A little wander through ancient Greece…

Recommended Website: http://www.wingedsandals.com/

Hypothetical Thoughts from Enquiring Minds 

School pillars copyFirst student: “The pillars at the front of the school? Hmm, would you say they’re Doric,Greek columns from istockphoto.com pd Ionic or Corinthian?”

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Second student: “We’re just starting to study geometry and trigonometry in Maths.”

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Third student: “I’d like to take Philosophy in Year 11. I’ve heard the teacher is very good. She uses the Socratic method…”

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Fourth student: “You know one thing I hate about school? It’s so undemocratic. The teachers are all despots.”

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Every single one of these statements touches on the legacy of the ancient Greeks. We might have arrived at all of these concepts without them, but since we can never know what would have been in history, we can’t be sure.

Now there’s a philosophical question…

But first, before we get to philosophy, you need to visit another ancient civilisation, whose influence reaches, as the examples above show, to the present day…

All the photos on this post were taken by my brother Ern on his trip to Greece. I am using them with his permission. 

Write brief answers IN SENTENCES to the questions below, using the websites provided or your textbook.

  • What does the word “philosophy” mean?

http://dictionary.reference.com

/browse/philosophy (There are six definitions given. Look for the one you find easiest to understand.)

  • Where did the Greeks believe the gods and goddesses lived?

Read this site to discover the answer to this question.

  • Name a famous landmark from ancient Athens.

Look at this picture for ideas.

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/government/index.htm

  • What was the word for the market place in Athens?

http://www.athensinfoguide.com/wtsagora.htm

This site has an interactive map and many details about ancient Athens (and modern tourism).

  • Name the two most famous city-states of ancient Greece.

http://history.howstuffworks.com/ancient-greece/ancient-greece2.htm

  • Name three famous ancient Greek philosophers.

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/index.htm

  • What was Euclid famous for?

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Euclid.html

  • How did Socrates teach?

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/socrates.htm

  • What happened to Socrates and why?

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/socrates.htm

The many facets of ancient Greece

Wander through the alleys and amphitheatres of ancient Greece…

CLASS WORK FOR MONDAY 6 SEPTEMBER, 2010

All the photos in this post were taken by my brother Ern on his recent trip to Greece. I am using them with his permission.

Working in pairs, and using the internet sites suggested below, write brief answers to the questions below. You may type your answers into a Word file if you prefer.

Easy questions

  • What does the word “philosophy” mean?

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/philosophy (There are six definitions given. Look for the one you find easiest to understand.)

  • Where did the Greeks believe the gods and goddesses lived?

Read this site to discover the answer to this question.

  • Name a famous landmark from ancient Athens.

Look at this picture (you can save it and colour it if you like) for ideas.

  • What form of government did Athens create?

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/government/index.htm

  • What was the word for the market place in Athens?

http://www.athensinfoguide.com/wtsagora.htm

This site has an interactive map and many details about ancient Athens (and modern tourism).

  • Name the two most famous city-states of ancient Greece.

http://history.howstuffworks.com/ancient-greece/ancient-greece2.htm

  • What invention of Archimedes was used to lift water?
  • Name three famous ancient Greek philosophers.

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/index.htm

  • What was Euclid famous for?

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Euclid.html

  • How did Socrates teach?

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/socrates.htm

Harder questions

  • What does the word “Spartan” mean when used to describe lifestyle or upbringing in the modern day (e.g. in the sentence, “He lives a Spartan type of existence”)? How does this relate to ancient Sparta?
  • What was the name of the war between Athens and Sparta in 431 to 404 BC? Who triumphed?
  • Who was Homer? Name his two famous works.
  • Aristophanes wrote a play called Lysistrata in which the women plot to stop their men from going to war. What was their plot?
  • Describe what happened when the Spartan soldiers held the pass at Thermopylae against the Persians.
  • Who was Sappho?
  • What were Spartan slaves called and how were they treated?
  • Draw a simple diagram with an accompanying formula to show Pythagoras’ theory about right-angle triangles.

The famous ancient Greeks

Hypothetical Thoughts from the Enquiring Minds of 7X

School pillars copyEvangeline: “The pillars at the front of the school? Hmm, would you say they’re Doric,Greek columns from istockphoto.com pd Ionic or Corinthian?”

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Reuben: “We’re just starting to study geometry and trigonometry in Maths.”

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Bridget: “I’d like to take Philosophy in Year 11. I’ve heard the teacher, Ms Ind, is very good. She uses the Socratic method…”

********************

Michael: “You know one thing I hate about school? It’s so undemocratic. The teachers are all despots.”

********************

Every single one of these statements touches on the legacy of the ancient Greeks. We might have arrived at all of these concepts without them, but since we can never know what would have been in history, we can’t be sure.

Now there’s a philosophical question…

Below are two tasks. You need only choose one.

In the first, you can read some quotations from Aristotle, one of the great philosophers and scientists of ancient Athens, whose influence on Western thought is incalculable. Then you can EITHER try writing an analogy like his OR a paragraph-long comment on one of his famous statements.

In the other, you can choose one of the famous ancient Greeks listed below and find out as much as possible about him or her in 20-25 minutes. Then leave a paragraph-long comment, showing your knowledge of the person but most of all your appreciation of his or her contribution to the future of human thought – his or her legacy.

Aristotle Stamp PD image supplied by School of Maths&Stats, Uni of St Andrews, ScotlandTask 1: Aristotle

  • It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

  • A friend is one soul inhabiting two bodies.

  • Man is by nature a political animal.

  • Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.

  • Wit is educated insolence.

  • All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.

Choose one of these quotations and write a comment on it OR try writing an analogy like the one below:

A citizen is a member of a polis just as a sailor is a member of a ship’s crew. Each sailor has a different role according to his abilities. One is a rower, another a helmsman, another a lookout. But although they have different roles all crew members have the same aim – a safe voyage. This is also true of citizens. Although they have different abilities and different roles they have a common object – the welfare of the community of which they are members.

OR

Task 2: Another Famous Ancient Greek

Choose from one of the following:

  • Playwrights and writers: Euripides, Aristophanes, Sophocles, Sappho, Homer
  • Greek ruins - ErnScientists: Hippocrates, Archimedes, Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Aristotle, Agnodice
  • Mathematics: Euclid, Pythagoras, Archimedes
  • Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle