91热爆

What did the Greeks enjoy?

Two ancient Greek actors wearing theatre masks.
A cartoon of an ancient Greek amphitheatre.
  • The Greeks had style! Their red and black pottery was very famous.

  • They were great builders too. The Greeks built grand temples to their gods and superb sculptures of brave heroes.

  • They pretty much invented the theatre as well.

  • Thousands of people watched plays by famous writers like Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus.

  • The Greeks had big festivals. There was music, dancing and feasting in honour of their gods.

A cartoon of an ancient Greek amphitheatre.
Back to top

Watch: Ancient Greek theatre

Find out about the topsy-turvy world of the ancient Greek theatre.

Back to top

What were buildings and statues like?

Cartoon of an ancient Greek person carving a statue.
  • The Greeks carefully designed and measured their buildings, making sure they got all their angles, shapes and sizes right.

  • Their temples were held up with stone columns and sometimes decorated with stone carvings of famous battles from Greek myths.

  • The Greeks were really good at making statues too.

  • Sculptors carved lifelike marble statues and decorated them with brightly-coloured paints.

Cartoon of an ancient Greek person carving a statue.
Back to top

What did ancient Greek pottery look like?

A selection of Ancient Greek pottery, decorated with different carvings and images.
Image caption,
The Greeks were famous for their clay pots. Potters in the city states of Corinth and Athens made beautiful pottery. They used a watery clay mixture to make patterns on the clay before it was hard. Then the pot was baked in an oven called a kiln. The areas painted with the clay mixture turned black and the unpainted areas turned a reddish-brown.
Back to top

What Greek festivals were there?

Image caption,
The lyre was a popular instrument at festivals. A lyre is a bit like a small harp and musicians play it by strumming or plucking it.
  • The Greeks loved big celebrations for their gods.

  • Every four years, Athens held the Panathenaic Games in honour of the god Athena.

  • There were competitions for athletics, poetry reading and music. The Games ended with an enormous all-night banquet.

A cartoon of an ancient Greek chorus.
  • Athens put on a drama festival called the Dionysia in honour of the god Dionysus.
  • He was the god of the theatre and wine.
A cartoon of an ancient Greek chorus.
A crowd of ancient Greek people smiling and waving.
  • Judges gave prizes for their favourite tragedy and comedy performances.

  • The Pythian Games were held in Delphi for the god Apollo.

Back to top

Activities

Activity: Quiz 鈥 Ancient Greek culture

Back to top

Game: The Argo Odyssey

Argo the dog is missing! But who is that furry, four-legged actor in the mask?

Play the game to solve a stylish pottery puzzle, then watch a drama performance.

Back to top

Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
Back to top

More on Ancient Greece

Find out more by working through a topic