¨Religion¨

Greek mythology consists of stories told by the ancient Greeks about their gods and heroes, nature of the world and the origins and importance of religious practices. The largest Greek gods were the twelve Olympians:

Zeus - the god of sky and thunder, the highest ranking and most powerful ruler of Mount Olympus
Hera - the consort of Zeus, king of the gods, the goddess of marriage, fidelity
Poseidon - Hades along with the driver of the seas, oceans and earthquakes
Ares - the god of war, cruelty and murder
Hermes - the messenger god, also of guidance, travelers, shepherds, the crooks, comfort and
meetings
Hephaestus - the god of fire, the forge, manual labor, artisans and weapons
Aphrodite - the goddess of love
Athena - the goddess of wisdom, education and war, the protector of heroes
Apollo - the god of dance, arts, music, archery, prudence and male beauty
Artemis - the goddess of hunting, animals, chastity and the Amazons
Demeter - the goddess of earth, flowers and plants, food and agriculture
Hestia - Goddess of the warmth of home and family
Other important deities included:

Hebe - the goddess of youth and the helper of the gods
Helios - the sun god
Selene - the goddess of the moon
Hades - god of the underworld and the dead on the Queen
Persephone - the goddess of the underworld
Heracles - a hero and a demigod of extraordinary strength
Zeus's parents were Cronus and Rhea who were also parents of Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter.

¨Political structure¨

 Ancient Greece consisted of hundreds of city-state (polis) more or less independent. This situation was different than in most other societies, or tribes or kingdoms were sovereign over vast areas. Undoubtedly the geography of Greece, divided and subdivided by hills, mountains and rivers contributed to the fragmented nature of ancient Greece. It is likely that a similar political structure existed in the great maritime city-states of Phoenicia. However, to some extent the situation was unique in ancient Greece. On the one hand, the ancient Greeks had no doubt that they were "a peculiar people ', sharing the same religion, same basic culture and the same language, besides being very aware of their tribal origins, Herodotus could classify the city-state tribe . On the other hand, although these relationships were the highest level, seems to rarely played a role in Greek politics. The independence of the poleis was fiercely defended, the ancient Greeks rarely watched the unification of Greece. Even when a group of city-states banded together to defend Greece in the second Persian invasion, the vast majority of the polis remained neutral, to defeat the Persians, "allies" turned to infighting.
 

¨The education¨

 In the majority of Greek history, education was private, except in Sparta. During the Hellenistic period, some city-states established public schools. Only wealthy families could hire a teacher. The boys learned to read, write and quote literature. They also learned to sing and play a musical instrument, and train as soldiers for military service. They studied not for work but to become good citizens. Girls also learned to read, write and do simple arithmetic to head home. Almost never received any education after childhood.

Children entering school to serve seven years, or were in the barracks if they lived in Sparta. The three types of teachings were: grammatistes for arithmetic, kitharistes for music, and paedotribae for sports.

A child of a wealthy family who attended a private school was looked after by a paidagogos, a domestic slave appointed to this task who accompanied the boy all day. Classes were held in private homes of teachers and included arithmetic, reading, writing, singing and playing instruments like the harp music and the flute.

¨Literature¨

Greek literature is that which was written by native authors of Greece and the geographic areas of Greek influence. These works are often made in one of the Greek dialects, but not necessarily. It extends throughout all historical periods in which there have been Greek writers.

Byzantine literature is written in medieval Greek, during the reign of the Byzantine EmpireIs an expression of the intellectual life of the Hellenized the Eastern Roman Empire during the Christian Middle Ages. Combines Greek and Christian civilization on the common ground the Roman political system, located in the intellectual and ethnographic atmosphere of the Middle East.
Byzantine literature from four different cultural elements: the Greek, Christian, Roman and Eastern, whose character combined. The Oriental imagination involves the contributions of the Hellenistic intellectual culture, the Roman government organization and the emotional life of Christianity.

¨The Art¨

Greek art began with small sculptures made of wood (xoana). Later he began work on marble.The most splendid period of Greek art was the Age of Pericles denomidado.Artistic works that were most frequently were the sculptures. Among the most prominent classical sculptors are Myron and Phidias.

The Geometric period is dated around the year 1000 BC C., although little is known about Greek art during the preceding 200 years (traditionally known as the Greek Dark Ages), the period of the seventh century C. witnessed the slow development of the archaic style as noted by the painting style of "black-figure." The onset of Medical Wars will mark the end of the Archaic period and the beginning of the classic, the reign of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC) is taken as the separation between the classical and Hellenistic art.

 

 

¨Culture¨

The Culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, with its beginnings in the

Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations continuing with the remarkable classical Greece,

the birth of the Hellenistic era and through the influence of the Roman Empire and its

successor, the Byzantine Empire, in eastern Greece.

 

 

 

 

The Ottoman Empire also had a considerable influence on Greek culture, but it is the

Greek War of Independence which revitalizes Greece and giving birth to an individual

identity within its multi-faceted culture throughout its history.

¨Economic¨

At its economic peak in the V and IV a. Ancient Greece was the world's most advanced

economy This is demonstrated by the average daily wage of a worker Greek era, in terms of

wheat, close to 12 kg daily for more than three times the average daily wage of an Egyptian

worker, close to the 3.75 kg of wheat daily .