many great Philosophers, (people

who discussed, debated, and studied wisdom). The word philosophy comes

from the Greek term meaning "the love of

wisdom”. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were three

of the greatest philosophers of ancient

Greece.

A group of Greek intellectuals were known as the “Sophists.” Sophos is a word in ancient Greek that

means wise. Today the term sophisticated refers to a

person who is cultured and educated. We get that word

from the sophists.

mythologymythology

The word myth comes from the

Greek word “muthos” meaning a fable or a word.

The ancient Greeks were polytheistic. This means

they believed in many gods. Writers and artists use the

stories and symbols of Greek myths to this day.

While we no longer view the myths as religion, many

people still enjoy reading them.

Myths are traditional stories. The Greeks used myths to explain things they did not understand. At first, myths

were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. Later, Greek poets created epic stories

based on those legends. An epic is a long poem about

great heroes and their deeds.

The Greek gods lived atop Mount

Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. Zeus was the head of

the family of gods. He ruled the

sky with his powerful

thunderbolt.

One of his brothers, Poseidon, ruled the sea; another brother, Hades, ruled the “underworld.”

The Legacies of Ancient Greece

The Legacies of Ancient Greece

architecturearchitecture

philosophyphilosophy

OlympicsOlympics

epicsepics

Greekmythology

Greekmythology

tragedycomedytragedycomedy

trial by jury

trial by jury

democracydemocracyscientificmethod

scientificmethod

SocraticMethod

SocraticMethod

theatertheater

classificationclassification

marathonmarathon

HippocraticOath

HippocraticOath

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