Ancient Greece.

Ancient Greece wasn't one large empire but a collection of smaller city-states. The
term the Greeks used was polis, which meant (more or less) "city-state." A polis
was bigger than a city but smaller than a state. They were scattered throughout the
Mediterranean area. Some were sea-ports; others were more inland. Some of the
most famous city-states were Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Olympia and Thebes.
The people living in these city-states were all Greek, coming from a common
heritage and sharing the same language, same Gods, same habits and same
feelings.
Sparta was a place of great determination. The Spartans
believed in a strong army. All Spartan boys were trained to be
soldiers. When the Persians invaded Greece, the other city-
states looked especially to Sparta and its army to keep them
safe.
Athens, another large city-state, was the birthplace of
democracy. This meant that each citizen could take part in the
government. A citizen was a person who had been born in
Athens and who owned land there.
Athens was also a place of great culture. Philosophers like
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle studied and taught in Athens.
Many of the famous buildings that are only ruins today were in
Athens. An example is the Parthenon.
Athens was the home of the Greeks' great fleet, which beat back
the invading Persians several times during the Persian Wars.
Athens also used this fleet to create an empire. Other smaller
city-states grew afraid of Athens' power and sided with Sparta,
another large city-state, to fight against Athens in the
Peloponnesian War, which ended in the defeat of Athens.
This war left the Greeks so weak from fighting each other that
they were easy targets for a determined conqueror like Filipo II,
King of the Macedonian empire, who conquered Greece. At his
death, his son Alexander the Great, conquered the mighty Persian
Empire and won land all the way to India as well as Egypt before
his untimely death at the age of 32.
Another famous city-state was Olympia, which had the Olympics,
great athletic contests that soldiers and others took part in, even
during wars.
The Greek religion was based on the worship of nature and of
a group of superhuman Gods and Goddesses. The most
powerful and famous of these was Zeus. Other famous gods
and goddesses were Apollo, Aphrodite, Athena, Hades or
Poseidon. The Greeks told all kinds of fanciful tales about
these gods and goddesses. Many times, they interacted with
people. Other times, they did great or terrible things on their
own.

Questions:
1. What was a polis?
2. Describe how Athens was.
3. How were Spartan boys educated?
4. What was the Peloponnesian War?
5. Who were the most important philosophers in Athens?
6. Who conquered Greece?
7. How was the Greek religion?

1. A polis was a city-state, which was bigger than a city but smaller than a state.
2. Athens, another large city-state, was the birthplace of democracy. This meant that each citizen could take part in the government.
3. All Spartan boys were trained to be soldiers.
4. The Peloponnesian War was a fight of Sparta and other Greek polis against Athens. Athens was defeated in this war.
5. The most important philosophers in Athens were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
6. Greece was conquered by Filipo II, king of the Macedonian Empire.
7. The Greek religion was based on the worship of nature and of a group of superhuman Gods and Goddesses.