Greece

Ancient Greece

Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of Ancient Greece. Students will also examine the connections between geography and the development of city-states in the region of the Aegean Sea and be able to state the key differences between Athenian, or direct, democracy and representative democracy.

Big Idea: One culture can have a great influence on other cultures.

Essential Questions: Why does one person have more influence on others than another person? What geographical features influenced the development of Greek culture? What role did social structures play in Grecian daily life? What role did Greek Mythology plan in daily life? How did Greek society further the development of other fields of study? (E.g. Architecture, Math, Science, Philosophy, etc.)

Ancient Greece Standards:

  • Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of Ancient Greece.

Standards: 6.4.1. Discuss the connections between geography and the development of city-states in the region of the Aegean Sea, including patterns of trade and commerce among Greek city-states and within the wider Mediterranean region.

2. Trace the transition from tyranny and oligarchy to early democratic forms of government and back to dictatorship in ancient Greece, including the significance of the invention of the idea of citizenship (e.g., from Pericles’ Funeral Oration).

3. State the key differences between Athenian, or direct, democracy and representative democracy.

4. Explain the significance of Greek mythology to the everyday life of people in the region and how Greek literature continues to permeate our literature and language today, drawing from Greek mythology and epics, such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and from Aesop’s Fables.

6. Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta, with emphasis on their roles in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.

8. Describe the enduring contributions of important Greek figures in the arts and sciences (e.g., Hypatia, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Thucydides).