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Ancient Greek Theatre for Kids and Teachers - Ancient Greece for Kids

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Each play was told in two different ways at the same time. The story was told out loud by a Greek chorus. The story was acted out by performers who did not speak. These performers, or actors, told story using masks and gestures. The same actor might play several different roles.

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Kids learn about the drama and theater of Ancient Greece including tragedies, comedies, costumes, masks, actors, special effects, famous playwrights, and fun facts.

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Almost every Greek city had a theatre because plays were part of many religious festivals. The Greeks enjoyed singing and dancing. At first, theatres were only used for festivals.

The theatres were built on hillsides in the open air and could often hold more than 18,000 spectators.

The theatres were open air and built in a semi-circular shape with rows of tiered stone seating around it. The shape of the theatres gave everyone in the audience excellent viewing and also meant they could hear the actors well too. In the centre of the theatre was a circular dancing floor (orchestra), with an altar for sacrifices dedicated to Dionysus. The stage was a raised area within this circle.

All the actors were men. They wore large masks that exaggerated facial features and emotions. The mouth hole was large to help amplify the voices. Greek plays were either comedies or tragedies. Tragedies were often about the past, whereas comedies tended to be about current and everyday life. Actors in comedies wore bright colours. Actors in tragedies wore dark colours.

Plays were either spoken or sung in rhyme.

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The Greek Theatre - Ancient Greece for Kids

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Almost every Greek city had a theatre because plays were part of many religious festivals. The Greeks enjoyed singing and dancing. At first, theatres were only used for festivals. The theatres were built on hillsides in the open air and could often hold more than 18,000 spectators.

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Theatre masks

Greek theatre masks were made of stiffened and painted linen so none have survived to the present day. We only know what they looked like because theatre was so popular in Greek and Roman times that models of actors and masks were made in other materials such as terracotta, stone and bronze and depicted on gems and in paintings and mosaics. With its exaggerated, grotesque features, this terracotta model shows the mask worn by the old man character in many comedies of the 300s BC and later. He has a wide grin, furrowed brow and bald head and wears a wreath with ivy leaves and clusters of berries. The masks worn in tragedies were different, with idealised features set in calm, serious, or sometimes pained expressions.

Masks and the god Dionysos

Masks had certain practical uses: their distinct features made characters recognisable at a distance; they made it easier for the three actors used in plays to play more than one part each; they enabled the all-male casts to play both men and women and some experts claim that the masks helped amplify the voice so that it could be heard at the back of the large open-air theatres. However, the most significant role of the mask was that of transformation: an ordinary man could go beyond his real identity and become a mythological hero or a lusty satyr, a foolish old man or a beautiful young woman, a god or a slave. In this disguise he could say and do things that could not be said and done in everyday life, and could present to the audience events, actions and ideas that were horrifying or ridiculous, inspiring or fantastic.

Throughout the Greek world, performances of plays were usually connected with worship of the god Dionysos. It is the idea of transformation that lies at the root of this association. Although Dionysos is often thought of simply as the god of wine, it is the transformational power of wine that most characterises him. Dionysos was fundamentally the god of changeability: grapes become wine, sober becomes drunk, human becomes animal, order becomes chaos.

A theatre festival

While we refer to Greek theatre, almost all the Greek plays we have were written and first performed in Athens and it was in Athens that Greek theatre as we know it was invented, developed and reached its height. In Athens there were three annual festivals of Dionysos at which plays were performed, the most important being the City Dionysia, which took place in March. The festival lasted five or six days. Three sets of three tragedies, each followed by a so-called satyr play, and five comedies were performed. The productions were paid for partly by the state and partly by rich individuals as a form of contribution to the well-being of the city. Many aspects of Greek culture were very competitive and the festivals took the form of competitions with great prestige to be gained by the winning playwrights and citizen-producers.

Attending the theatre was very much a communal and civic event. Audiences were large - perhaps 15,000 each day - and were made up of important individuals such as the priests of Dionysos and members of the Athenian government, who had front-row seats, ordinary Athenian citizens, resident and other foreigners, perhaps women and possibly even children and some slaves. The City Dionysia began with a magnificent procession carrying an image of Dionysos into the theatre. This was followed by sacrifices and feasting. At some stage before the four days of performance began, the names of citizens who had carried out services for the city were read out. Then the money paid to Athens as tribute by the subject cities of the Athenian empire, all of whom were required to send a representative, was piled up in the theatre. Finally, the orphaned children of warriors killed in battle who had reached the age of manhood paraded into the theatre dressed in full armour. Their upbringing had been paid for by the city and they were now formally acknowledged as citizens. The plays that followed these demonstrations of civic identity and of Athenian power dealt with human behaviour and aspirations, with right and wrong, with politics and with the nature and power of the gods. Through its transformed world of mythical and fantastic characters and stories, elaborate costumes, music, dance and masks, theatre forced the city of Athens to scrutinise both itself and the nature of human life.

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Teaching History with 100 Objects - A Greek theatre mask

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This terracotta model of a theatre mask is an example of the sort of evidence we have to use to find out about ancient Greek drama. Theatre is one of the most famous and most important legacies of ancient Greece to western culture, but ancient theatre performances and the context in which they took place were very different from what we experience today.

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What Greek festivals were there?

The Greeks were always putting on big parties for their gods.

Athens was the place to go in ancient Greece for culture. Every four years, Athens held the Panathenaic Games. Thousands of people paraded through the city to worship the god Athena. There were competitions for athletics, poetry reading and music. The Games ended with an enormous all-night banquet.

Athens was the place to go for plays too. The city put on a drama festival called the Dionysia in honour of the god Dionysus. He was the god of the theatre and wine. The festival was a bit like a competition. Judges gave prizes for their favourite tragedy and comedy performances.

The Pythian Games were held in Delphi for the god Apollo. They were a bit like the Olympic Games, but there were competitions for music, painting, acting and dancing, as well as athletics.

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What do we know about ancient Greek culture?

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The Greeks were always putting on big parties for their gods. Athens was the place to go in ancient Greece for culture. Every four years, Athens held the Panathenaic Games. Thousands of people paraded through the city to worship the god Athena. There were competitions for athletics, poetry reading and music.

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The Greeks loved sport and the Olympic Games were the sporting event in the ancient calendar.

The Olympic Games began over 2,700 years ago in Olympia, in south west Greece. Every , around 50,000 people came from all over the Greek world to watch and take part. The ancient games were also a religious festival, held in honour of , the king of the gods.

There were no gold, silver and bronze medals. Winners were given a wreath of leaves and a hero's welcome back home. Athletes competed for the glory of their city and winners were seen as being touched by the gods.

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The Greeks loved sport and the Olympic Games were the sporting event in the ancient calendar. The Olympic Games began over 2,700 years ago in Olympia, in south west Greece. Every , around 50,000 people came from all over the Greek world to watch and take part.

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Ancient Greek Olympics

In 776 B.C.E, about three thousand years ago, the first Olympic Games took place.

Originally, the games were part of a religious festival to honor Zeus.

He was the god of the sky and the leader of the Greek gods who lived on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece.

Where Were the Ancient Olympics Held?

The Olympics was one of four all-Greek (Pan Hellenic) games.

Even though the games were named after Mount Olympus they weren't played there. Instead they were held in the religious sanctuary of Olympia near Greece's southwest coast.

The land there was beautiful and rich with olive trees.

What Events and Awards Were Part of the Ancient Olympics?

At the beginning, the games were just short foot races designed to keep Greek men fit for the intensity of war.

The path for the foot races was about 700 feet long and straight.

It was also wide enough for twenty men to run side by side.

Only men who spoke Greek were allowed to take part in the races.

Men ran the races without any clothes on. Gradually, other events were added but there were no team sports like in the modern Olympics.

Prizes

There were no medals like the gold, silver, and bronze medals we have today.

There was only one winner and he was given a wreath of olive leaves as a prize.

But these weren't just any olive leaves. These olive leaves were taken from a sacred tree that was located at Olympia behind the temple dedicated to Zeus.

To reward his mastery of the events, a statue was built in the winner's honor.

The games were held once every four years in August.

Over time other events were added.

Horse races, chariot races, boxing, and wrestling were all popular events in addition to the foot races.

There was also a special event that consisted of five different sports activities: wrestling, running, the long jump, disc throwing, and spear throwing.

Were Women Allowed to Participate?

Married women were not allowed to attend the Olympics and women weren't allowed to compete in any of the events.

There was a separate women's festival that was called Heraia and was dedicated to the honor of Hera, the wife of Zeus.

A Special Truce

At the height of the games over 20,000-40,000 people attended.

The Olympics were so important to Greek culture that the city-states stopped all their battles and observed a special truce for a full month before the games started.

During this time, men could train for the events and participants could travel to the games without fear.

Merchants also traveled to the games to sell food and other items.

The Ancient Olympic games were held for over a thousand years and ended in 393 AD when the Roman emperor Theodosius banned them.

He had outlawed the worship of the ancient gods because of new beliefs in Christianity.

The buildings were eventually torn down and the city was buried under earthquakes and floods.

The Modern Olympics

The modern Olympics were started in 1896 by a French educator and historian by the name of Pierre de Coubertin.

Pierre loved sports and felt that the world's countries would have more of an opportunity for peace if they gathered together to play sports.

He designed the five color rings that are used to represent the Olympic Games today.

The rings stand for North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

At the beginning of the games a flame is lit.

The flame begins in Olympia and is passed from torch to torch until the location of the games is reached. The location changes every time the Olympic games are played.

Today the Olympic games are the largest sporting event in the world.

There are summer and winter games and over 30 sports are played.

Men and women from all over the world compete to win the gold, bronze, and silver medals.

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In 776 B.C.E, about three thousand years ago, the first Olympic Games took place. Originally, the games were part of a religious festival to honor Zeus. He was the god of the sky and the leader of the Greek gods who lived on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece.

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The first Olympics games are usually given the start year of 776 BCE, but they probably began even sooner. The ancient Greeks loved competitions of all sorts, especially sporting competitions. The Olympics were not the only competition games held in ancient Greece, but they were the most popular.

Once the Olympics began, the Olympic competition was held once every four years for the next 1000 years! The games were held in honor of the mighty god, Zeus, king of all the gods. The games were held in the city-state of Olympia. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Athletics games to compete in the Olympics from all over the Mediterranean. The only requirements were that the athletic was Greek, male, and naked!

At first, the games were made up of foot races. But other sports were gradually added. Besides the foot races, there were boxing and wrestling matches, discus and javelin throwing, and chariot races. Other sports were added as well.

The Greeks took the Olympic games quite seriously. Nearly all the ancient Greek cities sent teams to participate in the ancient Greek Olympics. If two or more Greek city-states happen to be at war with each other when the game date arrived, war was halted for the duration of the games.

Women were not allowed to attend the games because men did not wear clothes when they competed in the events.

Everyone wanted their city-state to win! There was a winner of each competition at the games. All the winner won at the games was a crown made of leaves to wear on his head. When the winning athletics returned home to their city-state, they were treated like superstars!

The Ancient Olympics (interactive)

Story of the Olympic Games (British Museum)

The ancient Greek Olympic Games (cartoon, video)
A Humorous Look at Five Ancient Greek City-States Contestants as they prepare to represent their city-state at the ancient Greek Olympic Games - Athens, Sparta, Megara, Corinth, Argos (scroll down to find your city-state) The Olympic Games (bbc) Go for the Gold - It's Greek to Me Game Ancient Olympics compared to Modern Olympics
The Ancient Olympics (video, pbs, part cartoon, part human)

The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games

QUIZ: Ancient Greek Olympics (Interactive with answers)

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report this ad The first Olympics games are usually given the start year of 776 BCE, but they probably began even sooner. The ancient Greeks loved competitions of all sorts, especially sporting competitions. The Olympics were not the only competition games held in ancient Greece, but they were the most popular.

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Kids learn about the Olympic games of Ancient Greece. The history of this world civilization.

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Learn a little about the Olympic Games, Ancient and Modern, and then test yourself to see what you remember!

The Ancient Olympic Games

When were the first Olympic Games?
The first known Olympic Games was recorded in around 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. They were celebrated until 396 AD.

What events took place in the Ancient Olympic Games?
The Ancient Olympic Games consisted of only one race, the "stade" race, which was the length of the stadium and between 180 and 240 metres long (we don't know for sure). Over the years more running races and other events were added, including boxing, wrestling, chariot racing, long jump, javelin and discus throwing.

Who took part in the Ancient Olympic Games?
Only young men could take part. They had to be free men, and speak Greek. They usually competed nude, and the prize was a crown of olive leaves (a sign of hope and peace).

Make an Olive Leaf Crown

Were women allowed at the Ancient Olympic Games?
Women were not allowed to take part. Married women were not even allowed to watch!

Now try to fill in this worksheet? What can you remember?
Ancient Olympic Games Worksheet

The Modern Olympic Games

Who revived the idea of the Olympic Games?
A French nobleman, Pierre Fredy, the Baron de Coubertin, born in 1863. When he was young, Coubertin was a very keen sportsman. As he grew older he developed a passionate belief that sport could encourage peace throughout the world and bring people from all over the world together.

Coubertin was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games and travelled around the world, spending his own money, trying to persuade people to revive them. Eventually he managed to bring together representatives of many different countries in Paris, in 1894, and the Olympic Movement was begun.

We have notebooking pages you can use here:
Baron Pierre de Coubertin

When and where were the first modern Olympic Games held?
The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896.

Did women compete in this first modern Olympic Games?
No! Women began to compete in 1900. For many years there were problems for the women athletes about what to wear, because it was considered very rude to show any part of the body or even the shape of the body! Can you imagine trying to run and jump covered from head to foot in clothes?

Who supervises the Olympic Games?
When Baron de Coubertin founded the Olympic Movement he established the International Olympic Committee (the IOC) to supervise it, in 1894. He himself served as its president for 29 years, and there have been 8 presidents since then. There were originally 14 members but the Committee has now grown to over 130 members, all of whom must speak either French or English. Existing members elect new members as required. The IOC is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

What is the aim of the Olympic Movement?
"The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play."

What is an Olympiad?
An Olympiad is the period of four years which starts with a summer Olympic Games. Each Olympiad is counted with Roman numerals, and the year of the Games cannot be changed (although Games have been skipped out, as in 1916 during the First World War).

Who chooses the next host for the Olympic Games, and how?
Members of the IOC choose the next venue for the Olympic Games, which must be a city rather than a country. So, for example, the next Olympics, in 2016, will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro, rather than Brazil. Any city which wishes to host the Games can put their bid to the IOC. Only one city from each country can bid, and even putting forward a bid takes a huge amount of work and is very expensive. It usually takes many years to prepare, and of course only one city can be successful!

Who selects each country's team of athletes?
Each country has their own National Olympic Committee (NOC). The NOCs represent their countries at the Olympic Games and select their own national teams.

What is the Olympic torch?
Prior to each Games, the Olympic Torch or Flame is lit in Olympia, Greece and brought to the host city by runners carrying the torch in relay.

Make an Olympic Torch

What is the Olympic creed?
"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

Who wins medals?
The athletes or teams who come first, second and third win medals: respectively gold, silver and bronze.

Are the gold medals real gold?
No! They were solid gold until 1912, but are now silver covered with a thin layer of gold.

Make your own Olympic Medals

Why do we have the Olympic rings as the emblem of the Olympic Games?
The five interlocking rings (blue, yellow, black, green, and red respectively) of the emblem was originally designed in 1913 by Pierre de Coubertin, to symbolize the five continents of the world taking part in the Olympic Games (the Americas are viewed as a single continent, and Antarctica is omitted).

Paper Plate Olympic Rings

What is the Olympic motto?
"Citius, Altius, Fortius.", which is Latin for "Swifter, Higher, Stronger"

Can you answer these questions? What can you remember?
Modern Olympic Games Worksheet

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Learn a little about the Olympic Games, Ancient and Modern, and then test yourself to see what you remember! When were the first Olympic Games? The first known Olympic Games was recorded in around 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. They were celebrated until 396 AD. What events took place in the Ancient Olympic Games?

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Cite

The early Olympic Games were celebrated as a religious festival from 776 B.C. until 393 A.D., when the games were banned for being a pagan festival (the Olympics celebrated the Greek god Zeus). In 1894, a French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin, proposed a revival of the ancient tradition, and thus the modern-day Olympic Summer Games were born.

Host Greece won the most medals (47) at the first Olympic Summer Games in 1896.

The first Winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France in 1924.

Norway has won the most medals (263) at the Winter Games.

The United States has won more medals (2,189) at the Summer Games than any other country.

The five Olympic rings represent the five major regions of the world - Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceana, and every national flag in the world includes one of the five colors, which are (from left to right) blue, yellow, black, green, and red.

Up until 1994 the Olympics were held every four years. Since then, the Winter and Summer games have alternated every two years.

The first Olympics covered by U.S. television was the 1960 Summer Games in Rome by CBS.

No country in the Southern Hemisphere has ever hosted a Winter Games.

Three continents - Africa, South America, and Antarctica - have never hosted an Olympics.

A record 202 countries participated in the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens.

Only four athletes have ever won medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games: Eddie Eagan (United States), Jacob Tullin Thams (Norway), Christa Luding-Rothenburger (East Germany), and Clara Hughes (Canada).

Speed skater Bonnie Blair has won six medals at the Olympic Winter Games. That's more than any other American athlete.

Nobody has won more medals at the Winter Games than cross-country skier Bjorn Dählie of Norway, who has 12.

Larrisa Latynina, a gymnast from the former Soviet Union, finished her Summer Olympic Games career with 18 total medals-the most in history.

The United States Olympic Committee established the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983 to recognize outstanding American Olympic athletes, however, a plan to build a hall has been suspended due to lack of funding.

The Summer Olympic sports are archery, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, canoe / kayak, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, handball, judo, modern pentathlon (shooting, fencing, swimming, show jumping, and running), mountain biking, rowing, sailing, shooting, soccer, swimming, synchronized swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, track and field, triathlon (swimming, biking, running), volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling.

The Winter Olympic sports are alpine skiing, biathlon (cross-country skiing and target shooting), bobsled, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hocky, luge, Nordic combined (ski jumping and cross-country skiing), skeleton, ski jumping, snowboarding, and speed skating.

The early Olympic Games were celebrated as a religious festival from 776 B.C. until 393 A.D., when the games were banned for being a pagan festival (the Olympics celebrated the Greek god Zeus). In 1894, a French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin, proposed a revival of the ancient tradition, and thus the modern-day Olympic Summer Games were born.

Host Greece won the most medals (47) at the first Olympic Summer Games in 1896.

The first Winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France in 1924.

Norway has won the most medals (263) at the Winter Games.

The United States has won more medals (2,189) at the Summer Games than any other country.

The five Olympic rings represent the five major regions of the world - Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceana, and every national flag in the world includes one of the five colors, which are (from left to right) blue, yellow, black, green, and red.

Up until 1994 the Olympics were held every four years. Since then, the Winter and Summer games have alternated every two years.

The first Olympics covered by U.S. television was the 1960 Summer Games in Rome by CBS.

No country in the Southern Hemisphere has ever hosted a Winter Games.

Three continents - Africa, South America, and Antarctica - have never hosted an Olympics.

A record 202 countries participated in the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens.

Only four athletes have ever won medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games: Eddie Eagan (United States), Jacob Tullin Thams (Norway), Christa Luding-Rothenburger (East Germany), and Clara Hughes (Canada).

Speed skater Bonnie Blair has won six medals at the Olympic Winter Games. That's more than any other American athlete.

Nobody has won more medals at the Winter Games than cross-country skier Bjorn Dählie of Norway, who has 12.

Larrisa Latynina, a gymnast from the former Soviet Union, finished her Summer Olympic Games career with 18 total medals-the most in history.

The United States Olympic Committee established the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983 to recognize outstanding American Olympic athletes, however, a plan to build a hall has been suspended due to lack of funding.

The Summer Olympic sports are archery, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, canoe / kayak, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, handball, judo, modern pentathlon (shooting, fencing, swimming, show jumping, and running), mountain biking, rowing, sailing, shooting, soccer, swimming, synchronized swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, track and field, triathlon (swimming, biking, running), volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling.

The Winter Olympic sports are alpine skiing, biathlon (cross-country skiing and target shooting), bobsled, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hocky, luge, Nordic combined (ski jumping and cross-country skiing), skeleton, ski jumping, snowboarding, and speed skating.

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Cite The early Olympic Games were celebrated as a religious festival from 776 B.C. until 393 A.D., when the games were banned for being a pagan festival (the Olympics celebrated the Greek god Zeus). In 1894, a French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin, proposed a revival of the ancient tradition, and thus the modern-day Olympic Summer Games were born.

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Top 6 Differences Between the Ancient and Modern Olympics

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Educational movie about the Ancient and Modern Olympics, discusses some of the history behind the olympics, some similarities and some differences between the ancient and modern olympics

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Educational movie about the Ancient and Modern Olympics, discusses some of the history behind the olympics, some similarities and some differences between the ancient and modern olympics

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The ancient origins of the Olympics - Armand D'Angour

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All About the Olympics for Kids - The History and Symbols of The Olympics: FreeSchool

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Modern Olympic Games | Go for the Gold Student Activity | Scholastic.com

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Learn about how the modern Olympics began and evolved into what the games are today. Includes links to other activities, historical photos, and a teacher's guide to help students discover this important event.

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Ancient Athens Democracy for Kids and Teachers - Ancient Greece for Kids

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Each year, there was a drawing. Five hundred (500) names were drawn from a pool of all the citizens of ancient Athens. Those 500 citizens had to serve for one year. During that year, they were responsible for making new laws and for changing old laws as they saw fit.

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Even after 3,000 years, we're still using ancient Greek ideas in maths, science and art. Our alphabet is based on the Greek one. Check a dictionary and you'll find hundreds of words that come from the Greek language.

How did Greek ideas spread so far? It's down to Alexander, the young king of Macedon. He led his army to take over Greece, Persia, Egypt and even part of India. He ruled so much of the world they called him 'Alexander the Great'.

Wherever he went, Alexander took Greek ideas. When he died in 323BC, the Romans took over. They admired the Greeks' way of life and carried Greek ideas to even more countries - including ours!

In ancient Athens, citizens would gather together on a dusty hill called the Pynx. Here they would decide the city's laws and who should sit on its ruling council. This was 'democracy' or 'rule by the people'.

All 30,000 citizens were men. Women and slaves didn't get a say. A citizen could speak for the time it took water to run from one jar into another. When this water clock ran out, it was someone else's turn.

A jury of 500 citizens decided if someone was guilty of law-breaking. Punishments included death. Citizens could also vote to get rid of people they disliked. Each man wrote a name on a broken bit of pottery called an 'ostracon'. Anyone named more than 600 times got kicked out of the city.

Today, we also live in a democracy. Unlike in ancient Greece, women get to vote, too. Juries of 12 people decide if someone is guilty of a crime - we don't use ostracons anymore!

The Greeks loved sport as much as we do. They enjoyed the discus, javelin, long jump, boxing and horse racing. Athletes prayed to Nike, the goddess of victory - she's still a big name in sport today!

Greek men and boys trained in a gymnasium. We also go to the gym, although today women and girls are welcome too. The Greeks loved to watch races in a big, open-air 'stadion', very like a modern sports stadium.

Every four years the Greeks held a special sporting festival at Olympia - the Olympic Games. These inspired the modern Olympics which began in 1896. Some of the events were very similar. Like the Greeks, we also hold the Olympics every four years.

Legend tells of Pheidippides, who fought at the battle of Marathon in 490BC. When the Greeks won, he ran 26 miles (42 km) to Athens with the news - and then fell down dead. Modern marathon races cover the same distance as his epic run.

Ancient Greek thinkers made big discoveries. Pythagoras found ways to measure and describe shapes that we still use in maths today.

Aristotle studied plants, animals and rocks. He devised experiments to find out about the world we live in. Modern scientists do the same kind of thing.

Herodotus wrote a history of the Greeks. He based this on eyewitness reports, something today's historians also try to do. Socrates and Plato were philosophers. They asked, "What is a good life?" and "How do we think?" Philosophers in our time also try to answer these questions.

Ancient Greek stories are still told today. We love films about superheroes and monsters. Our TV soaps are full of stories about long-lost children returning to find their parents - just as ancient Greek plays were.

Click on each of the famous Greeks below to find out about their lives. Who would you choose as your greatest Greek?

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How did the ancient Greeks change the world?

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Even after 3,000 years, we're still using ancient Greek ideas in maths, science and art. Our alphabet is based on the Greek one. Check a dictionary and you'll find hundreds of words that come from the Greek language. How did Greek ideas spread so far? It's down to Alexander, the young king of Macedon.

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History: Ancient Greece Timeline for Kids

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Kids learn about the events and timeline of the history of Ancient Greece from its founding, to the rise of the city-states, Athens and Sparta, to its fall.

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Ancient Greece - Timelines - The British Museum

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Only men, boys and unmarried girls were allowed to attend the Olympic Games. Married women were barred.

If they were caught sneaking in, they could be thrown off the side of a mountain as punishment!

However, women could still own horses in the chariot races at the Olympics and unmarried women had their own festival at Olympia every four years.

This was called the and was held in honour of Hera, Zeus's wife. Winners were awarded of sacred olive branches, the same as men. But in ancient Greece, only Spartan women were really interested in sport.

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Only men, boys and unmarried girls were allowed to attend the Olympic Games. Married women were barred. If they were caught sneaking in, they could be thrown off the side of a mountain as punishment! However, women could still own horses in the chariot races at the Olympics and unmarried women had their own festival at Olympia every four years.

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Education in Ancient Greece - Ancient Greece for Kids

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Spartan girls also learned to be warriors. Their school was not as brutal, but all girls in ancient Sparta could wrestle and fist fight and handle a weapon. They were taught how to kill. The Spartans believed that strong women produced strong babies.

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A Greek woman wore a long tunic called a . This was made from a piece of cotton or linen. Over this, she wore a cloak draped from her shoulders, called a . This would be a thin material in summer and a thick one in winter.

Young men wore short tunics , while older men preferred long ones. Enslaved men often wore just a strip of cloth called a

Many people walked around barefoot. Some wore leather sandals or, for horse-riding, high boots. Both men and women wore wide-brimmed hats in hot weather, to shade their faces from the sun.

Suntans weren't cool in ancient Greece, so women put white lead on their face to make their skin pale. White lead is poisonous, so it did more harm than good.

We know the Greeks liked jewellery too, because bracelets, earrings and necklaces are often buried with dead people in their tombs.

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What was it like to live in an ancient Greek family?

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A Greek woman wore a long tunic called a . This was made from a piece of cotton or linen. Over this, she wore a cloak draped from her shoulders, called a . This would be a thin material in summer and a thick one in winter.

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Every four years, athletes from around the world gather to compete in events such as sprinting, long jump, discus, snowboarding, and figure skating as part of the Olympics. Their prize? Bragging rights for their home country-plus, you know, a shiny gold medal. Winners didn't always get a medal, though. Victors in the earliest Olympics won a crown of olive leaves.

READY, SET, GO!

The first known Olympics were held in the summer of 776 B.C. at Olympia, a site in southern Greece where people went to worship their gods. In fact, the Olympics were created in honor of ancient Greece's most famous god: Zeus, king of the gods. Athletes prayed to Zeus for victory and left gifts to thank him for their successes.

Worshipping Zeus was one of the few things the ancient Greeks agreed on. Divided into different city-states, or settlements, the Greeks were often at war with each other. But even in times of unrest, dueling city-states declared a truce so their athletes could take part in the Olympics. But unlike today's games, only men were allowed to compete-and they did so naked!

Many events, including sprinting and wrestling, are still part of the modern games. Other sports such as chariot racing are history. Here's another one that's long forgotten: Called the pankration, the event was known as the ultimate fighting sport. There were no weight classes, no time limits, and only two rules: no biting and no eye gouging. Ouch! Competitors fought until one gave up or died. Hm ... wonder why this sport disappeared?

TAKING HOME THE GOLD

The Romans eventually banned the Olympics in A.D. 393, after Rome conquered Greece in the second century B.C. But the games were revived in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and have been celebrated every four years since. And in 1924, the Winter Olympics were added to showcase chillier sports such as cross-country skiing, speed skating, and ice hockey.

Today thousands of athletes from hundreds of countries all over the world compete for the gold (or silver or bronze) in the summer and winter events. The modern Olympics aim to bring people from different parts of the world together and encourage friendly competition and peace among neighboring nations. Game on!
Want even more sports? Download this fun pack, filled with sports-themed games, quizzes, and more.

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Every four years, athletes from around the world gather to compete in events such as sprinting, long jump, discus, snowboarding, and figure skating as part of the Olympics. Their prize? Bragging rights for their home country-plus, you know, a shiny gold medal. Winners didn't always get a medal, though.

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What to Know About the Opening Ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics

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The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, will officially kick off with an opening ceremony on Feb. 9. Here's everything we know

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Image: Ashley Britton/SheKnows

Everybody loves the Olympics, right? Well, if you're a kid who would rather be watching cartoons, maybe not. But the good news is there's a lot more to the Olympics than meets the eye. If you're looking to turn the games into a spectator sport for the whole family, why not educate your kids about the Olympics' history, mascot and more? We've rounded up 10 facts about the Olympics kids of all ages will be sure to dig - and parents will likely learn from too.

As the greatest athletes in the world make their way to Pyeongchang, South Korea, this month for the Olympics' 2018 incarnation, here are a few fun facts to share with your kids before the opening ceremony takes place on Feb. 9.
More: An Age-by-Age Guide to Picking the Best Sport for Your Child
1. The first modern Olympics took place in 1896

The Olympics themselves have been around for a really long time - written records in Greece date the games back to 776 B.C., but it's believed they had even been going on for years before that date. Athletic competitions took place every four years near Olympia, Greece, during a religious festival honoring Zeus. But after these ancient Olympic Games faltered, the idea was revived in 1896 in Athens, and the event featured around 280 athletes (all male, booo) who hailed from 13 countries and competed in 43 events.

2. The five interlocking rings of the Olympic flag represent the "five" continents

Yep, we were confused too. The Olympic flag's rings, which first flew at the 1920 Antwerp Games, represent "the five continents" of America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. The North and South American continents are represented by one ring, and Antarctica misses out since its frosty inhabitants (mostly scientists and penguins) haven't put together an Olympic team...Yet.

3. The U.S. has won the most medals throughout all of Olympic history

There's got to be something about economic privilege behind this, right? But anyway, the United States' nearly 2,800-medal total does lag behind Norway when it comes to overall medals awarded during the Winter Olympics. How will Team USA fare this year? Only time will tell.

4. The Olympics has a mascot

This year, it's a cute white tiger named Soohorang. The white tiger has been considered Korea's guardian animal, which makes it the perfect choice for Pyeongchang. Also, "Sooho" means "protection" in Korean, and the other part of his name, "rang," comes from the middle letter of the Korean word for "tiger."

5. This is the second time South Korea has hosted the Olympics

The Olympics are returning to South Korea for the first time since 1988, when the Summer Games were held in Seoul.
More: Jillian Michaels on #MeToo, Adoption & Hopes of Training Ruth Bader
6. Gold medals aren't solid gold - not by a long shot

1912 was the last time solid-gold medals were awarded to Olympic athletes. Nowadays, though, the medals contain a mere fraction of the gold content of those early editions. In fact, today's gold medal is mostly silver with about 6 grams of gold plating.

7. Women were first allowed to participate in the Olympics in 1900

The first Olympics were dudes-only, but women have been working their way into - and winning - events since then. But it's been a slow process. Women weren't allowed to participate in volleyball and luge until 1964, and we couldn't participate in weight lifting until 2000, believe it or not. As for female boxers? They weren't allowed to compete in their sport in the Olympics until 2012. Damn, Olympics, get with it!

8. The Olympic torch is well-traveled

Although the route varies depending on the year's host country, the well-known tradition of the Olympic torch remains much the same this year as it works its way through 17 cities and provinces across South Korea. Each host country is responsible for designing its torch, and it must remain lit in all weather conditions.

9. Five athletes have won medals at both the Summer & Winter Games

It's a huge milestone to win an Olympic medal - and winning more than one is an even greater feat. But winning a medal at both the Summer and Winter Games? Truly unusual. Out of the thousands of Olympic athletes, only five have done so. Among the five are two Americans: Eddie Eagan (boxing and bobsled, both gold) and Lauryn Williams (relay gold, 100-meter silver and bobsled silver).

10. The Pyeongchang Olympics will take place across 13 different venues

It's not uncommon for host cities to renovate or create new buildings for the Olympic Games, and this year, Pyeongchang has built six new venues from the ground up - and has refurbished seven others specifically for the Games.
More: Badass Bethany Hamilton Is Still Surfing - Pregnant & With One Arm
And there you have it: 10 fascinating facts that will make the Olympics more fun for viewers of all ages - as if they weren't already the most fun thing ever. May the best (wo)man win.

Image: Ashley Britton/SheKnows

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Think the Olympics are boring for kids? Think again

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Everybody loves the Olympics, right? Well, if you're a kid who would rather be watching cartoons, maybe not. But the good news is there's a lot more to the Olympics than meets the eye. If you're looking to turn the games into a spectator sport for the whole family, why not educate your kids about the Olympics' history, mascot and more?

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Children in Ancient Athens

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Children in Ancient Athens | Ancient Athens

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In the fifth century approximately half of the population in ancient Athens was under the age of fifteen. Most of the information known about these children and adolescents has been gleaned from mythology, art, poetry, theatre and history.

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Education in Ancient Greece Athens and Sparta

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Just like children of today, children in ancient Greece loved to play with a variety of toys. Archaeologists have uncovered all sorts of toys at sites in Greece. One popular toy was knucklebones. These were made from the ankles of sheep and goats. Players threw knucklebones like dice and often carried them around in their own pouch.

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Daily life in Ancient Greece for kids

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Men had a much better life in Ancient Greece than women. Only men could be full citizens. Only men made the important decisions. Normally, only men fought in armies, took part in sports and met in public.

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Facts 1

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Facts 2

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Facts 3

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Facts 4

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3 minutes movie clip explaination

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Spartans looks

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Greeks outfit- Noble citizen

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Greeks outfit - common people

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Horse of Troy - papercrafting

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Here is a interesting movie clip

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Here is a interesting movie clip

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A glimpse of teenage life in ancient Rome - Ray Laurence

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Kids learn about democracy and the characteristics of this type of government including direct and indirect democracy, how it works within the United States government, the realities of today, and fun facts.

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Athens and Sparta: Two Greek City-States

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ATHENS vs SPARTA - The Peloponnesian War Explained

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Greek Children

There weren't any words in the language of the ancient Greeks that had the same meaning as the word "family." The closest word to family is the word "oikos," which means household. Oikos means everything that is domestic and includes slaves and servants as well as the members of the family and their household items.

Children were born at home. All the women of the household would be present to ensure the labor was smooth and there may have been a female midwife as well. If there were complications, a male physician may have been brought in for assistance.

Babies frequently died just a few days after birth, so there was generally a waiting period of about a week before a child was named. Since childbirth was considered to be an unclean activity, after the child had survived for a week, there was a purification ceremony and the child was officially named. If the child had some deformity, the father or guardian was in a position to abandon the child, especially if the child was a girl. At times these abandoned babies who had been left outdoors to die were taken in by another family and raised as slaves.

With assistance from her servants and nurse maids, the children's mother was responsible for their upbringing and care. Mothers and wet nurses breast fed the children and sometimes they were fed from pottery feeding bottles too. The women and children generally lived upstairs in the women's quarters, called the Gynaikon or Gynaikonitis.

Evidence from vase paintings shows that children slept in cradles that were made of wood or wickerwood. There's also evidence that babies sat in high chairs and had bottles in the shape of animals. Babies were wrapped up in tight clothing until the age of two years old since it was believed that this is how children's bones would stay strong and straight. Both brothers and sisters played with their mother in the Gynaikon until they were about seven years old.

Girls in Ancient Greece

Girls were educated at home by their mothers but they were not usually taught to read and write. Their education consisted of how to take care of children and a home. They were also taught how to cook, embroider, and weave.

Girls who lived in Sparta had much more freedom than girls living in other Greek city-states. In Sparta, girls were encouraged to participate in athletics and gymnastics. They also learned music, singing, and dancing.

In most city-states, girls rarely left the Gynaikon and they remained closely supervised by their mothers until they were marrying age. There were special occasions when girls were allowed to attend religious festivals.

After they reached puberty at the ages of twelve or thirteen, girls were considered adults and their fathers arranged their marriages. Often these marriages were to men in their thirties. By taking their childhood toys and leaving them at the temple of Artemis, girls showed that their childhood was officially over.

Once a suitable husband was found, girls were married off and expected to have children of their own. If a family had multiple daughters, it could get expensive since each daughter would have to begin her marriage with a dowry. The dowry was property or money that was given to her husband upon their marriage. Any young women who couldn't bear children were seen as cursed by the gods.

Boys in Ancient Greece

As in many ancient cultures and some modern cultures as well, boys were favored over girls. Boys were able to continue the family line, care for older parents, and arrange a proper funeral for them when they died.

At age three, a young boy would taste his first sips of wine at the festival of Dionysus. He would also begin to assist at sacrificial rituals to the gods as an official temple boy.

In most city-states, boys lived in the Gynaikon and were trained by their fathers to master different crafts until they were around the age of six. Then they were educated in schools. Spartan boys left their families at the age of seven to be reared and educated by the state for the military. They were not allowed to leave the barracks where they were being trained until they were thirty years of age. Other city-states required boys to join the army when they reached the age of eighteen. They were required to give two years of service.

Rich families had a special slave called a "paidagogos" whose job it was to bring the boys back and forth to school and guarantee that they worked hard while they were there.

Boys learned to memorize and recite poems. They also learned music, reading, writing, and arithmetic using an abacus. Each student used a stylus to write on a wooden tablet that was covered in soft wax. By excelling in athletics, boys prepared to be soldiers by running, jumping, throwing spears and discus, and wrestling in the gymnasium.

Most boys worked hard to become farmers, fishermen, or craftsmen. There were many different kinds of crafts to choose from such as pottery, building, metalworking, or stone carving.

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Children of Ancient Greece - Facts for Kids

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There weren't any words in the language of the ancient Greeks that had the same meaning as the word "family." The closest word to family is the word "oikos," which means household. Oikos means everything that is domestic and includes slaves and servants as well as the members of the family and their household items. ...

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Greek Children

There weren't any words in the language of the ancient Greeks that had the same meaning as the word "family." The closest word to family is the word "oikos," which means household. Oikos means everything that is domestic and includes slaves and servants as well as the members of the family and their household items.

Children were born at home. All the women of the household would be present to ensure the labor was smooth and there may have been a female midwife as well. If there were complications, a male physician may have been brought in for assistance.

Babies frequently died just a few days after birth, so there was generally a waiting period of about a week before a child was named. Since childbirth was considered to be an unclean activity, after the child had survived for a week, there was a purification ceremony and the child was officially named. If the child had some deformity, the father or guardian was in a position to abandon the child, especially if the child was a girl. At times these abandoned babies who had been left outdoors to die were taken in by another family and raised as slaves.

With assistance from her servants and nurse maids, the children's mother was responsible for their upbringing and care. Mothers and wet nurses breast fed the children and sometimes they were fed from pottery feeding bottles too. The women and children generally lived upstairs in the women's quarters, called the Gynaikon or Gynaikonitis.

Evidence from vase paintings shows that children slept in cradles that were made of wood or wickerwood. There's also evidence that babies sat in high chairs and had bottles in the shape of animals. Babies were wrapped up in tight clothing until the age of two years old since it was believed that this is how children's bones would stay strong and straight. Both brothers and sisters played with their mother in the Gynaikon until they were about seven years old.

Girls in Ancient Greece

Girls were educated at home by their mothers but they were not usually taught to read and write. Their education consisted of how to take care of children and a home. They were also taught how to cook, embroider, and weave.

Girls who lived in Sparta had much more freedom than girls living in other Greek city-states. In Sparta, girls were encouraged to participate in athletics and gymnastics. They also learned music, singing, and dancing.

In most city-states, girls rarely left the Gynaikon and they remained closely supervised by their mothers until they were marrying age. There were special occasions when girls were allowed to attend religious festivals.

After they reached puberty at the ages of twelve or thirteen, girls were considered adults and their fathers arranged their marriages. Often these marriages were to men in their thirties. By taking their childhood toys and leaving them at the temple of Artemis, girls showed that their childhood was officially over.

Once a suitable husband was found, girls were married off and expected to have children of their own. If a family had multiple daughters, it could get expensive since each daughter would have to begin her marriage with a dowry. The dowry was property or money that was given to her husband upon their marriage. Any young women who couldn't bear children were seen as cursed by the gods.

Boys in Ancient Greece

As in many ancient cultures and some modern cultures as well, boys were favored over girls. Boys were able to continue the family line, care for older parents, and arrange a proper funeral for them when they died.

At age three, a young boy would taste his first sips of wine at the festival of Dionysus. He would also begin to assist at sacrificial rituals to the gods as an official temple boy.

In most city-states, boys lived in the Gynaikon and were trained by their fathers to master different crafts until they were around the age of six. Then they were educated in schools. Spartan boys left their families at the age of seven to be reared and educated by the state for the military. They were not allowed to leave the barracks where they were being trained until they were thirty years of age. Other city-states required boys to join the army when they reached the age of eighteen. They were required to give two years of service.

Rich families had a special slave called a "paidagogos" whose job it was to bring the boys back and forth to school and guarantee that they worked hard while they were there.

Boys learned to memorize and recite poems. They also learned music, reading, writing, and arithmetic using an abacus. Each student used a stylus to write on a wooden tablet that was covered in soft wax. By excelling in athletics, boys prepared to be soldiers by running, jumping, throwing spears and discus, and wrestling in the gymnasium.

Most boys worked hard to become farmers, fishermen, or craftsmen. There were many different kinds of crafts to choose from such as pottery, building, metalworking, or stone carving.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Children of Ancient Greece - Facts for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There weren't any words in the language of the ancient Greeks that had the same meaning as the word "family." The closest word to family is the word "oikos," which means household. Oikos means everything that is domestic and includes slaves and servants as well as the members of the family and their household items. ...