Greek Culture

Ancient Greek society was broken up between free people and slaves. The slaves had no rights by law and were often prisoners of war or bought from foreign slave traders, intended to act as servants or labourers. Athens was the centre of civilisation in Europe at the time and its free men were divided into two groups, Citizens and Metics.

A Citizen had to have Athenian parentage and they were the most powerful group. After serving compulsory military service, the Citizen took part in the running of the government and was also expected to perform tasks for the good of the city state such as jury service. A Metic was a non-slave of foreign birth that had moved into Athens as a tradesman or to practice a craft, he had to pay taxes and sometimes do military service but could not own a house, land or speak in law courts.

Women had low status in ancient Greece and were not permitted to take part in public life, with all the legal rights they were permitted coming through their husband or father. Their lives revolved around the home and what was considered women's work such as domestic chores, spinning and weaving.

Playing games was a big part of male culture in Greece although there is evidence of females playing games for recreation, such as pottery that depicts girls juggling. Boys and men played naked so women were forbidden to attend practices or sporting events such as the Olympics, an event that took place every four years and involved a multitude of sporting events. Less physical games played included knucklebones, dice and a game of checkers that was similar to the modern game of backgammon. Another form of entertainment Greek men enjoyed was going to the theatre to watch plays about current political issues or about tales of the gods and heroes.

The Greeks introduced to Europe the concept of reading and writing with an alphabet, which led over the centuries to all modern European languages. A script survives from the Mycenaean period but written language appears to have vanished during the 'Dark Ages' (c 1100 - 750 BCE). From the 'Archaic Period' written language began to flourish with early surviving works such as Homer's poetry of the Iliad and Odyssey. From the time of Alexander the Great, the language evolved further and like all forms of Greek culture, began to spread throughout the known world.

Up to the 'Archaic Period' of its history, Greece was governed by rich landowners known as the 'aristocrats' who ruled as an oligarchy or small group of ruling elite. From around 750 BCE, Greece was made up of independent city states known as 'Polis' which were governed by a council and their laws run by three magistrates called 'Archons'. Then, around 500 BCE the 'Classical Period' came in and a democratic system of government was introduced by an aristocrat by named Cleisthenes, the system was the first example of a real democracy and would go on to influence the democratic systems of the Western world today.