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Greek Beliefs

The Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses, and they told myths about them. Greek myths are traditional stories about gods and heroes. The Greeks believed these gods affected everyday life. Every city-state had a god or goddess who protected its people. The Greeks worshiped their gods in temples and at home.

The Greek gods and goddesses had great powers. However, the Greek people did not fear them because the gods acted like humans. Greeks believed the 12 most important gods and goddesses lived on Mount Olympus and were protected by a gate of clouds. Zeus was the king of the gods.

To please their gods, the people performed rituals, or religious ceremonies in honor of the gods. They had festivals, or celebrations, and feasts for the gods. They prayed and offered gifts to the gods. They believed that the gods were pleased when the people showed skill in the arts or athletics. Every four years they had athletic competitions, called the Olympic Games.

The Greeks believed that the gods made prophecies, or predictions, to help people plan for the future. People who wanted to know the future or listen to other advice visited an oracle. This was a priestess who talked to the gods from a room deep inside a temple. People asked the priestess questions. She told her answers to the priests. Then the priests translated the answers. The most famous oracle was at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi.

Epics and Fables

Greek poems and stories are some of the oldest in the Western world. Many writers have used ideas from these old stories, like England's William Shakespeare.

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The earliest Greek stories were called epics. Epics are long poems about heroes and their brave deeds. Homer

wrote two great Greek epics: the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Homer wrote them both in the 700s B.C. The Iliad tells of a war between the Greeks and the people of Troy. The story describes how this war was won with a wooden horse. The Odyssey tells about the hero, Odysseus, and his long journey home from the Trojan War. The Greeks believed that the Iliad and the Odyssey were true stories. These epics gave them a history filled with heroes and brave deeds. Homer’s stories taught important lessons, such as, friendship and marriage should be valued. Homer’s heroes were role models for the Greeks.

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Have you heard the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf?” This story and others like it were said to have been written by a man named Aesop. He is supposed to have lived around 550 B.C. Historians now know that there was probably never anyone named Aesop who wrote these stories. However, the stories do exist. They are known as Aesop’s fables.

Fables are short tales that teach a lesson. They always have a point, or moral. The moral is a truth that teaches a useful life lesson. Fables are often funny and show human weaknesses and strengths.

Aesop’s fables were part of Greece’s oral tradition for about 200 years. This means that people told the stories out loud to their children and grandchildren. Later, people wrote down the fables. Aesop’s fables are read and told today by people all around the world.

The Impact of Greek Drama

A drama is a story told by people who act out the events. They play the parts of the characters in the story, saying their words and acting out their feelings and actions. Movies, plays, and television shows are often dramas.

The Greeks developed two types of drama—tragedy and comedy. A tragedy has an unhappy ending. The characters in a tragedy cannot solve their problems no matter how hard they try. The first Greek plays were tragedies.

Later the Greeks wrote comedies. A comedy ends happily. Today, we use the word comedy to mean a funny story. For the Greeks, a comedy was any drama with a happy ending.

In ancient Greece, women were not allowed to act. Men played all the parts, even the female characters. For the Greeks, dramas were part of religious festivals. Greek dramas dealt with big ideas, such as the meaning of good and evil and the rights of people.



Greek Art and Architecture

Greek artists created art that expressed the ideals of order, balance, and harmony. This style of art is now known as the classical style.

Greek artists painted on pottery, using red and black paint. Large vases often have pictures from myths. Small pieces, like cups, have pictures from everyday life.

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AI-generated content may be incorrect.The Greeks built beautiful buildings. These buildings had large columns to support the roof. The most important buildings were the temples. Each temple was dedicated to a god or goddess. The Parthenon Athens honored the goddess Athena.







Many Greek temples were decorated with sculpture. Sculpture, like all of Greek art, expressed artists' ideas of perfection and beauty.

Check for Understanding

List three kinds of writing that were started by the ancient Greeks.

1. epics

2. drama

3. comedy

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

Marking the Text

1. Underline what the Greek gods and goddesses were like.

Paraphrasing

2. Why did the Greeks have festivals and rituals for their gods?

Reading Check

3. Why did the ancient Greeks seek advice from oracles?

Identifying

4. Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey?

FOLDABLE . Place a three-tab Write Epics on the anchor tab. Label the top tab Iliad, the middle tab Both, and the bottom tab Odyssey. On the reverse sides, list facts about each to compare and contrast the stories.

– just find the following information (look at the Venn Diagram)



5. Compare and contrast the stories the Iliad and the Odyssey?



Critical Thinking

6. Why do you think Aesop’s fables are still told today?

Reading Check

7. How do fables usually end?

Reading Check

8. How did Greek drama influence how people are entertained today?

Explaining

9. Why were temples built?

Reading Check

10. How did the Greeks design their buildings?

FOLDABLE

Place a two-tab Foldable to cover the Check for Understanding. Write Greek on the anchor tab. Label the top tab Writing and the bottom tab Art and Architecture. Use both sides of the tabs to list what you remember about Greek writing, art, and architecture.

1 answer

Check for Understanding

List three kinds of writing that were started by the ancient Greeks.

  1. Epics
  2. Drama
  3. Comedy

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

Marking the Text

  1. Underline what the Greek gods and goddesses were like.
    • Greek gods and goddesses had great powers but acted like humans.

Paraphrasing

  1. Why did the Greeks have festivals and rituals for their gods?
    • The Greeks held festivals and rituals to honor their gods, believing that these activities pleased them and strengthened their relationship with the divine.

Reading Check

  1. Why did the ancient Greeks seek advice from oracles?
    • The ancient Greeks sought advice from oracles to receive prophecies or guidance about the future, as they believed the oracles could communicate messages from the gods.

Identifying

  1. Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey?
    • The Iliad and the Odyssey were written by Homer.

FOLDABLE

Compare and Contrast the Stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey

| Feature | Iliad | Both | Odyssey | |--------------------|-----------------------------------------|------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------| | Main Characters | Achilles, Hector | Set in ancient Greek mythology | Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus | | Plot Summary | Focuses on the Trojan War and its consequences | Both are epic poems | Chronicles Odysseus’s journey home after the war | | Themes | Honor, Glory, and Revenge | Heroism and moral lessons | Adventure, Cleverness, and Homecoming | | Ending | Ends with the death of Hector | Both considered foundational texts | Ends with Odysseus reuniting with his family |

Critical Thinking

  1. Why do you think Aesop’s fables are still told today?
    • Aesop’s fables are still told today because they convey timeless lessons and morals that are relevant to human experiences, making them valuable for teaching children and adults alike.

Reading Check

  1. How do fables usually end?
    • Fables usually end with a moral or lesson that conveys a useful truth about human behavior.

Reading Check

  1. How did Greek drama influence how people are entertained today?
    • Greek drama influenced modern entertainment by establishing the foundational structure of storytelling through plays and films, including the use of tragedy and comedy, character development, and exploring complex themes.

Explaining

  1. Why were temples built?
    • Temples were built to honor and house the worship of gods and goddesses, serving as sites for rituals and religious ceremonies.

Reading Check

  1. How did the Greeks design their buildings?
  • The Greeks designed their buildings with a focus on classical styles featuring order, balance, and harmony, including large columns to support the structure and intricate decorations that expressed beauty and perfection.

FOLDABLE

Greek Writing, Art, and Architecture

| Writing | Art and Architecture | |--------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------| | - Epics (like the Iliad and Odyssey) | - Classical style focusing on order, balance, and harmony | | - Drama (tragedy and comedy) | - Use of large columns and sculptures in buildings | | - Fables (such as Aesop's fables) | - Temples dedicated to gods, like the Parthenon in Athens |