Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

1500

1000

500

0500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

4000

BC AD

1666: The Great Fire of London

55 BC - 400 AD: Roman Britain

3500

2000

790-1060s:

The Viking Age

3100 BC – 1069 BC: Ancient Egypt

When and where was ancient Greece?

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

1000 BC – 323 BC: Ancient Greece

When and where was ancient Greece?

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

Greece is a country in Europe. Click on the map to have a closer look.

Greece

In Greece, would it be easier to travel by sea or by land?

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

What do these pictures tell us

about the landscape and the climate of

Greece?

Where were Athens and Sparta?

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

Athens was a city state by the sea. The people of Athens were well educated and liked to trade with other cities and countries.

Sparta was an inland city state. They had a large powerful army. They were suspicious of outsiders and didn’t like to trade.

Match the phrases to the correct city

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

Athens SpartaVisitors are welcomeNo visitors please

Our king makes all the decisions

Our citizens vote on laws and decisions

We educate our children in schools

Our children learn to be soldiers

Reading is important

We like to trade

Trade is not allowed

No books here

What made ancient Greek fighters so powerful?

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

Helmet with face guard and plume

Wooden circular shieldBronze

chest armour

Greaves (leg

armour)

Long spear

Greek warriors were known as hoplites. They fought in groups called phalanxes.

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

Rowers below deck

Group of hoplites

Bronze battering

ram

Three rows of oars

Sail

Greek warships were known as triremes. The name trireme means ‘a ship with three rows of oars’.

Long slim hull for speed

What made ancient Greek fighters so powerful?

Was the battle of Marathon a great victory for the ancient Greeks?

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

Yes, it was a great victory for us. Even though the Persian army was

much bigger than ours, we managed to stop them from

invading our cityWe won the battle because we were better organised than the Persians.

Our soldiers stuck together and stayed in formation. The Persian soldiers panicked and ran in all

directions.

Sparta refused to help us, but winning this battle gave us

confidence that we can defend ourselves without help from Sparta

or anyone else.

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

Was the battle of Marathon a great victory for the ancient Greeks?

After the Athenian army had defeated the Persians at the battle of Marathon they sent a runner to Athens to tell the people that they had won, and that their city was safe.

The distance from Marathon to Athens was just over 26 miles.

The runner managed to get back to Athens in 3 hours, but when he got there, he was so exhausted from the run that he only just managed to give the message to the people of Athens, and then he died.

This is remembered nowadays in the term ‘Marathon’, meaning a 26 mile run.

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

Who did the ancient Greeks worship and why?

The ancient Greeks built many temples for the different gods they believed in. Look at the pictures. What do these buildings tell us about how the Greeks felt about their gods?

Who did the ancient Greeks worship and why?

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

Aphrodite Goddess of beauty and love.

Apollo God of the sun.

Ares God of war.

Artemis Goddess of hunting and the moon.

Athena Goddess of wisdom.

Demeter Goddess of agriculture.

Hades God of the dead and the underworld.

Hephaestus God of fire.

Hera Goddess of marriage and the family.

Hermes Messenger of the gods.

Poseidon God of the sea.

Zeus King of the gods.

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

What happened at the theatre?

The theatre was an important part of ancient Greek life.

Plays were performed which told stories of the lives of the gods, or of the adventures of Greek heroes.

There were also comedies and tragedies.

Here are some examples of the masks worn by ancient Greek actors:

Here is a picture of an ancient Greek theatre

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks?

seating

stage

backstagearea

Why do you think the theatres were built in this shape?