Ancient Greece

Upon the Housetops of the People: The Roofs of the Lowly in Ancient Greece

In the days when the philosophers yet spoke in the market places, and the builders set stone upon stone in the land of Hellas, the people dwelt not in marble halls, but in houses fashioned by humble hands. And their roofs, though not adorned with gold nor sculpted like the temples of the gods, were the covering of their peace, the shelter of their ...

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Of the Wisdom and Ingenuity of the Sons of Greece

The Gifts of Knowledge Bestowed Upon the Earth In the days of old, before the rise of kingdoms and the spreading of empires, there dwelt in the land of Greece a people renowned for their wisdom and craft. The Lord endowed them with understanding of the heavens, the earth, and the secrets thereof, that they might bring forth marvels from the works o...

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Of the Foundations and Temples in the Days of Ancient Greece

The architecture of Ancient Greece stands as one of the most enduring legacies of classical civilization, embodying ideals of beauty, proportion, and function. From temples to theaters, the Greeks constructed buildings that have inspired generations and continue to influence modern architecture. Their mastery of materials, engineering, and design r...

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Greek Medicine and Disease

Disease was a very serious problem for the Greeks, as for all other people in the ancient and medieval worlds. One out of three babies died before they were a year old. Half of all children died before they were ten. And even most people who grew up died in their forties and fifties....

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The Women of Athens

Compared to the women of Sparta, the status of an Athenian woman in Greek society was minimal. By comparison to present day standards, Athenian women were only a small step above slaves by the 5th century BC. From birth a girl was not expected to learn how to read or write, nor was she expected to earn an education. On reading and writing, Menander...

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Women In Sparta

By 600 BCE Sparta had conquered her neighbors in the southern half of the Peloponnese. The vanquished people, called Helots, were required to do all of the agricultural work on land owned by the victors, making Sparta self-sufficient in food and ruler of a slave population seven or eight times as large. Not needing to import anything allowed Sparta...

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Greek Approach To Women's Illness, Pregnancy And Childbirth

It is tempting to credit the medicine we are taking when an illness is cleared up, forgetting that the condition might have gone away by itself regardless of what we did. This is undoubtedly the key to the popularity even today of so many "folk medicines" that researchers insist do nothing at all except make money for the manufacturers, and there w...

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Architecture and Women in Ancient Greece

Architecture relates to the design and construction of buildings, temples, houses and other structures used for human habitation. In Ancient Greece public buildings were made of marble. They used post and lintel construction so the roof was supported on tall columns. This was the same method of construction that was used in ancient Egypt. Walls wer...

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Lifestyle of the Ordinary Ancient Greek

by Christopher Xenopoulos Janus. The daily Lifestyle of the anient Greek - just the ordinary people men and women, children and the elderly, slaves and foreigners, rich and poor - has always been of special interest to me. Not more so, of course, than the philosophers, artists and dramatists who have contributed so enormously to our culture and way...

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Burial Rituals and the Afterlife of Ancient Greece

As seen in the literature of ancient Greece, tombs and rituals of the wealthy were extravagant. Gold and jewels were essential grave offerings of respectable and honored tombs, perhaps used as a way to display wealth and status. It seems the wealthier you were the more elaborate your final resting place. The ancient Greeks had distinct methods of b...

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