Interesting Facts O Ancient Greece- sounds intriguing, especially for history buffs. Modern history owes much to ancient Greece. This civilization had a great impact on our world, and the development human history. It was in Greece that art, medicine, literature, and much more originated.
- Politics came to modern world from ancient Greece. When elections were held, people were paid for participating in them. It is for this reason that all the inhabitants of Greece actively participated in the elections. This is how democracy began.
- The ancient Greeks were not as fearless as history describes. They were very afraid of water, most of them could not swim. They sailed on ships only along the coast. On the basis of this fear, they had many water gods, whom they prayed for help and salvation if they were far from the coast.
- Ancient Greece - the birthplace of the theater. But Greek theater very different from today. All performances were very tragic, they had a lot of death and suffering. Only men could play in the theater, they played both male and female roles as well. Only men could go to see performances.
- The Greeks had special armor, they were called "linothorax". Such armor was made of linen in several layers. This armor was really unique, it was excellent protection against sword and bow attacks.
- The ancient Greeks were absolutely not shy, they were not ashamed. For quite a long time, the participants in the Olympic Games ran completely naked. This happened after one runner lost his loincloth and ran naked. Yes and in ordinary life they could afford to go naked.
- At the first Olympic Games there was only one competition - running..
- It was not customary for rich, wealthy Greek women to study and work. Their favorite hobby was to consider decorations.
- Women who were educated, smart, were called "getters". Such women were not valued, they were not even wanted to be married.
- The ancient Greek philosopher Plato was an athlete. He participated in the Olympic Games, namely in the wrestling competition, and even won two times in them.
- Our modern word school comes from the Greek language. Only then in ancient times did it have a different meaning. For the Greeks, it was leisure and recreation. IN in public places Benches were made in Greece, they were made for people to relax, in such places there were always clusters of citizens. Over time, various speakers began to gather there, they had many listeners. In such conversations there were many disputes and discussions, and it became a permanent tradition. Thus, there was a need for educational institution, school.
- The Greeks were devout, believed in afterlife
. According to their beliefs, in order to get into world of the dead, the shadow or soul of the deceased must pass through some of the rivers surrounding the kingdom of Hades. The carrier of the shadows was called Charon. For his services, he took a fee from each shadow. So that the shadow could cover the costs of transportation, the relatives of the deceased put a coin under his tongue. If the coin was not placed, the soul of the deceased was doomed, she could not get into the realm of the dead.
- There is a legend that all the goddesses of Greece had Blue eyes
. And all Greek women basically had brown eyes. Women wanted to look at least a little like goddesses, and for this they poured blue vitriol into their eyes. From this, the eyes did acquire a blue tint, but this had a very negative effect on health.
- The name of the gemstone Amethyst was coined in Greece.. The meaning of this word is non-intoxicating. The ancient Greeks made vessels for wine from amethyst, and it was believed that if you drink from such a vessel, it is impossible to get drunk.
- In ancient Greece national currency was a drachma. And what is most interesting, it was changed to the euro only in 2002, it turns out that the drachma held out as the main currency of civilization for almost 3000 years.
- Ancient Greece was not alone single state . Each city of Greece had its own laws, rules, army. Very often conflicts and misunderstandings arose between cities.
The current world owes much to Ancient Greece, because it significantly influenced the development of mankind. It was here that literature, medicine and art itself arose. Hundreds of myths envelop this land, telling about gods with incredible abilities and powers beyond the control of mere mortals. Greece is a sunny land, consisting of mountains and warm beaches by the sea. But what else interesting facts about ancient greece we know?
1. The Greeks, despite all the legends and stories about their exploits, in fact, were also afraid of a lot of things. It is known that one of the most serious problems there was water for them. Few knew how to swim, and if they traveled, it was only on ships and near the shores, fearing the truly open sea. That is why in their pantheon of gods there are many who command water. They regularly made offerings to them, coaxing and praying for help in a difficult moment on the waves.
2. The first Olympic Games were organized in this sunny edge. It is worth noting that sports have always been practiced here naked, and for 13 years in a row since the founding of the games, they consisted of only one discipline - running.
3. Few people know, but the Greeks had their own armor called - linothorax. They looked extremely unreliable, but appearance deceptive. Consisting of layers of linen tightly adjacent to each other, they perfectly protected from arrows and the sharp steel of swords.
4. In ancient Greece, wine was common, but they drank it in a completely different way than now. Alcohol obtained from grapes, they mixed with water, approximately 1:6. At the same time, salt water was used, since fresh water was too expensive.
5. Almost all Greek goddesses from myths and legends had rich blue eyes. The inhabitants of Greece very much wanted to resemble the goddesses, but the predominant part of them had exclusively brown eyes. To change this, they rubbed blue vitriol and added it to their eyes, gently falling asleep. Because of this, the color really changed, but both vision and health in general suffered serious losses.
6. Among the most interesting facts about Ancient Greece is the theater they invented. From the present, familiar to us, he differed in exceptional tragedy. In it, tragedies filled with the suffering of the main characters and a mass of deaths were always presented to the audience. Only men who performed female roles Same.
7. It is known that the country had a high degree mortality. Many children died without crossing the one-year-old line. A significant part of the population died during wars, which were commonplace. The average life expectancy for women was 37 years, and for men - 46.
8. Among the most interesting facts about music in Ancient Greece is the belief of the Greeks in its possibilities. They were sure to the end that with the help of a rhythmic melody and good dance you can hypnotize an owl.
9. Women in ancient times were not supposed to be educated, all that should have been of interest to them was gold jewelry. Wealthy Greek women did not even feed their children; special milk slaves did it for them. But there were representatives of the weaker sex who nevertheless received an education, were smart and self-confident. They were called - "getters", and very rarely any of them were married.
10. In Greece, all-round development was valued. For example, one of the most famous thinkers, Plato, not only skillfully philosophized, but twice prevailed in wrestling competitions on Olympic Games Oh.
Greece gave humanity brilliant philosophers and scientists, gave birth 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 better.
1. Ancient Greece consisted of about one and a half thousand separate 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. The 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 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.
State in Southern Europe. Member of the European Union and NATO. The population is more than 11.3 million people, the area of the territory is 131,957 km². It ranks 84th in the world in terms of population and 95th in terms of area.
The country is located on the Balkan Peninsula and numerous islands. It is washed by the Aegean (including the Icarian Sea) and the Thracian Seas in the east, the Ionian Sea in the west, and the Mediterranean and Cretan Seas in the south. It has land borders with Albania in the northwest, Macedonia and Bulgaria in the north, and Turkey in the northeast.
Greece - the most interesting facts
Greece is one of the most beautiful countries around the world with a rich cultural and historical heritage.
Greece is a developed European country, its capital is famous city Athens. It occupies about 132 thousand square meters. km. - one of the most big countries by territory.
Greece marked the beginning of the modern Western civilization. Conditionally dividing the mainland into two parts of the world - Europe and Asia - was also invented by the Greeks.
It is noteworthy that it was the feminine principle that ensured such rapid growth and prosperity. Cretan culture in the Minoan era. In those days, more than 4 thousand years ago, in Crete, a woman was especially interested in high position which was lost in subsequent patriarchal centuries.
After World War II, Greece experienced the Greek economic miracle. The GDP growth rate averaged 7% between 1950 and 1973. Since then, Greece has undertaken a number of structural and financial reforms, while receiving significant financial support from the European Union. In 2001 Greece joined the Eurozone.
Greek is one of the oldest languages in existence today (it has been spoken for over 4,000 years and written for over 3,000 years).
Greece is the birthplace of Western philosophy, literature, mathematics, theatre, history and political science.
Greece is the country of the sun, more than 250 days a year there is clear weather. This circumstance allows the widespread use of solar panels.
Among the birds most often seen wild ducks, kingfishers and partridges, as well as predators - owls, eagles and kites.
The capital of Greece - the city of Athens, one of the oldest cities in the world and at the same time one of the youngest capitals in Europe - the city acquired this status only in 1834 after the events of the Greek National Liberation 19th war century. Currently, about 35% of the total population of the country lives in the capital; together with Piraeus, there are about 4 million inhabitants.
Football is national sports Greece, and gained the greatest popularity after the victory of the Greek team at the 2004 European Championship.
The distance from any point in Greece to the sea coast does not exceed 137 kilometers.
Crete tirelessly developed trade and cultural ties with its neighbors: the Cyclades, mainland Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Syria. During this period, the level of development of life on the mainland lagged far behind that of Crete. cultural centers then the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns, located on the southern peninsula of the Peloponnese, began to imitate and duplicate the achievements of Minoan Crete.
The head of state is the President, who is elected by parliament for a term of 5 years. The constitution gave the president broad powers, entrusting him with the exercise of executive power. The president appoints the prime minister and, on his recommendation, appoints and dismisses other members of the government.
classical period Greek philosophy traditionally associated with Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. During this era, Ancient Athens becomes the center of Greek philosophy. Socrates is the first to think about human personality, Plato founded the Academy and created philosophy as a logical and ethical system, and Aristotle - the science of philosophy as a doctrine of a really existing world.
Greece is a country of carnivals. These festivals are held every year from January to March.
The average life expectancy of ancient Greek women was 36 years, while the average for men was 45 years. Currently average duration The life expectancy for women is 82 years and 77 years for men.
The origin of the Dorians is still a mystery of history. But according to legend, they were descendants of Hercules.
This troubled period was one of the most difficult in the history of Greece. At first, after the invasion of the Dorian tribes, the country embarked on the path of degradation, but soon gradually began to "gain momentum", synthesizing a completely new civilization from the remnants of the Mycenaean, Cretan, Achaean, Asian and Dorian cultures.
During this period, the Greek language is formed. It was at this time that the great Homer created his immortal poems, filling them with all the colors of his era.
Crete is the largest island in Greece. Center of ancient Cretan civilization. Near the island there are many small satellite islands (Chrisi, etc.). From the south, the island is washed by the Libyan Sea.
Greek literature is divided into three periods: Ancient Greek, Byzantine and Modern Greek.
In Greece, men must serve from 1 year to 18 months in any branch of the armed forces. The government spends 6% of the annual gross domestic product (GDP) on the military.
In 1980, Greece re-joined the NATO military alliance (in 1974 it withdrew in protest against the occupation of northern Cyprus).
Greece owns more than 2 thousand islands, but people live on only 170 of them.
IN civil war 1946 The Greek Communist Party was defeated. In 1949, the monarchy was restored in Greece, which was finally abolished on April 21, 1967, after a military coup by "black colonels" supported by the United States of America. After the overthrow of the military junta in 1975, a new Constitution was adopted, the previous Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis returned to the country from Paris, and as a result of a popular referendum, the monarchy was abolished and Greece became a parliamentary republic.
Greece has the most archaeological museums in the world.
The first historian in the world is Herodotus, a writer who lived in 484-425 BC. He was the author of the first major historical book on the subject of the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus is the human symbol of Greece.
The Greek language is one of the oldest among modern languages peace. It has been in use for over 4,000 years, and Greek writing has been around for 3,000 years.
In the early 2000s, Greece was one of the leading investors in the economies of almost all of its Balkan neighbors. National Bank Greece in 2006 acquired 46% of the shares of the Turkish Finansbank and 99.44% of the shares of the Serbian Vojvođanska Bank.
Greece includes more than 2,000 islands, from large (Crete, Euboea) to tiny (Patmos, Chrissi, Meyisti). They account for about 20% of the entire Greek territory.
Greek nature is the most diverse among the countries of Europe.
Greece has the lowest divorce rate in the European Union.
The highest point in Greece is Mount Olympus (2917 m). Pindus, Parnassus, the mountain range of Central Greece and Taygetos also rise above 2000 meters.
The drachma, as the oldest currency in Europe, was replaced by the euro in 2002, the inhabitants of Greece used the drachma for 2650 years.
Greece, as the birthplace of the Olympic competition, has the oldest sporting tradition in the world. She is three times new story hosted the modern Olympic Games: the first Olympics in 1896, the first Extraordinary Olympic Games in 1906 and in 2004 the next Summer Olympic Games in Athens.
For Greeks, name days are more important than birthdays. Every Orthodox saint has a day of remembrance on which people bearing that saint's name receive gifts from friends and family and have big parties with plenty of food, wine and dancing.
During each Olympic Games, the ancient Greeks sacrificed a hundred bulls to Zeus.
The Greeks call their country Hellas (Hellas, Ellada), and its official name sounds like the Hellenic Republic. The name "Greece", this is how the country is called in the world, comes from Latin word Graecia, which was used by the Romans and which literally means "land of the Greeks".
The literature of the 20th century is represented by the talents of many writers and poets, including Andreas Kalvos, Yiannis Psycharis, Alexandros Pallis, Angelos Sikelianos, Kostis Palamas, storyteller Penelope Delta, Yiannis Ritsos, Alexandros Papadiamandis, Kostas Kariotakis, Kostas Varnalis.
A significant proportion of Greece's income comes from tourism; according to 2009 data, it accounts for 15% of the country's GDP.
About 7% of all marble produced in the world comes from Greece.
The flag of Greece is a rectangular panel with horizontal equal-sized alternating five blue and four white stripes. In the roof there is an image of a straight cross white color. The width of the flag is related to its length as 2:3. The modern flag was adopted on December 27, 1978.
John Kapodistrias became the first president of independent Greece. However, soon a monarchy was established in Greece and the minor Otto of Bavaria from the Wittelsbach dynasty was invited to the throne. An uprising on September 3, 1843 forced King Otto to grant a Constitution and establish a representative National Assembly.
In Greece, it is customary to celebrate not your birthday, but the "name day" of the saint, whose name the Greek bears.
most large group national minorities are Turks. Albanians, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Armenians and Gypsies also live in the country.
The cult and architectural and compositional center of the ancient Greek city was the acropolis with a temple dedicated to the deity - the patron of the city. The peripter became the classically completed type of temple. The most striking example of it is the main temple Athenian acropolis- Parthenon.
Education in Greece is compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 15. It includes primary - 6 classes, and incomplete secondary - gymnasium, 3 classes, education.
There are almost no nursing homes in the country; elderly parents live out their lives in the homes of their daughters. Young people usually live with their parents before marriage.
About 900 thousand people are employed in the tourism sector, including 6.9% in the HoReCa sector total population, this is the third highest figure in the EU after Malta and Spain.
Your independence from Ottoman Empire Greece received in 1830, after the national liberation war of 1821-1829.
Greece continues to be the country with the most low level suicide in the EU.
Around Olympus is currently located national park. It has over a thousand species of plants and hundreds of different animals. Some of them live only here. Many tourists go to see the beauty of these places, and they prefer to do it on foot - the journey will take about two days.
Greece receives 16.5 million tourists every year, while the country's population is only about 11 million people.
About 98% of the population is Orthodox.
The Greek Constitution recognizes Orthodoxy as the leading religion in the country, while at the same time guaranteeing religious freedom for all citizens.
Greece received 22 million tourists in 2014.
Ioannis Argyris - Greek mathematician and engineer, one of the authors of the finite element method and the direct stiffness method.
Every school day for Greek schoolchildren begins with a prayer.
The cuisine of Greece can be called Mediterranean, and in some ways it is close to the cuisine of Italy and France, but it has its own specifics. Historical facts about Greece they say that there used to be two main types of cuisines - urban and rural.
The island of Rhodes has been recognized the best resort European tourists.
A few inhabitants of several islands of the Aegean Sea, which at one time belonged to Republic of Venice are Catholics.
The inhabitants of Greece eat more cheese than anyone else on Earth - about 2 kilograms per month. The most popular variety, by far, national pride- Chees Feta.
Judaism has existed in Greece for over 2000 years.
Crete is the eighth largest in Europe (8259 km²).
In Thrace and on the island of Rhodes, in addition to the Greeks, Muslim Turks live (1.3%).
Greeks care about the ecology of their country. There is not a single nuclear power plant throughout the territory, but coal-fired wind and thermal power plants are popular. In the 2000s, it developed broad program to reduce the amount of emissions of harmful gases in air environment from machines, and progress has also been made in water management. Therefore, despite its size, the Hellenic Republic remains a favorable state for living in this regard.
Greek law stipulates that 75% of the crew of a Greek ship must be Greek.
Source - Internet
A brief excursion into history
Greece has not always been called that. Historians, in particular, Herodotus, single out even more ancient times in those territories that were later called Hellas, the so-called Pelasgian.
This term comes from the name of the tribe of Pelasgians ("storks") who came to the mainland from the Greek island of Lemnos. According to the conclusions of the historiographer, the then Hellas was called Pelasgia. There were primitive beliefs in something unearthly, saving for people - cults of fictional creatures.
The Pelasgians united with a few Greek tribe and adopted their language, although they did not grow from barbarians into a nationality.
Where did the Greek gods and myths about them come from?
Herodotus assumed that the Greeks adopted from the Pelasgians the names of many gods and their cults. At least, the veneration of the lower deities and Kabirs - the great gods, with their unearthly power, rid the earth of troubles and dangers. The sanctuary of Zeus in Dodona (a city near the present Ioannina) was built much earlier than the Delphic one, which is still famous. From those times came the famous "troika" of Kabirs - Demeter (Axieros), Persephone (Axiokersa, in Italy - Ceres) and her husband Hades (Axiokersos).
In the Pontifical Museum in the Vatican, a marble statue of these three kabirams is installed in the form of a triangular pillar by the sculptor Scopas, who lived and worked in the 4th century BC. e. At the bottom of the pillar are carved miniature images of Mitra-Helios, Aphrodite-Urania and Eros-Dionysus as symbols of an inseparable chain of mythology.
From there, the names of Hermes (Camilla, Latin "servant"). In the History of Athos, Hades (Hell) is the god of the other world, and his wife Persephone gave life on earth. Artemis was called Caleagra.
The new gods of Ancient Hellas descended from the "storks", took away their right to reign. But they already had a human appearance, although with some exceptions left over from zoomorphism.
The goddess, the patroness of the city named after her, was born from the brain of Zeus, the main god of the third stage. Therefore, before him, the heavens and the earthly firmament were ruled by others.
The first ruler of the earth was the god Poseidon. During the capture of Troy, he was the main deity.
According to mythology, he ruled both the seas and the oceans. Since Greece has a lot of island territories, the influence of Poseidon and his cult also applied to them. Poseidon was the brother of many new gods and goddesses, including such famous ones as Zeus, Hades and others.
Further, Poseidon began to stare at the continental territory of Hellas, for example, at Attica, a huge part to the south of the central mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula and to the Peloponnese. He had a reason for this: in the Balkans there was a cult of Poseidon in the form of a fertility demon. Athena wanted to deprive him of such influence.
The goddess won the dispute over the land. Its essence is this. Once there was a new alignment of the influence of the gods. At the same time, Poseidon lost the right to land, he was left with the seas. The sky was intercepted by the god of thunder and lightning. Poseidon began to challenge the rights to certain territories. He struck the ground during a dispute on Olympus, and water came out from there, and
Athena gave Attica an olive tree. The gods decided the dispute in favor of the goddess, considering that the trees would be more useful. The city was named after her.
Aphrodite
When the name of Aphrodite is pronounced in modern times, her beauty is mostly revered. In ancient times, she was the goddess of love. The cult of the goddess first originated in the colonies of Greece, its current islands, founded by the Phoenicians. Worship similar to Aphrodite was then reserved for two other goddesses, Asherah and Astarte. In the Greek pantheon of gods
Aphrodite was more suited to the mythical role of Ashera, a lover of gardens, flowers, a resident of groves, the goddess of spring awakening and voluptuous pleasure with Adonis.
Reincarnating as Astarte, the "goddess of heights", Aphrodite became impregnable, always with a spear in her hand. In this guise, she protected family fidelity and doomed her priestesses to eternal virginity.
Unfortunately, in more later times the cult of Aphrodite bifurcated, if I may so express the differences between the various Aphrodites.
Myths of Ancient Greece about the gods of Olympus
They are the most common and most cultivated in both Greece and Italy. This supreme pantheon of Mount Olympus included six gods - the children of Kronos and Hera (the Thunderer himself, Poseidon and others) and nine descendants of the god Zeus. Among them are the most famous Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite and others like them.
IN modern interpretation the word "Olympian", except for the athletes participating in the Olympiads, means "calmness, self-confidence, outward greatness." And earlier there was also the Olympus of the gods. But at that time, these epithets applied only to the head of the pantheon - Zeus, because he fully corresponded to them. We talked about Athena and Poseidon in detail above. Other gods of the pantheon were also mentioned - Hades, Helios, Hermes, Dionysus, Artemis, Persephone.
