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When was Ancient Greece?

Warriors, Gods and heroes in the setting of Ancient Greece
  • 础产辞耻迟鈥2,500 years ago Greece was one of the most important places in the ancient world.

  • The Greeks were great thinkers, warriors, writers, actors, athletes, artists, architects and politicians.

  • The name 鈥楪reeks鈥 was given to the people of Greece later by the Romans.

  • They lived in mainland Greece and the Greek islands, scattered around the Mediterranean Sea.

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How did ancient Greece begin?

  • People have been living in Greece for over 40,000 years.

  • The earliest settlers lived a simple hunter-gatherer or farming lifestyle. This is similar to Prehistoric Britain.

  • The Minoans were the first great Greek civilisation between 2200BC and 1450BC.

  • They were known as the Minoans after their famous king, Minos.

The Palace of Knossos.
Image caption,
This is the Great Palace of Knossos on the island of Crete. The Minoan civilisation grew rich on trade and they built glorious palaces decorated with beautiful wall paintings.
Artwork of a bull on a wall in Knossos Palace, Greece.
Image caption,
Artwork of a bull on a wall in Knossos Palace, Greece.
  • After the Minoans came the Mycenaean civilisation.

  • They were superb builders and traders, but they were also great soldiers.

  • They famously fought in the battle of Troy.

  • Homer, an important Greek writer, told stories of the Mycenaean age in his books The Iliad and The Odyssey.

  • After the Mycenaean age ended in about 1100BC, Greece entered a Dark Age.

  • It is called a dark age because nobody knows much about what happened - all written language and art disappeared.

Artwork of a bull on a wall in Knossos Palace, Greece.
Image caption,
Artwork of a bull on a wall in Knossos Palace, Greece.
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The first Olympic games and new discoveries

A photo of the remains of an ancient Greek gymnasium.
Image caption,
Remains of an ancient Greek gymnasium.
  • In 800BC, almost 300 years after the Dark Age began, Greek civilisation slowly developed again.

  • The Greeks started trading more with the outside world.

  • They held the first Olympic Games.

  • Around 480BC Greece entered a golden age which lasted for 200 years.

  • The people built fantastic temples, made scientific discoveries and wrote plays.

  • People had a bigger say in how their country was run (democracy).

  • Historians call this Classical Greece.

 The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis.
Image caption,
The Parthenon temple was built for the Greek goddess Athena. It sits on top of a hill called the Acropolis and looks out over the city of Athens.
  • The last period of Greek history is known as the Hellenistic period.

  • This lasted from 323BC to 30BC when the Romans conquered Greece.

  • The Romans respected the Greeks and copied many things about their culture, including their buildings, beliefs and clothes.

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How was Greece ruled?

Alexander the Great survaying hte Greek landscape.
Image caption,
Alexander the Great founded over 70 cities and created an empire that stretched across three continents, covering 2 million square miles.
  • There was never one country called 鈥榓ncient Greece鈥.

  • Greece was divided up into small city-states:

    • Athens
    • Sparta
    • Corinth
    • Olympia
  • So, ancient Greeks living in Sparta considered themselves Spartan or Athenian first, and Greek second.

  • Alexander the Great was a powerful ruler who at one time controlled all of Greece.

Alexander the Great survaying hte Greek landscape.
Image caption,
Alexander the Great founded over 70 cities and created an empire that stretched across three continents, covering 2 million square miles.
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Activities

Activity 1: Ancient Greek cities

Click on the map to find out about some of the cities of Ancient Greece.

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Activity 2: Quiz 鈥 Ancient Greece

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Game: The Argo Odyssey

Argo the dog is missing! Join Cassandra and Helenus on an adventure to find him.

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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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