LibGuides: BPS Topic Resources: Year 5 : The Greeks*

The Ancient Greeks - an introduction

The area that is now Greece was home to the first civilizations in Europe. Ancient Greece had powerful cities, great thinkers called philosophers, and fine art. The idea of democracy—rule by the people—also came from ancient Greece.

The story of ancient Greece began between 1900 and 1600 bc. At that time the Greeks—or Hellenes, as they called themselves—were simple nomadic herdsmen. Their language shows that they were a branch of the Indo-European-speaking peoples. They came from the grasslands east of the Caspian Sea, driving their flocks and herds before them. They entered the peninsula from the north, one small group after another.

For more information on Ancient Greece, click on the link below.

"Ancient Greece." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2015. Web. 21 Sep. 2015. <http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/274648>.

Famous Ancient Greeks

Plato (428–348 bc) - Philosopher Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher. He is regarded as one of the world’s greatest thinkers.
Socrates (470–399 bc) - Philosopher Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher. He is respected as a brilliant thinker and teacher with a great thirst for knowledge.
Aristotle (384–322 bc) - Philosopher The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was one of the greatest thinkers of all time. His writings make up practically an encyclopedia of ancient Greek knowledge. Aristotle’s work influenced almost every area of modern thought.
Phidias (490–430 bc) - artist/sculptor The Athenian sculptor Phidias, who directed the building of the Parthenon and the statues of the gods, initiated the Greek classical style of art. He alone, it was said, had seen the gods and made them visible to others.
Herodotus (484–425 bc) - Historian Called the father of history, Herodotus was one of the most widely traveled people of his time. His writings show his interest in both history and geography.
Archimedes (287–212 bc) - Mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor and astronomer The first scientist to recognize and use the power of the lever was Archimedes. This gifted Greek mathematician and inventor once said, “Give me a place to stand and rest my lever on, and I can move the Earth.”
Pythagorus (580 bc–500 bc) - Mathematician The man who played a crucial role in formulating principles that influenced Plato and Aristotle was the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras.
Pericles(495?–429 bc) - Athenian Statesman The “glory that was Greece” reached its height in the 5th century bc, in Athens, under the leadership of the statesman Pericles. He opened Athenian democracy to the ordinary citizen, he built the magnificent temples and statues on the Acropolis, and he created the Athenian empire.
Alexander the Great (356–323 bc) - King of Macedonia More than any other world conqueror, Alexander III of Macedon, or ancient Macedonia, deserves to be called the Great. Although he died before the age of 33, he conquered an enormous empire—from Macedonia to Egypt and from Greece to part of India—and gave a new direction to history.
Homer (900 - 800 BC) - Poet Presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Although these two great epic poems of ancient Greece have always been attributed to the shadowy figure of Homer, little is known of him beyond the fact that his was the name attached in antiquity by the Greeks themselves to the poems.

Ancient Greece - Books

We have a variety of books on Ancient Greece in the library. Check out these locations for more info:

Ancient Greek history: EN 930 - 938 (history)

Ancient Greek Olympics: EN 796 (sports)

Ancient Greek art: EN 709 (art)

Greek myths: EN 398.2 (myths, legends, folktales)

To access the library catalogue click HERE!

Ancient Greek Culture by Henry Bensinger
Call Number: EN 938 BEN
ISBN: 9781477707692
Publication Date: 2013-07-15
Ancient Greek Daily Life by Henry Bensinger
Call Number: EN 938 BEN
ISBN: 9781477707722
Publication Date: 2013-07-15
Ancient Greek Government by Henry Bensinger
Call Number: EN 938 BEN
ISBN: 9781477707708
Publication Date: 2013-07-15
Discover Ancient Greece by Kim A. O'Connell
Call Number: EN 938 OCO
ISBN: 9780766041967
Publication Date: 2014-01-01

A day in the life of an ancient Athenian

Map of Ancient Greece

Greece, ancient

Ancient Greece was made up of many regions and cities.

Greece, ancient. Map/Still. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 21 Sep. 2015. <http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/353213/media?assemblyId=163827>.

Ancient Greek City-States

City States At the dawn of Western civilization, in the Tigris-Euphrates river valley of the Middle East, there arose more than a dozen self-governing communities called city-states. These societies were the first attempts of people to create independent political structures for themselves.
Athens Athens, historic city and capital of Greece. Many of Classical civilization’s intellectual and artistic ideas originated there, and the city is generally considered to be the birthplace of Western civilization.
Sparta In ancient Greece, the great rival of Athens was Sparta. The city-state and its surrounding territory were located on the Peloponnesus, a peninsula southwest of Athens. Sparta (also called Lacedaemon) was the capital of the district of Laconia.
Corinth On a site occupied since Neolithic times—well before 3000 bc—stands Corinth. No other city in ancient Greece held so commanding a position. Its location on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow strip of land that separates the Peloponnesus from northern Greece, allowed it to control the traffic between north and south.
Thebes At one time the “seven-gated city of Thebes” was the seat of one of the oldest and greatest powers of Greece.
Thessaloníki Thessalonica was founded in 315 bc by Cassander, who named it after his wife, a sister of Alexander the Great.

Videos

Horrible Histories - Groovy Greeks (MEDIA DRIVE)
For access to this video, please contact the Library.
Everyday Life In Ancient Greece

BPS Topic Resources: Year 5 : The Greeks*