Mike the archaeologist took us to a dig in Athens, in the shadows of the Acropolis.
Here we were able to inspect some of the findings. |
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We were transported back in time to 5th Century BC to a market place in Ancient Greece, situated in the valley below the Acropolis,
where we met a trader who told us about his city and his way of life.
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We looked at his goods of foods, pottery and metal, sampled the food and tried on the clothes of the time.
They were much lighter and less constrictive than school uniform!
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The children learned about Athens which was the strongest city in Greece but with the rival city of Sparta getting stronger and stronger because the boys there trained from the age of seven to be soldiers.
We tried on the helmets and carried the shields of the armies of ancient Greece . |
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| In 510BC a new way of government was invented in Athens.
'Demokratia', from which we get our word 'democracy', means 'rule by the people'.
Any man with full citizen rights could go to the assembly, where they could speak and vote freely.
Any citizen could propose a new law and all citizens were allowed to vote for or against.
However as women and slaves were not classified as citizens they were denied a vote.
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The screen in the background of the Assembly was made up six paintings which told the story of Perseus
The story is retold below.
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We finished the day by looking at the entertainment. There was off course the theatre but as all the parts were played by men (and these were not pantomines) special masks had to be made for the men to wear.
There were games and toys for thechildren. We could have played ‘knucklebones' (games like marbles or jacks), or the hoop and stick, but instead we opted for the great tug of war. |
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