9 Ancient Athens and Sparta Projects and Activities

Athens and Sparta.  Sparta and Athens.  Which city-state do you prefer?  If you could go back right now to Ancient Greece and be either a wealthy citizen of Athens or a Spartan general, which would you pick?

13 Project Ideas for Early Greece - The Ancient Mycenaeans

After a few days of the trading, bull-leaping, artistic Minoans, we come to the raiding, Trojan-horse building Mycenaeans.  Here are some ideas for projects and activities on the Mycenaeans!

11 Project Ideas - Early Ancient Greece - The Minoans

I always start my Greece unit with a look at the Ancient Minoans.  They are a fascinating civilization that helped shape the culture we see later on in Ancient Greece.  Here are a few project ideas for learning and showing learning about the Ancient Minoans.

37 Project Ideas - Geography of Ancient Greece

Years ago I wrote a post on Ancient Mesopotamia school project ideas broken down by Gardner's Multiple Intelligences.  I don't know what's taken me so long, but I finally decided it's time to come up with a list of projects for Ancient Greece!

What were the 5 Themes of Geography of Ancient Greece?

Water, mountains, and peninsulas.  That's all there is to the geography of ancient Greece, right?

Well, those are a big part of Greece's physical geography, but they don't tell the whole story.

How did ancient Greece's geography affect culture?  How did the ancient Greeks adapt to their geography?  How did they alter it?  Where the heck is Greece, anyway?


In order to get a bigger picture of the geography of ancient Greece, let's try using the 5 Themes of Geography.

What was a city-state in Ancient Greece?

 Imagine that the city you live in is its own country. It has its own king, queen, or other leader.

Where did democracy begin?

The textbook answer to the question, "Where did democracy begin?" is that it began in Athens in Ancient Greece.   I think there is a lot more to it than that, but let's look at Greek democracy (and compare it to ours) first.

Roles of Men and Women in Ancient Greece

The roles of men and women in Ancient Greek society differed depending on city-state, social class, and situation. Male dominance over women was the norm, though.

The Ancient Greek attitude of male dominance and negativity toward women goes all the way back to the writings of Homer and to the Greek myths.

Geography of Ancient Greece and its Effects on Culture

What was Greece’s geography like?  How did geography affect Ancient Greek civilization?

Here’s a mystery box that will help us answer these questions.  The contents of this box shaped Greek culture.  It holds secret weapons that helped Greece defeat the almost unstoppable Persian Empire.  The items in this box also helped lead to the fall of Ancient Greece.  

Curious?  Okay, go ahead and take a peek.

Ancient Anchor Discovered

See press release below...

The world's oldest wooden anchor was discovered during excavations in the Turkish port city of Urla, the ancient site of Liman Tepe -- the Greek 1st Millennium BCE colony of Klazomenai, by researchers from the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies of the University of Haifa. The anchor, from the end of the 7th century BC, was found near a submerged construction, imbedded approximately.1.5 meters underground.

Ancient Greeks even smarter than we thought?

From a press release…Please see link at the bottom of the article…

An international team has unravelled the secrets of a 2,000-year-old computer which could transform the way we think about the ancient world.

Farming in Ancient Greece

Unlike it's older counterparts in Egypt and Mesopotamia, Greece was generally not an ideal place for farming.

Fertile land in Greece, while very fertile, was scarce. It's clear from looking at Greece from space that mountains are plenty and plains are few.

Democracy in Ancient Athens

Athens had a direct democracy. That means the citizens of Athens voted directly on laws. Since Greeks invented democracy, they also invented the name for it. Democracy means government by the people.

Ancient Minoan Writing

The Ancient Minoans used three known forms of writing. The first was a hieroglyphic script that was used mainly during the period from 2000 BC - 1580 BC. This style of writing was basically pictures or symbols used to represent concepts, ideas, and possibly syllables. Evidence of this script has been found in fair abundance at the palaces of Knossos and Phaestos.

Ancient Minoan Trade

The sea was a defense and a source of food for the Ancient Minoans. The sea was also the key to the great success the Minoans had as traders.

Early History and Settlements of the Ancient Minoans

Before the development of Ancient Minoan civilization, the inhabitants of Crete were stone age hunter gatherers, just like all of the other early civilizations. The archaeological evidence shows that people have lived on Crete for at least 8,000 years.

Physical Geography of the Ancient Minoans

The story of the geography of the Ancient Minoans is largely about water.

Who were the Ancient Minoans?

Whenever I think of Ancient Greece, I think of two things. First, I think of their culture, particularly their art, literature and their achievements in government, philosophy, and science. Second, I think of the great Greek military triumphs, especially their victory over the much larger and more powerful Persian empire. These two components of their great civilization were the result of a hybrid of the two cultures that came before them. Their military prowess came mostly from a civilization on the Greek mainland called the Mycenaeans. The roots of Greek culture, however, probably came from an older civilization called the Minoans.

The Persian Wars - The Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis

In about 486 BCE, Emperor Darius of Persia died before he was able to get revenge on the Greeks for the defeat at Marathon. Darius’s son Xerxes became the new emperor. Xerxes was determined to get revenge.

The Persian Wars - The Battle of Marathon

Before the ancient Greeks invented democracy and most of the other things they are famous for today, they faced the biggest threat in the world at the time—the Persian Empire—and won.