Greek Customs

The ancient Greeks were the first to initiate a democratic form of government. Male citizens were the lawmakers and held public assemblies throughout the year to discuss laws and vote. Women and children were not allowed to vote. The lawmakers were chosen by drawing names and they served for one year. Since most men were busy working, farming or fighting wars, there were often only a few men that attended the assemblies. Greece was made up of city-states and each had its' own government and lawmakers could only vote within their own city-state.

The ancient Greeks worshipped many different Gods and Goddesses. Each God or Goddess represented a specific part of Greek life such as water and sky. The Greeks thought that they would be protected by the Gods and that their lives would become better because of their worship. These Gods were thought to have human form and possess incredible powers. The ancient Greeks also believed that sacrifices would be rewarded by the Gods. The Greeks participated in both public and private sacrifices. They would offer gifts of animals, fish and birds to the Gods. The public sacrifices were held in temples and would follow another type of gathering such as a festival. The worshiping of the Gods brought the ancient Greeks together in their beliefs.

Much of what the ancient Greeks ate and drank was decided by their religious beliefs. Some foods were eaten because it was thought that they were favorites of a god that they worshipped. Meat was never eaten unless it was sacrificed or hunted down. They did not believe in raising animals for food. Fish and seafood were the most popular, along with grapes, olives and figs. Wheat was grown to make breads and cakes. Lentils, peas, and beans were also grown. Ancient Greek food was cooked by various techniques. Meat was roasted on a spit or sometimes boiled. Ovens were used for baking bread and cakes. Grapes were used to make home-made wine, which was usually diluted with water. Goats were raised only for their milk and the milk was used only to make cheese. The ancient Greeks ate with their hands and sometimes used bread to scoop their food. Dinner parties were often held for the males only. Women were not allowed to attend.

Architecture in ancient Greece was usually done with wood or mud-bricks, so their ground plans are the only evidence of their existence. Greeks established most of the most enduring themes, attitudes, and forms of western culture. Architecture is one of the Greek legacies that the western civilization has inherited, as Greece established many of the structural elements, decorative motifs, and building types still used in architecture today.

The two main styles of Greek architecture are doric and ionic. The doric style is much more disciplined and austere, whereas the ionic style is more relaxed and decorative. There was a strong emphasis in building temples for the Greek mythological gods and goddesses. But, there were also well known public buildings like the Parthenon.

Building materials used were limestone and some native stones. Highly expensive marble was used mainly for sculptural decoration found in grand buildings of the classical period. The roofs of their buildings were made up of timber beams covered with overlapping terracotta or occasionally marble tiles.

The structure of ancient Greek architecture consists of a basic cube or rectangle, flanked by colonnades, and a long sequence of columns. Building will have a pronao or a portico that open up to a large open court peristyle. Greeks used very little of the principles of the masonary arch, individual blocks bound together by mortar. The front end of the roof has flat triangular shaped structure, the pediment which is usually filled with scultural decoration.

Temples are the best known form of Greek architecture. The altar of the temple was usually found in the sacred fane, an enclosure, in front of the temple. The inner building of the temple, cella, served mainly as the storage room. The other common public builds of the Greek architecture are gymnasiums, the palaestra, and theatres.

In ancient Greece, architects were hardly treated as valuable master craftsmen, unlike today where the architects are closely associated with the work they produce. And moreover, architecture was not seen as an art form, as it is in modern times.

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To celebrate the birth of a child, a Greek father would dance naked while carrying his child around in the house. The doorway of the house was adorned with a wreath, olives for boys, and wool for girls. Girls had some reading and writing at home and helped their mothers until they were married. Boys would start school at age 6 and continued school until they were 18 and entered military school. Greek children enjoyed rattles, terra-cotta dolls, yo-yos, and listening to their parents stories. They had pets such as dogs, pigs and birds. Greek children were treated as youths until about the age of 30.

There is evidence that the first Olympic games may have started around 776 B.C. They began as a tribute to the gods in the District of Olympia. The games were held every four years and were consistently held until 393 A.D. when pagan cults were banned. Only men were allowed to participate in the ancient Olympics and they were also the only guests that could attend the games. The first games were held only on one day and eventually expanded to 5 day game events. The most popular ancient games were discus, running, jumping, javelin and wrestling. Chariot races were also a very popular olympic game.

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