Treasures of Ancient Greek and
Roman Civilisations
At the beginning …
• Coronavirus
• Comes from the Latin word, Corona,
meaning crown or halo
• Originally spoken by small groups of
people living along the lower Tiber River,
Latin spread with the increase of Roman
political power, first throughout Italy and
then throughout most of western and
southern Europe and the central and
western Mediterranean coastal regions of
Africa.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• Relevant pages in textbook 1B, p.17,
pp.30-37, pp. 55-66
• Summary available in this 4-page
handout, which tries to match the
different treasures of the ancient
Greek and Roman civilisations and
the daily life of the ancient Romans
with the subjects you are studying
now
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Greek alphabet was used by the
Romans and became the basis of
English and other European languages.
• Some symbols used in mathematics
and physics also come from the Greek
alphabet.
• The word alphabet comes from the
first two Greek letters, alpha and beta.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• Homer’s poems on the Trojan War,
Iliad and Odyssey, and Aseop’s fables
were important works in the Greek
literature.
• Greek myths were also fine works of
literature.
• The Greeks also loved to watch plays
in open-air theatres. Tragedy and
comedy were the two main kinds of
Greek plays.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Romans used the Greek
alphabet but changed some of the
letters.
• They spoke and wrote Latin. It was
used all over the Empire and was
also used by the Catholic Church.
The educated people in Europe
read and wrote Latin during the
Middle Ages.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Greek poems, fables and myths
are still inspiring writers today.
• Latin used by the Romans became the
basis of many modern European
languages like English, French and
Italians.
• https://www.oakton.edu/user/3/gher
rera/Greek%20and%20Latin%20Root
s%20in%20English/greek_and_latin_r
oots.pdf
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J
J7BBjoXa14&list=PLY7BFnOZ_ON
SGH0Mg0XRwMv9K41eawUvp
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
O7F16sC860s
• http://heritagepodcast.com/wpcontent/uploads/landmark_greek_myt
hs.pdf
• https://www.ibiblio.org/ml/libri/b/B
erensEM_MythsLegends_p.pdf
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• A theorem in geometry: Pythagoras’
Theorem
• Euclid: He wrote the book Elements
《幾何原本》
• The Romans developed their own
numbers.
• The Roman numbers are still in use today.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49o
WYxExWKE
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• Archimedes discovered how to measure a
circle’s circumference and the
Archimedes’ Principle.
• Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine”,
said that illness was not a punishment
from Gods. He studied the causes of
illnesses and cured many people.
• Hippocrates wrote a code of conduct for
doctors, the “Hippocratic Oath”, which
the doctors still take the oath today.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Romans were good at building
roads, bridges, aqueducts and
viaducts.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• Herodotus, the “Father of History”,
wrote about the history of the Persian
Wars.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQU81okwmk
• The Greeks drew maps and found their
way at sea by watching the stars.
• Julius Caesar improved the Roman
calendar. The calendar had 365 days in a
year and an extra day for every four years.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Julian calendar was later
improved to become our modern
calendar.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=sI4C301xsJE
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Greeks worshipped many
Gods who lived at the top of
Mount Olympus. They looked like
human beings and had feelings.
• Zeus was the king of the Gods.
Other gods like Apollo and
Athena (Goddess for Athens) were
also popular. Each city-state had its
own god.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Romans worshipped the Greek
Gods but named them differently.
Each of them had its own temple.
• Christianity began in the Roman
Empire in AD 1st century. It was
first illegal and became lawful when
Constantine I ruled Rome. It later
became the official religion of the
Roman Empire.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• In 312, Constantine invaded Italy, won
battles at Turin and Verona and marched
on Rome. Maxentius came out to fight and
was destroyed at the Milvian Bridge, which
carried the Via Flaminia over the Tiber
into the city. The battle was one of a
succession of victories that in AD 324
made Constantine master of the entire
Roman Empire, but it is most famous for
its link with his conversion to Christianity,
which would prove to be one of the most
important events in world history.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The story, or a story, of what happened was told by
Eusebius of Caesarea, a Christian biblical scholar and
historian who wrote the first biography of Constantine
soon after the emperor’s death. He knew Constantine
well and said he had the story from the emperor himself.
Constantine was a pagan monotheist. However before
the Milvian Bridge battle he and his army saw a cross of
light in the sky above the sun with words in Greek that
are generally translated into Latin as In hoc signo vinces (‘In
this sign conquer’). That night Constantine had a dream
in which Christ told him he should use the sign of the
cross against his enemies. He was so impressed that he
had the Christian symbol marked on his soldiers’ shields
and when the Milvian Bridge battle gave him an
overwhelming victory he attributed it to the god of the
Christians.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• There were many great thinkers in ancient
Greece.
• Socrates taught his students to ask questions.
He wanted to improve the government in
Athens but the leaders hated him and forced
him to drink poison.
• Plato, Socrates’ student, started a school and
wrote books about the best ways to govern
people.
• Aristotle, Plato’s student, teacher of
Alexander the Great, wrote books about
politics, philosophy, education and science.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Olympic Games, which were held to
honour Zeus, started in ancient Greece in
776 BC.
• Events such as running, jumping and
chariot racing were held. Winners of the
Games would get a crown made of olive
leaves.
• The Games took place every four years in
Olympia in southern Greece. All city-states
would stop fighting in times of war during
the Games to ensure safe travel for
athletes and other people (Olympic Truce).
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The ancient Olympic Games ended
in Roman times.
• The Games were restored in AD
1896 and were held in Athens.
• Since then, the Games would be
held in different cities every four
years.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Romans loved to watch gladiator
fights (usually held in the Colosseum) and
chariot races (usually held in a circus,
largest: Circus Maximus holding 200,000
people).
• Gladiators were mostly slaves or criminals.
They fought with weapons like swords,
clubs or net. They could get killed.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoi7
KzsAUuw
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• Chariot races
• The Romans loved to watch chariot races.
• These races were usually held in a circus
which was like a modern racecourt.
• Largest circus: Circus Maximus (could
hold 200,000 people)
• The Romans liked to bet on the result of
the races.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=frE9rXnaHpE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=T4HPdfgo7CY
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=Rrjtkv5QpPQ
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Greeks built many beautiful
temples, such as the Parthenon in
Athens. The buildings were
supported by tall stone columns.
• The Greek artists used white
marble and bronze to make statues.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Romans built many palaces,
temples, theatres, circuses and forums.
• They took ideas from the Greeks and
used tall columns in the buildings.
• They invented their own method to
build very large arches and domes.
• Famous buildings: the Colosseum, the
Pantheon
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• Modern architects continue to copy
the look of these Greek and
Roman buildings.
• https://www.dima.uniroma1.it/dim
a/sites/default/files/allegati_notizi
e/Colosseum_valley.pdf
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=yGPevxwITBE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=4DIJfkV1II8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=kH8WwdAwNpM
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Athenians started the system
of democracy at about 500 BC.
• Democracy is a system of
government that is ruled by the
people.
• Demo: meaning people
• Kratos: meaning rule
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Romans took the Greek idea
about democracy and developed a
kind of government with an upper
house and a lower house.
• Today, many countries still have
governments with two houses.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• Government with two houses
actually means that the legislative
branch of the government is made
up of two houses.
• In the case of the United States, its
legislative branch, known as the
Congress, is made up of two
houses: Senate and the House of
Representatives.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• The Romans ruled their large empire
by law.
• The Roman laws stated that everyone
was equal before the law.
• Roman laws protected people’s right to
their property. Nobody could take land
away from a poor farmer. Roman
citizens who lived outside Rome could
appeal to Rome when they were not
tried fairly.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• Today, the laws of many countries
are based on Roman laws.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=OxOZ7KUC1yk
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• Roman towns were carefully built. The city
of Rome was a good example.
• Many roads were built to link Rome with
other places in the empire. Roman roads
were straight and flat so that the soldiers
and traders could travel quickly. High
bridges called viaducts were built to carry a
road across a valley.
• Aqueducts, high bridges that carried canals,
were built to bring fresh water from the
mountain down to the city.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=e_phjB19ZEg&t=338s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=VelFkGje-Tw
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=q6BnHkciV_Y
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• Public baths
• The Romans liked going to public
baths.
• The baths were the social centre of
every Roman city where the people
could meet, talk, read, exercise, clean
themselves and have a meal.
• At AD 4th century, there were about
1,000 public baths in the city of Rome
alone.
Treasures of Ancient Greek and Roman
Civilisations
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=v8ygbCm2r_s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=QzIn0hn4SWI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=Z8emmLtWIGk