Study Guide
Ancient Greece
Standards:
SS3H1 The student will explain the political roots of our modern democracy in the United
States of America.
a. Identify the influence of Greek architecture (columns on the Parthenon, U. S. Supreme Court
building), law, and the Olympic Games on the present.
b. Explain the ancient Athenians’ idea that a community should choose its own leaders.
c. Compare and contrast Athens as a direct democracy with the United States as a
representative democracy.
At the end of this unit you should be able to:
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Locate Greece on a map.
Describe examples of Greek architecture.
Explain the meaning of being a democratic society.
Compare and contrast direct and representative democracies.
Vocabulary –
ancient – belonging to a remote period of time, very old.
architecture – the art and study of building design and structure.
column - a supporting pillar.
Athenian – someone living in Athens, Greece.
culture – advancement of knowledge of a civilization.
community – a town, city, suburb, or other place where people live and work. A society.
representative – one acting in the place of another.
democracy –a form of government in which people exercise power.
The Ancient Greeks
The early Greek way of life has become a part of many cultures. Many people call the Greeks
“the founders of Western civilization” . The ancient Greeks were known for their love of art,
learning, and athletics. In fact, the ancient Greeks were the first to hold the Olympic Games.
The Influences on Architecture
The ancient Greeks prided themselves on their beautiful cities with great stone buildings and
temples. Many of these buildings were surrounded by columns.
The Doric columns were the oldest kind of column. The top of a Doric column was simple and
flat.
Ionic columns were taller and thinner like an elegant lady with her hair in curlers on each side of
her head because the tops of Ionic columns had curly scrolls on each side.
Corinthian columns were taller and thinner. The tops of Corinthian columns were fancy. They
were covered with carved acanthus leaves.
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
One of the most famous buildings in Athens was the Parthenon. Often thought of as one of the
most important buildings of its time, much of the building still stands today. It is easy to see
how the Greeks have influenced architecture in the United States in the beautiful government
buildings we see today in Washington D.C.
The Parthenon in Athens today.
The U.S. Supreme Court building.
The Influences on Government
When the founding fathers of the United States created the world’s first modern democracy
they claimed to take their inspiration from the classic Greeks, but even though the United
States would use the democracy of ancient Greece for inspiration, it is important to remember
that there are many differences between our government in the U.S. and the government of
Athens over 2000 years ago. The three main differences between our modern democracy and
the Greek’s democracy are:
1. Size: The current population of the United States is 1200 times larger than the population of
ancient Athens.
2. Eligibility: The second key difference is eligibility (who is allowed to participate in the
government). In ancient Athens, only adult free males were considered citizens. Women, slaves,
and foreigners were never allowed to participate in the government. In the United States, all
people (men and women) over the age of 18 are considered citizens, foreigners who go through
the citizenship process are also allowed to participate in the government.
3. Participation: Like ancient Athens, the United States has a democratic government in which
the people hold the power, but the two democracies were very different. The biggest
difference between the two forms of democracy was how citizens participated in their
government.
Athens : Direct Democracy
All citizens participated and gathered
together (usually on an outdoor hillside) to
argue, debate, and ask questions before
they all voted on an issue. Each person had
an equal say (one vote) in what the
government would do. There was no
“separation of government” or elected
officials. The citizens of Athens used a
simple majority (most votes wins) to
decided what to do. The citizens directly
created new laws, acted as judges, decided
when to go to war, and who to make
alliances with. When there were not
enough people to make a decision, slaves
were sent out to force citizens to show up
and vote.
United States: Representative Democracy
The United States uses a representative
form of democracy. In this system, the
citizens go and vote for people to represent
them in the government. In this way, we
chose who we want to speak for us in the
government and who we want to make our
decisions for us. In the U.S. we choose
many different representatives; president,
senators, congressmen, governors, judges,
and mayors. In a representative government
the people have the power to choose who
makes their decisions but usually do not
have the power to vote on individual issues
like new laws and when to go to war. Our
government is also divided up into 3
branches, and each branch has a different
job.
Suggested Websites:
http://nsnipes.edu.glogster.com/greecedemocracy/
www.rcs.k12.va.us/pfes/third%20grade/social%20studies/...