GREEK LITERATURE

GEOGRAPHYOf GREECE

GREECE, ATHENS

The cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of Greece.

According to Ancient and Heraldic traditions much symbolism is associated with colors. The colors on the Greek flag represent the following:

White - peace and honesty and the White colour of the Greek waves

Blue - vigilance, truth and loyalty, perseverance & justice and the blue of the Greek Sea

Location:

Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey

Land Size of Greece : 130,800 sq km

Climate / Weather of Greece : temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers

Greek Population

: 11,304,000

Greek Capital City: Athens

EVERYDAY LIFE in GREECEMEN

WOMEN

Men if they were not training in military, or discussing politics went to the Theatre for entertainment. To watch dramas that they could relate to, including tragedies and comedies.

Lives of Women in Ancient Greece were closely tied to domestic work, spinning, weaving and other domestic duties. They were not involved in public life or in politics.

SOCIETY in GREECEIn Ancient Rome, there were 3 divided groups:

UPPER CLASS

A member of the upper class must be free from economic tasks such as trading. He must get slaves or others to attend to his material concerns such as his property and fortune.

To be a member of the upper class in Athens you must be a citizen, and you can not have a job.

SOCIETY in GREECEMIDDLE CLASS

They were mostly professional men: merchants, contractors, manufacturers, manager, craftsmen and artists.

The middle class in Athens had a large number of non citizens. The non citizens were forbidden to own land, or marry into a family of a citizen.

SOCIETY in GREECELOWER CLASS

The lower class was partly made up of freedmen, Who at one time in their lives had been slaves. The slave may be freed by his or her ransom being paid off by a relative or friend. If a slave fights in a war there is a chance that he will be released. Or if a slave was bought in order to tutor a child through school, upon the child’s graduation, it’s more likely that the slave will be set free.

TRADITIONS IN GREECEWEDDINGS

Weddings in ancient Greece were a major part of a person's life, especially for the bride-to-be. Their marriage symbolized: LOVE, MUTUAL, RESPECT, EQUALITY and SACRIFICE.

The marriage symbolized:•love•mutual respect•equality•and sacrifice

The marriage symbolized:•love•mutual respect•equality•and sacrifice

The marriage symbolized:•love•mutual respect•equality•and sacrifice

The wedding consist of three parts:1. PRE-WEDDING CEREMONIES One of the pre-wedding ceremonies was the feast. Feast was held at the bride's father's home the day before the wedding took place. After the feast, the bride-to-be made childhood sacrifices, since she would be a child no longer.

TRADITIONS IN GREECEAnother pre-wedding ceremony was the bath. This event took place the morning of the wedding day.

2. WEDDING The actual wedding started off with the Betrothal, or the Engyésis. This was an oral petition that literally means 'the giving of a pledge into the hand.' It is a pact between the suitor and the father of the bride.

3. POST – WEDDING CEREMONIESAnother important part of the wedding ceremony was the journey home. This departure was very painful for the bride. According to Powers, the groom grabbed her wrists while she said her farewells. This was the time that the father 'gave' his daughter to the husband.

TRADITIONS IN GREECEOther Traditional Festivities:

BAPTISM

The baby doesn’t have a name until it is baptized.The baby is undressed and wrapped in a white towel. Then the priest blesses the water of the baptismal font and adds olive oil brought by the godparents. He then immerses the baby three times in the blessed water, saying the chosen name. Then, the baby is dressed with white clothes and the priest puts a gold chain with a cross on the baby’s neck and gives the baby its 1st Holy Communion.

TRADITIONS IN GREECE CARNIVAL

In Greece, Carnival is called “Apokries”; it consists of two weeks of feast, beginning from the Sunday of Meat Fare and ends with the start of Lent, “Clean Monday”.

The most famous Carnival parade takes place in the city of Parta, where everybody dances and drinks all night and day. This custom is believed to come from paganism, and more precisely from the old festivities worshipping Dionysus, the god of wine and feast.

Everyone is costumed and parties in the streets and bars, throwing coloured confetti to each other.

TRADITIONS IN GREECEGREEK TRADITIONAL SUPERSTITIONS:

o BREAD- is considered as a gift of God; old women bless the bread and make the sign of the cross with a knife before slicing it.

o KNIVES – Greeks never hand knives to someone who asks for it for they consider that if they do that they will have a fight with the person.

TRADITIONS IN GREECEo SPITTING – Greeks believe that spitting chases the devil and the misfortune way. That is why when someone talk about bad news, the others slightly spit three times. o “ Piase Kokkino” (Touch Red) – When two people say the same thing together they immediately say “Piase Kokkino” one another and both have to touch any red item they can find around him. Because if they don’t touch a red thing, the two persons will get into fight.

FOODS

TRADITIONS IN GREECE

• LAMB MEAT - is widely used in the preparation of Greek foods, especially during the religious festivals.

• FISH - was the main source of protein in the Greek diet.

• PORK AND BEEF MEAT -Beef was very expensive, so it was rarely eaten.

TRADITIONS IN GREECE FOODS

The Greek diet was very healthy. Food in Ancient Greece was consisted of wheat, barley, fruits, vegetables and cake.

They grew olives, grapes, figs and wheat and kept goats, for milk and cheese. They ate lots of bread, beans and olives.

TRADITIONS IN GREECE•WINE - was the main drink in ancient Greece.

Making wine was done by treading and kept in jars to ferment.

RELIGION

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Interesting Fact: The Greeks believed the gods and goddesses had human qualities.

Religion was important to the ancient Greeks because they believed that it would make their lives better while they were living. They also believed the gods would take care of them when they died.

The Ancient Greeks believed in many different gods and goddesses. The Greeks believed that these

gods and goddesses controlled everything in their lives and the environment. There was a god in every aspect of their lives. It was very important to pleased the gods; happy gods helped you, but unhappy gods punished you.

TEMPLES The Greeks, to show the gods how important they were, built temples in every town for one god or goddess. The temples were not like modern places of worship, for ordinary people to pray in.

They were homes for statues of gods, which were cared for by priests.

PRIEST Priests were important people in the community.

They were believed to have the power to talk to the gods and so were respected and trusted.

A priest main job was to look after the temples and the visitors to the temples.

EDUCATION

EDUCATION in Ancient GreeceThe way children were educated was different in each city state.

In Sparta, reading and writing was unimportant. Boys learned to be good fighters.

In Athens, citizens had to be educated to take part in voting in the Assembly. Athenian boys also went to 'wrestling school' each day, to learn many sports, not just wrestling. They had to be fit, to fight in the army.

SchoolsGreek schools were small. They had only one teacher and about ten or twenty boys. The schools were not free and so only the rich could really afford to send their children to school.

They don’t need much of school equipments, as they had learn everything off by heart.

They used a wooden pen called a stylus with a sharp end for writing and a flat end for 'rubbing out'.

ATHENS : EDUCATION In ancient Athens, the purpose of

education was to produce citizensTrained in the arts, and to prepare citizens for both peace and war.

Until age 6 or so, boys were taught at home by their mother or by a male slave.

Books were very expensive and rare, so subjects were read out-loud, and the boys had to memorize everything. To help them learn, they used writing tablets and rulers.

Their In primary school, they had

to learn two important things – the words of Homer and how to play lyre.

Their teacher, who was always a man, could choose what additional subjects he wanted to teach. He might to teach drama, public speaking, government, art, writing, math, and how to play another ancient Greek instrument – flute.

Following that, boys attended a higher school for four more years. When they turned 18, they entered military school for two additional years. At age 20, they graduated.

Girls – were not allowed to go to school. They were educated in housekeeping and how to look after the family.

SPARTA : EDUCATIONIn Ancient Sparta, the purpose of education was to produce a well-drilled, well-disciplined marching army.

Spartans believe in a life of discipline, self-denial, and simplicity. They were very loyal to the state of Sparta. Every Spartan, male or female, was required to have a perfect body.

When babies were born in ancient Sparta, Spartan soldiers would come by the house and check the baby. If the baby did not appear healthy and strong, the infant was taken away, and left to die on a hillside, or taken to be trained as a slave (a helot).

Spartan Boys : Spartan boys were sent to military school at age 6 or 7. They lived, trained and slept in the barracks of their brotherhood. They were taught survival skills and other skills necessary to be a great soldier..

WHAT DO THEY SPOKE?These are the five main dialects of ancient Greek that have been found on inscriptions:

Attic-Ionic Greek

Achaean

Aeolic

Doric

Northwest Greek

IMPORTANT AUTHORS

His main work is The Elements which is still used as a textbook in mathematics.

EUCLID

PLATO

The most famous works The Republic and Symposium.

Aristophanes He was a playwright

who wrote comedies.

His notable plays, The Wasps and Lysistrata.

EURIPIDES Was a Greek tragedian.

His most known works are Alcestis, Medea and The Bacchus.

HOMER

Homer is best known for the two epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.