Greece gave humanity brilliant philosophers and scientists, gave origin to thousands of modern words and explained some physical phenomena. Interesting Facts about Ancient Greece will allow the reader to get to know this cradle of world civilization more closely.
1. Ancient Greece consisted of about one and a half thousand individual city-states, the largest of which was Athens. Despite the fact that each of the policies had its own laws and army, conflicts between them were commonplace.
2. Greek cities were ruled by a meeting of all adult males or a college of the richest citizens, who were called oligarchs - "the ruling minority."
3. Wealthy Greek women led an idle lifestyle and considered looking at jewelry as the only worthy occupation. They did not work, did not learn to read and write, and took special milk slaves to feed their own babies.
4. Women who disagree with this state of affairs were called getters. They were educated, led an independent lifestyle and very rarely married, as they were considered bad wives.
5. The average life expectancy for women in ancient Greece was 36 years, for men - 45. Infant mortality was very high, half of the children died in the first year of life.
6. The expression "do your bit" came to us from Greece. Lepta was the hundredth part of the drachma (ancient Greek monetary unit), which was a very small bargaining chip.
7. On the first coins, the faces of gods and heroes were minted in full face. On such images, the nose was erased very quickly, so later the Greeks switched to profiles.
8. The concept of democracy appeared in ancient Greece. For participation in elections locals received a fee, which ensured a very high voter turnout.
9. The ancient Greeks were the first to make mathematics a theoretical discipline. The works of Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes form the basis of modern algebra textbooks.
10. It was customary to engage in physical exercises naked.
11.First 13 Olympic Games consisted of only one discipline - running.
12. Ancient athletes were awarded with olive wreaths, branches and olive oil in amphoras.
13. Hellenes did not drink wine in pure form. They mixed the intoxicating drink with salt water (fresh water was too expensive) in a ratio of 1:7. The mixture was drunk throughout the day as a soft drink.
14. The city of Athens was named after Greek goddess. It was she who gave the city the best gift - an olive tree. Poseidon competed with her, he gave water to the townspeople. At first they were delighted, but when they found out that she was salty, Athena was recognized as the winner.
15. According to ancient legends, the philosopher Diogenes lived in a barrel. In fact, the famous Greek was sheltered in a large clay vessel called a pithos, which was buried in the ground to store grain in it.
16. The first tourist guide was written in the 2nd century AD. and it was called "Description of Hellas." In ten books, the author of the work, Pausanias, invites you on a journey through the most interesting places Greece, describes temples, statues, theaters and talks about the local way of life.
Ancient Greece and its culture are important for world history. Here are just a few interesting facts about ancient greece, culture, customs, features of the Greeks and more.
1. The word "teacher" originates from Ancient Greece. It has a literal meaning - "leading the child." But in those days, it was not called the teacher, as it is now, but the slave who was supposed to take the child to school and bring him back.
Most often, they preferred to take as teachers slaves who were unsuitable for any other work, but were distinguished by their loyalty to the house.
The duty of the teacher was to protect his pupil, as well as to preserve his moral and physical health. In addition, the duties of the teacher included teaching the child the most simple things until the student enters school.
2. Greek word scale from which our modern word“school”, denotes leisure, rest, idleness. However, now this word refers to educational institutions in which main job schoolchildren, and by no means rest. How did it happen? It all started in Ancient Greece, in the 1st century BC. In public places, they began to erect benches of a semicircular shape, which were intended for recreation. People could sit on them, talk heart to heart. Over time, these benches became a favorite place for speakers, they began to have regular listeners, and earlier benches that were intended for idle rest suddenly became a place of intense and lengthy discussions. When such meetings of "students" and "teachers" became permanent, it became necessary to create educational institutions operating on a permanent basis, with their own premises. According to tradition, institutions began to be called "scholas".
3. According to the ideas of the ancient Greeks, in order to get into realm of the dead, the shadow of a deceased person had to cross one of the four rivers that surrounded the kingdom of Hades - Acheron, Styx, Piriflegeton or Kokit. Charon, who served as a carrier of the shadows of the dead across these rivers, was a gloomy but energetic old man in dirty rags. For his service, he demanded a certain payment of one obol from each shadow.
In this regard, the relatives of the deceased put a coin under his tongue. It was called in those days "the right of the dead." In addition, a honey cake was put into the hand of the deceased. She was needed to appease Cerberus with three heads, who guarded the entrance to the realm of the dead. If none of the relatives put a coin of the deceased, then his shadow was doomed to while away all his time on the shore.
4. There is one misconception associated with the legend of Diogenes, who lived in a barrel. Diogenes could not live in a barrel, because at that time the ancient Greeks simply did not know how to make them. The philosopher was sheltered in an earthen vessel called "pithos". As a rule, pithoi about 1.5 - 2 meters high were completely buried in the ground to preserve the grain.
5. According to many authors of antiquity, the soldiers of Ancient Greece wore special armor called " linothorax". Even Alexander the Great himself was depicted in similar armor on a mosaic from Pompeii. The most popular version among historians says that the linothorax was made from several layers of linen, which were fastened together with glue. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin recreated a similar material, given the materials and technologies that were available at the time. As a result, they found that such clothing perfectly protects against cold weapons and archery.
6. Parthenon- a snow-white temple that towered over the sea and land was built as a temple of the goddess Athena, the patroness of the great city of Ancient Greece. A giant statue of the goddess stood near the temple. Her gilded helmet sparkling in the rays of the sun served as a kind of beacon for ships approaching the city. From the Parthenon began a wide marble staircase. It was surrounded by temples and porticoes; the stairs descended to the city's market square, the "agora". During the day, a crowd of sellers and buyers was seething here, and in the evening the trade subsided, Greek people gathered here to discuss business and find out last news. Also, there was a national meeting every ten days.
7. The ancient Greeks did not know how to swim and were afraid of the sea. They could swim only along the coast, they were wary of the open sea. If the shore was not visible, they fell into a hysterical state and prayed to the gods for their salvation.
8. The Greeks wore loincloths. There was a case when one of the runners did not lose the bandage, but at the same time came running first. After that, all the participants in the games began to run naked, however, and went naked too often. All this was from the fact that the Greeks in those days did not know 
shame. In general, such a concept as shame appeared already in the Middle Ages, when the priests began to work together to inspire people that a naked body is something indecent.
9. Ancient Greece is the birthplace of democracy, however, even in the 4th century BC, people had to pay money in order for them to want to participate in elections.
10. Ancient Greece is also the birthplace of theater. There were two genres in the theater of that time: satire and drama. The name "satire" originates from satyrs, that is, forest deities, cheerful creatures with goat legs, as well as fertility demons. Satyrs are mischievous, lustful, and great drinkers. satire in ancient Greek theater wore the same vulgar character with greasy jokes.
Dramatic performances lasted for several hours and were truly tragic, with a large number of deaths and various sufferings.
Did they play in theater of ancient Greece only men. If the actor had a role beautiful girl He wore a white mask over his face. If ugly - then yellow. Only men could watch performances in the theater. Spectators brought food and drink to the theatre.
Interesting facts about Ancient Greece quite a lot more, not without reason it is considered one of the most developed ancient states, many interesting people lived there, and until now their names are not forgotten, and their teachings are popular - these are Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Diogenes and many others.
Ancient Greece can rightly be called the cradle of modern Western civilization. It is from there that many concepts and terms came to us. The contribution of the Greeks to the development of art, medicine, sports and many other industries is invaluable. This people served as a link between the developed civilizations of the East and Rome, and already from the Roman Empire historical experience many nations passed to us. We offer you interesting facts from the history of Ancient Greece.
Athens Acropolis
Politics and art
Democracy came to us from Ancient Greece. But even in Athens, the cradle of democracy, only adult free citizens, who were a minority of the population, had the right to vote. Now such a form of government would be called an oligarchy, and in ancient world it was believed that the result of the elections is evidence of the will of the people.
In Athens, the judges were chosen by lot and changed every day. This was supposed to avoid corruption.
Reconstruction of the Athenian Acropolis
The word "oligarch" Greek origin. It is translated as "the ruling minority", since the management of the cities was carried out by wealthy citizens of the Greek city-states (polises). It was the most common form of government in the Balkans in ancient times.
The Greek currency notes of the drachma appeared about 3000 years ago, in 2002 they were replaced by the euro.
Initially, portraits on coins were minted in full face, but the image was quickly overwritten, especially the nose, therefore, in the future, the face was minted in profile. In the city of Olvia, whose ruins are located in the Mykolaiv region, Ukraine, coins were minted in the form of dolphins.
Mankind owes the emergence of the theater to the Greeks. The artists were only men, they performed female roles dressing women's clothing and masks with the image female face. Spectators were also representatives of the stronger sex, women were not allowed in the theater.
Sports and military affairs
Interesting facts about ancient greece- sports and the army. Initially, the Olympic Games included only running. And they always ran with a shield. This was due to the fact that the shield was heavy, and when fleeing from the enemy, it had to be thrown. Retreat with a shield in hand was not considered shameful. In Sparta, there was a wish for a warrior - “with a shield or on a shield”, which meant “do not disgrace yourself or die with honor”, since those killed from the battlefield were carried out on a shield, which was a tribute to the brave man.
spartan warrior
Athletes rubbed themselves with olive oil after class and scraped it off with a special scraper. Dust was removed along with the oil, so the olive oil acted as a moisturizer and soap.
The winners of the competition were presented with olive wreaths and olive oil in amphoras as a prize. At home, the Olympic champions were given a statue.
At the time of the Olympic Games, wars stopped, the Olympic truce was declared.
Spectators at the Olympic Games could only be men. Women were forbidden to watch the competition under fear death penalty. According to legend, one woman nevertheless made her way to the competition, she was identified, but pardoned only because her son became an Olympic champion.
Fisticuffs (ancient boxing) were very cruel, as the skin of bulls was wound around the hands, which was supposed to protect the fists, but made the blows very traumatic. The boxer fought until he lost (there were no stages in pairs, as is the case today). Often the champion could barely stand on his feet and was all injured. A competition similar to boxing was pankration - here, in addition to blows, wrestling techniques were allowed - captures and throws. Pankration was an even more brutal sport than boxing. Pankration champions were ancient Greek scientists mathematician Pythagoras and the historian Plutarch, a student of the Pythagorean school Milo of Croton. It was a great honor to be a boxing champion, probably because of the dangers of this cruel sport.
Hand wraps for fist fighters
In many cities, the functions of the police were performed by slaves armed with whips, often of Scythian origin (the Greeks called the entire population of Ukraine Scythians). Since they weren't related social connections with the population, they did not care what status the person they arrested had.
Linothorax is armor that was invented by the ancient Greeks. They were made from linen, folded several times. They protected well from the blows of the sword and arrows fired from the bow.
Heavily armed infantry - hoplites were a kind of special forces of the ancient world. They were protected by bronze armor, which included a helmet, cuirass, greaves (leg protection). Before them, in the ancient world, warriors were often protected mainly by a shield and helmet, the body and legs were rarely covered with armor. Also, the Greeks did a lot of sports, military training, and the soldiers of other states were rarely professional, they were called up for the duration of the wars. With an advantage in armament and training, the Greeks repeatedly defeated the Persian army, which sometimes outnumbered the Hellenic army by ten times (for example, in the Battle of Gaugamela).
Sparta in its heyday could put up about 9,000 soldiers. But numerous wars reduced the male population so much that before its decline in the 3rd century BC, the army was reduced to 400 people - that is how many free citizens of military age remained in this state. True, the Spartans sometimes included perieks (free non-citizens) and helots (state slaves) in their army in the form of auxiliary units, but by the time the state declined, territories with a non-Spartan population were annexed by neighbors or gained independence. As a sign of respect for the heroic past, the Romans gave Sparta a little autonomy.
Lifestyle and education
The word "school" came into use from the Greek language. Its meaning was originally somewhat different. It symbolized a place of exchange of experience. a large number people (a meeting in which people conversed on professional themes in a relaxed environment). Then this word denoted training sessions, which were held in the form of conversations with a philosopher. Later, this word was called any educational institution.
The term "educator" also originated in Greece. The literal translation is leading the child. This was the name of the slaves who accompanied children to school and brought them back. They also guarded their pupils and taught them self-service skills in everyday life, etiquette, gave knowledge that could be useful in everyday life.
In our minds, Athens is often presented as a model social order. But from here there were many unpleasant, and often terrible customs. For example, a father who, in his opinion, could not feed a newborn child (oh, how much a child must eat in order not to feed him, the father himself had something to eat), could leave him to die outside the city by the road. Anyone could pick up and raise this baby, but if the father could subsequently prove his paternity (no matter how many years later), then he could take the child to his family, even despite the protests of the person who raised the baby abandoned and picked up on the road . Although how such a return to the family could end is unknown, because before the reform of Solon, the father could sell his child into slavery.
Men spent little time at home during the day, so in Greek performances you almost never see scenes that take place indoors. Women, on the contrary, rarely left the house, their duties included doing housework. Even when guests came, the women had to spend time in a part of the house where no one saw them, and the owner of the house received the guests himself (but, of course, the hostess had to cook the food).
In Sparta, women occupied a very high social position. They received elementary education, along with men went in for sports. A mother could beat her son, who showed cowardice in the war. They didn't accept direct participation V political life countries, but since the men who were considered the most powerful in the world often listened to them, they influenced the decisions of the Spartan kings and the Spartan government. According to legend, one Spartan woman was asked how they have such power over men, she replied that only Spartan women give birth to men.
The Greeks drank a lot of wine, but were rarely drunk. The fact is that water in ancient times was Bad quality due to unsanitary conditions in densely populated cities. And wine, as an alcohol-containing liquid, disinfected water, so wine heavily diluted (several times) with water was drunk not only by adult men, but also by women and children. The Greeks despised drunkenness, they conducted excursions for schoolchildren, showing the unsightly appearance and ridiculous behavior of slaves, who were specially drunk with undiluted wine.
When studying history, we are still in high school we will learn about the intellectual heritage that Hellas gave to the world. The following interesting facts about Ancient Greece will refresh our knowledge about this wonderful country.
Ancient Greece included one and a half thousand independent city-states. And the largest among them was Athens. Each of the cities issued its own laws and maintained an army, conducted by them. foreign policy often led to wars.
The supreme governing body of some cities was general meeting adult male citizens. In other states, the board of the richest citizens, called oligarchs, or “ruling minority”, ruled.
Wealthy Greek women were accustomed to an idle lifestyle, their main interest was the acquisition of jewelry and jewelry. It was believed that they did not need to study or work. Even their own babies were fed by specially hired milk slaves.
There were women in Greek society who opposed this way of life. They were called getters. They were educated and lived independent life. Society considered hetairas to be bad wives, and therefore they rarely married.
Talking about interesting facts about Ancient Greece, we note that the ancient Greek representatives of the fair sex lived on average 36 years, slightly longer than men - up to 45. The mortality rate among newborns was amazingly high, in the first year of their lives, half of the babies died.
The monetary unit of Ancient Greece was the drachma, and its hundredth part was the mite. From that time to the present day, the expression "do your bit" has come down.
The first Greek coins had images of heroes and gods minted in full face. Since the nose was quickly erased on them, they began to issue coins with profiles.
Hellas we owe the concept - democracy. It should be noted that the amazing activity of voters at that time was a consequence of the payment to the townspeople who came to the polls.
Mathematics became a theoretical discipline among the ancient Greeks. The founders of many of its sections were Pythagoras, Euclid and Archimedes.
According to the customs of that time for classes exercise the Greeks were naked.
Running was the only discipline in the first thirteen Olympic Games.
As awards, ancient athletes received branches of the olive tree, olive wreaths and amphoras with olive oil.
Drinking undiluted wine was considered bad manners. It was diluted sea water, maintaining a ratio of 1:7, due to the high cost of fresh water. Throughout the day, this wine mixture was consumed as a soft drink.
Athens got its name in honor of the Greek goddess. Legend has it that she gave the city-state an olive tree, her rival Poseidon gave Athens water. Having figured out that the water was salty, the townspeople named Athena the winner.
According to a legend that has come down to us, an ordinary barrel served as the home of the philosopher Diogenes. IN real life it was a pithos - a vessel made of clay large size buried in the ground. Usually it was used as a container where grain was stored.
The progenitor of world travel guides for tourists had the name "Description of Hellas". It belongs to the 2nd century AD. e. The author of this work, consisting of 10 books, he is considered Pausanias, recommending readers to visit the most attractive places in Greece, gives detailed descriptions theaters, beautiful statues and magnificent temples. The guide does not forget to tell about the traditions and customs of the places described.
Interesting facts about Ancient Greece.
Ancient Greece is rightly considered the cradle of world civilization. On the territory of this state, traditions and foundations are born that remain relevant to this day. The foundations of philosophy, democracy, feminism and many other phenomena have ancient Greek origin. It is worth noting that Hellas and its population had a number of specific features.
The system of mythological beliefs of Ancient Greece is distinguished by a complex systematization and great diversity. Numerous traditions and legends closely enveloped the life of the ancient Greeks. So, famous myth about a bone of contention involving competing goddesses became the basis for a rather peculiar custom. To show their sympathy for the fair sex, the men of Hellas threw apples at them. Such, several dangerous way expression of feelings was evidence of the influence of mythological beliefs on everyday life society.
The result of a developed system of mythology was the establishment sports held in honor of the numerous gods of the ancient Greek pantheon. Local sport's event over time, has gained large-scale fame and worldwide popularity. A number of interesting facts are also associated with this event. For example, the first Olympic Games held in 776 BC., included only one sport - running. And the athletes of antiquity, for the greatest convenience, performed on sports games extremely naked. In the future, the composition of the Olympic Games has somewhat diversified. In particular, athletes began to compete in various types martial arts.
It is worth noting that the ancient Greek athletes were distinguished by incredible excitement. So, the ancient Greek champion Arrhichion won his last victory already being dead. In a terrible confrontation with the enemy, he managed to knock him out, however, he himself died of suffocation. The judges recognized his corpse as the winner and held an appropriate awards ceremony.
Politics was also one of the favorite topics for discussion. People who were not interested in this problem were treated rather hostilely. They were labeled "idiot". When drafting laws, there were also often interesting moments. For example, Zelevka's Law has existed unchanged for a long time. The reason for this was one interesting point, which said that a person who proposed some amendments to the legislative system should have committed a suicidal act if his proposals were positively considered.
Democracy is also a product of Greek civilization. An interesting fact is that in order to attract a large number of the population to participate in the elections, they were paid. That is, every citizen of Greece, who expressed his opinion by voting, received a monetary reward. And to distract people from the transient material assets cash equivalent in some parts of Greece, iron bars served. Their heavy weight and big size contributed to the suppression of corruption.
It's no secret that the ancient Greeks loved to have a good rest. Alcohol occupied a special place at their holidays. It was then that Pythagoras invented a glass that prevents rapid alcohol intoxication. Designed in accordance with the law of communicating vessels, the glass could only be filled up to a certain mark. Exceeding the line threatened to pour out all the contents.
Women of ancient Greece occupied a special place in the life of society. The main purpose of their existence was considered to be the decoration of the world around them with their presence. Therefore, most often they did not burden themselves with obtaining any knowledge. The opposition to most women was the so-called "getters". The emerging notes of feminism provoked them to get an education.
As for the male sex, education played an important role in his life. Many modern terms from the field of education are of ancient Greek origin. True, they were used in Hellas in a slightly different meaning than now. For example, the word "school" originally meant rest. People, tired of everyday bustle, gathered in certain places and had philosophical conversations. Gradually, such people had young listeners, who gradually turned into students. And the term teacher denoted people who contributed to the upbringing of children. However, during the period of Ancient Greece, this contribution was to bring the child to school and pick him up from there.
Ancient Greece achieved considerable success in the field of medicine. Hippocrates, famous for his oath, for the first time in history began to study oncological diseases. Cancer takes its name from his writings. Describing the tumor, Hippocrates compared it appearance with a crab creature. Subsequently, the name was somewhat transformed, but the essence has remained the same to this day.
The art of love was highly revered by the ancient Greeks. famous phrase Socrates "I know that I know nothing" has a continuation. famous philosopher noted “I always say that I know nothing, except perhaps one very small science - erotica (the science of love). And in it I am terribly strong. The term love in ancient Greece had many connotations. Dozens of different concepts were used to denote this bright feeling.
Homosexuality was quite common in ancient Greece and was by no means condemned. The facts show that even special military detachments and subunits were created, which included men with gay. It is noteworthy that such detachments were distinguished by special courage and courage. And examples of desertion and flight from them were practically not observed.
