2. Introduction

Ancient Greece was a civilization surround by
the Mediterranean Sea. It lasted 2,000 BC to 146
BC. Greece is interesting to study because of the
food, structure of society, writing, language and
many legacies that we still use today.

3. Structure of Society

In ancient Greece men and woman lived very different lives. Greek men lived
much better lives than women, foreigners and slaves. Men could take part in
any activity in society and held more power. Only when it was a religious
festival were women allowed to have a greater part in society. Even children
lived differently. In Athens parents thought boys were more useful than girls
so boys went to school and learned a lot more knowledge than girls. Only men
could own property and one day the son would get his father’s land. On the
other hand, girls couldn’t go to school. Instead, they stayed at home and
learned how to cook, write, weave and clean. In Sparta, when boys were 7
years old they needed to go to practice being in the army and girls went to
school to learn how to be fit and strong. In Greece, Athens and Sparta were
very different places to live. Athens was focused on knowledge and Sparta
was focused on defense and warfare. Sparta was also ruled by two kings and
Athens was ruled by democracy. As you can see, in Greek society people lived
very different lives, depending on whether they were male or female, or
Athenian or Spartan.

4. Writing &
Language

The first Greeks who read and write were the Mycenaeans. They used
writing and picture signs. 600 years later, the Greek merchants recorded
an alphabet from the Phoenicians and took it to Greece. Then they bought
papyrus from Egyptian merchants, which improved their writing. In
Greece there were many great writers, such as Homer, Plato and
Herodotus. They wrote great stories, poetry, plays and speeches about
philosophy. However, the ancient Greeks did not print and wrote only a
few copies of each work. This meant that most of the Greek people
couldn’t read the great books from these writers. Greeks learned the
myths and stories through story-telling and theatre. Therefore, the Greeks
were the first civilization to record an alphabet and their writers are still
famous today.

5. Food

The ancient Greeks ate many different types of food. For example, they ate fish,
lentils, radishes, celery, beans, cheese, cake and fruits. They also enjoyed eating
fish, which was caught in the Mediterranean Sea. The second-class citizens and
slaves ate bread for meals and only ate meat at special festivals. The Greeks
harvested their food by farming or fishing. When they caught fish, they used
rods and lines for tools and farmers grew vegetable like beans, peas, lentils,
cabbages, cucumber, lettuces, leeks, onion, garlic and nuts. They also grew fruit
like apples, pears, olives, grapes, dates and fig. The ancient Greeks ate meat
from sheep, pigs, bird and fish. The soil in Greece is dry and rocky so they
needed hardy crops like olives. Many other meats and vegetables were traded
from other civilizations. The Greeks drank wine and cooked their vegetables in
savoury sauces or sweetened them with honey. Therefore, the Greeks had a
varied diet of meat and vegetables, similar to the modern Mediterranean food
today.

6. Legacies

In ancient Greece, there were many ideas that we still use in modern life.
For example, the Greeks held the first Olympics in 776BC to honor the
gods. Winners were given olive wreaths for their heads. The ancient
games included many events that we still have today, except women were
not allowed to be part of it. Democracy began in Athens so that people
could vote for their own government. Only Athenian men, aged over 18
were allowed to vote. Pericles was a great democratic leader. Many
countries, such as the U.S.A, Japan and South Korea still use democracy
today. Columns are another great legacy. In ancient times, columns were
used to hold up the roof. There were three kinds of columns: Doric, Ionic
and Corinthian. Even today, many important buildings have columns,
such as the white house, libraries or museums. The Greeks also made
many discoveries in mathematics, science, medicine and philosophy. We
still study their ideas and their architecture and government system can be
seen around the world.

7. Conclusion

In conclusion, the ancient Greeks left many great ideas
that we still use in modern life today, such as
democracy and mathematical discoveries. It is
interesting to learn about the writing & language, food
and roles in society of these ancient people.

8. Reference list
Author
Pat Taylor
Date
 title
John Malam 1998 Ancient Greeks
1998 The Ancient Greeks
Anne Pearson 1992 What do we know about Greeks?
Love Rance - 1992 Ancient Greece
and Wood
Martin Forrest 1992 Ancient Greece
Date Accessed Website
25/10/12 www.bbc.uk/school/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks