Ancient Greece

The Parthenon
 

My family and I arrived at Athens on Saturday at noon. The first thing we did was check into our hotel and eat lunch in the Agora.  The food was really good and the town was beautiful. Then we toured the Stoa of Zeus, which is a center of education in Athens.  After the Stoa we walked over to the Museum of Greek Leaders.  It was actually really interesting reading about all of the leaders and their contributions to the government of Athens and to modern democracy. Two examples that really stuck in our heads were Solon, who gave the right to vote to male citizens, and Cleisthenes, who divided Athens into city states. Then we climbed the steps to the top of the Acropolis. The Acropolis is a big hill in the middle of Athens with all of the important buildings.  The view was incredible; we could see the whole city from the top!  On the Acropolis there is a temple called the Parthenon.  It is a rectangular building with monstrous columns on all four sides. The Temple is dedicated to the goddess of wisdom, Athena, because she beat Poseidon in the fight for Athens.  After the Parthenon we walked to the Erechtheion, which is also on the Acropolis.  The Erechtheion is a temple dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon and is said to be built on the spot where Athena won the battle against Poseidon for Athens.  We then visited the Theatre of Dionysus. It is an open-air theatre with seats facing a large area in the middle. The theatre was used for festivals in honor of the God of wine and partying: Dionysus. I loved every second I spent in Greece. Greek mythology and history is so interesting! I would come back again in a heartbeat.

The Theatre of Dionysus

 

Ancient Greece's Contributions to Modern Democracy:

• Written laws
• Cabinet
• Citizens participate in government
• Citizens can submit laws
• The Judiciary administers justice
• No one is above the law
• Separation of powers
• Power is not hereditary
• Education is important
• The government is for the people
• Equality
• Democracy
• Every individual plays a role