Number 30

Tell me about life in Ancient Greece, including:

a. Family Life:
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.Spartan women were taught reading and writing and skills to protect themselves in battle. They had more freedom than women and girls living in Athens. As well as looking after the house, making clothes.Women in Athens were taught skills they would need to run a home such as cooking and weaving. They were expected to look after the home, make the clothes, and bear children.
b. Clothing:
The main item of clothing for men was a tunic, called a chiton, These were big squares of cloth, held in place by pins at the shoulders and a belt round the waist. They were made from wool in the winter or linen in the summer.Women also wore clothing which was made from big square piece of linen or wool. They used pins in various places to hold it together. Unlike the men's, the dresses always went down to the ankles.
c. Food:
The Ancient Greeks grew olives, grapes, figs and wheat and kept goats, for milk and cheese. They ate lots of bread, beans and olives.In the Summer months there were plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables to eat and in the winter they ate dried fruit and food they had stored like apples and lentils. As most of the Greeks lived very near the sea, they also ate a lot of fish, squid and shellfish.
d. Entertainment:
Ancient Greeks loved sport and most cities in Ancient Greece had public gymnasiums where people gathered to train and relax.Almost every Greek city had a theatre because plays were part of many religious festivals. The Greeks enjoyed singing and dancing.
e. Military:
Sparta was the only city state which had a full time army. The Spartan men were well known for being brave and fierce, and they spent their whole lives training and fighting.Spartans lived in harsh conditions, without luxuries, to make them tough fighters.Physical training and fitness was considered to be an important part of a Spartan child’s education. Girls did not fight in wars but they took part in physical activities because Spartans believed fit and strong women would have healthy babies that would be good soldiers. Boys went to live at an army barracks at the age of 7.
f. Government:
Sparta had its own system of government which was very different from the other city states. Rule was shared between two kings, the Gerousia and the Assembly
g. Social Life:
Men trained almost their whole life so they didn't have much of a social life. The women were constantly staying in shape so that they could have healthy babies so that they could become strong warriors. The children didnt go to school but worked all the time. they played sports some

times and went to plays and other evens.
h. Education:

The way children were educated was different in each city state.In Sparta, reading and writing was unimportant. Boys learned to be good fighters.In Athens citizens had to be educated to take part in voting in the Assembly. Athenian boys also went to 'wrestling school' each day, to learn many sports, not just wrestling. They had to be fit, to fight in the army.Greek schools were small. They had only one teacher and about ten or twenty boys. The schools were not free and so only the rich could really afford to send their children to school.The children did not need much school equipment as they had to learn everything off by heart. When they needed to, they wrote on wooden boards covered with layers of wax. They used a wooden pen called a stylus with a sharp end for writing and a flat end for 'rubbing out'. The wax was melted and reapplied from time to time.