Ancient Greece and the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne
Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1 – Ancient Greece
Greece is a country on the Mediterranean Sea with mountains and valleys. It was settled
thousands of years ago. Jobs changed from just countryside by adding cities. Ancient Greeks
were writers, artists, builders, and thinkers. Greek culture spread all along Mediterranean Sea by
500BC. Greece had 300 city-states (poleis-city and county side around it). Athens and Sparta
were two rival city-states. Athens made beautiful buildings, art, poetry & plays, and studied math
& science. It was one of the first democracies. Only male citizens (20 and older) could vote.
Women and slaves could not vote (slaves made up half population). Sparta was ruled by two
kings and had warriors. Both city-states spoke Greek, worshiped the same Gods, shared many of
the same customs, and joined to fight other countries. Most ancient Greek cities were near the
Mediterranean Sea and used wooden boats (with sails) to trade goods. Sailors used stars to guide
them and stayed near land.
Chapter 2 – Religion
In Greek life, religion was very important, and included many gods. Stories about the Greek gods
are known as myths. In Greek mythology, gods looked and acted like humans, but had special
powers. There were 12 major gods, who lived on Mount Olympus (the highest mountain in
Greece). The Greeks honored their gods through building temples with statues and having
festivals. Chapter 2 goes into detail about the Greek gods Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Aphrodite,
Athena, and Phoebus Apollo.
Chapter 3 – Daily Life in Ancient Greece
Greek cities were surrounded by walls. Houses usually had few rooms and the families
usually ate and relaxed in the courtyard. In Ancient Greece, everyone wore a tunic. Men wore
chitons, and women wore peplos. Rich woman wore jewelry and makeup and men went to the
barber shop and marketplace to hang out. The education in ancient Greece was only for boys.
They started school at seven years old and learned many arts and especially sports. The Greeks
believed in a “strong mind in a healthy body.” Girls stayed home and learned how to take care of
the house and make clothes and if she was rich she may have learned to read and write. Spartan
boys went onto the military, and the Spartan girls got to learn sports, singing, and dancing.
Fathers chose husbands for their daughters; it was typical for a thirty year old man to marry a
fifteen year old girl. Greeks had lots of fun; they played board games, danced, sang, and played
sports. The last part of this chapter is about olive trees which grow in Greece, and how ancient
Greeks used olive oil for their skin and hair. The Greeks believed that the olive trees were
symbols of peace and strength.
Chapter 4 – The Culture of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is known for its culture. There are many ideas and works that are still an
inspiration today. Ancient Greece was known for its philosophers. Philosophers are people who
love learning and wisdom. Many philosophers are teachers. One of the most famous
philosophers was Socrates, who taught people how to best live their lives. Plato, Socrates
student, wrote down what Socrates said, and was also a famous philosopher. Ancient Greece
was also known for its Science and Medicine. The Greek scientists found that facts, not myths,
explained the way things work. They studied tides and stars. Greek doctors studied how the
human body worked. One famous doctor was Hippocrates. He wrote an oath for doctors, called
the Hippocratic Oath that is still used today. The Greeks were also known for their architecture.
Greek architects built amazing buildings, including the Parthenon (temple of Athena), one of the
greatest buildings ever built. The Greeks wrote some of the best plays. The Greeks built the first
outdoor theaters, called amphitheaters. The actors in the plays were always men, and the chorus
stood at the front of the stage. The chorus sang and told the audience what was happening. The
Ancient Greeks were also known for poetry. Homer was one of the greatest poets. His two most
famous poems were The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Greeks were known for their art as well.
The sculptors made statues of marble and bronze and had workshops in the city. The potters
made great pottery. Some pots and vases show scenes of heroes, while others show how people
lived and looked. English and Greek are compared at the end of the chapter. The Ancient Greeks
were very influential and left us with a great culture.
Chapter 5 – Early Olympics
In this chapter we learned about the original Olympic Games. The Olympics began as a
festival to honor the gods, the first were in 776 BC. They were held every 4 years and lasted for
5 days. There was only one event originally, a footrace called the stade. There were messengers
that would go to all of the city-states in Greece in order to announce the dates of the games, you
could recognize them by their purple robes. Only Greek citizens could compete in the Olympics,
girls, criminals and slaves were not allowed to complete. Just like today when different
countries send their best athletes, in ancient Greece, each city state would send their best athletes
to compete. 10 judges would divide the athletes into age groups to compete. Also in this
chapter, we are introduced to Kallipateria whose father and brother were Olympic winners and
after they died, she trained her son to compete. She dressed as a man and attended the Olympics
to support him, and when he won she jumped over a barrier to see him, and her disguise came
loose and they saw she was a woman. However, she wasn’t punished because of who her family
was. This chapter also tells us about the truce that always took place during the Olympics, all
fighting was called off for 3 months during training and the Olympics. The athletes trained 9
months before the Olympics and then traveled to Elis to train for another month. While training,
athletes would listen to the flute and eat honey, grapes, figs, or goat cheese for energy. If
athletes cheated, they could be fined or beaten.
Chapter 6 – Olympic Grounds
As the athletes entered the Olympic Games, thousands of people gathered to cheer. They were
from all over and had slept in tents of various sizes. The rich individuals even hosted large
parties in their tents on the Olympic grounds. There were many things for everyone to do and
various forms of entertainment. There were food stalls, music, dancing, poems were read, and
philosophers gave talks. One of the most important places in Olympia was the Altis, a special
grove of trees in the middle of the ground that housed the temples of Zeus, Hera and other
statues and shrines. Many individuals came there to pray and offer sacrifices. The third night of
the Olympics always fell on the full moon and everyone walked in a line to the statue of Zeus to
offer sacrifices. The statue of Zeus sitting on the throne was huge and his body was covered in
Gold and Ivory. This statue was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Unfortunately the statue was destroyed by an earthquake and the war. All that is left of the
temple today is scattered remains.
Chapter 7 – Let the Games Begin
This chapter focuses on the individual athletic events that took place during the Olympics held in
Ancient Greece. The Olympic Games began with the participants and judges taking an oath
promising to follow the Olympic game rules in front of the sacred statue of the Greek god Zeus.
The events mentioned in the chapter include: Running, Javelin, Discus, Long Jump, Wrestling,
Pentathlon, Boxing, Pankration, Horse Racing and the Closing Ceremonies. The Pentathlon
included five different events in which each athlete had to be skilled in all five events. These
events were: the long jump, the discus, the javelin, running, and wrestling. The Pankration was
considered a brutal sport that combined boxing and wrestling. Because this event did not have
many rules, the athletes could cause extreme physical harm to their opponent. The Closing
Ceremonies were held at the end of the events to announce the winners and present prizes. Two
great Olympians that were mentioned in this chapter were Milo of Croton the Wrestler, who was
so strong that he could carry cows on his shoulders and Diagoras of Rhodes the boxer, who was
undefeated and boxed with skill and grace.
Chapter 8 – The Olympics Today
After 1,170 years of the ancient Olympic Games, they ended in 393 A.D with the imposition of
other ruling countries in charge of Greece. The first modern Olympics were started in Greece in
1896; however, the modern Olympics are very different. The modern Olympics are to showcase
athletic ability and not to honor the gods and these games take place in different countries other
than Greece. Girls are allowed to compete and they are not limited to one season, as there are
both winter and summer games every four years. One thing that remains the same is the
commitment to an athlete’s sport and to showcase an attitude of sportsmanlike conduct. Unlike
the Olympics that Annie and Jack saw, there are no horses or chariot races in the modern
Olympics, but there are still races, javelin throws, wrestling and other events that were popular in
ancient Greece. Epictetus, an ancient Greek said that although the physical conditions were
rough, the “brilliant events” were well worth it.