Greek #1

1. People first lived in Greece about 55,000 years ago.
2. Some of the frescoes show the Minoans worshipping a bull and an Earth goddess.
3. In Knossos, the Minoans built a great civilization.
4. In about 1628 B.C., a volcano erupted on an island near Crete and tidal waves caused by the eruption destroyed settlements on Crete.
5. The Mycenaeans controlled mainland Greece from about 1600 B.C. to about 1200 B.C.
6. Greeks would often travel to oracles to ask questions about the future.
7. Athens developed a form of democracy when the idea of popular government, or the idea that people can and should rule themselves, began to take root.
8. We do not really know who the author or authors of the two epic poems attributed to Homer were; however, the period described is often called the Homeric Age.
9. The Greeks created myths to explain their world.
10. The Olympics were probably held for the first time in 776 B.C. to honor the god Zeus.
11.  Helots made up the third and lowest group in Spartan society.
12. Ephors were elected from the Spartan assembly, which included all male citizens over 30 years old.
13. Sparta's goal was to make every adult male citizen part of the military machine.
14. Draco's laws were so harsh and severe that today we call a harsh law a Draconian law.
15. Solon also made changes in Athenian government; for example, he set up citizen juries to preside over some court cases.
16. Trade was the mainstay of Athen's economy.
17. Terracing means carving small, flat plots of land from hillsides
18. Parents arranged marriages and often girls were married at 13 or 14 to men twice their age or older.
19. Generally, most Athenians believed that money should be spent on buildings to benefit the whole community, and not on private homes.
20. Men called Sophists opened schools for older boys in the 400s B.C.
21. Persian War series of conflicts between Greece and Persia lasted from about 500 B.C. to 479 B.C.
22. Pericles was a great general, orator, and statesman in Athens, and was responsible for building the Parthenon and the Acropolis.
23. Sparta won Pelopponesian War after 27 years.
24. Thucydides authored a book titled the History of the Peloponnesian Wars.
25. Athens was the leader of the Delian League.