Ancient Greek Traditions and Customs: Ancient Greece existed for a period of thousand years which ended with the advent of Christianity. The year 776BC is marked as the commencement of ancient Greek period which ended with the death of Alexander the Great.

Ancient Greece Traditions and Customs

Life today in Greece is entirely different from what it was in the ancient time. The rule which the Greeks followed to the tee was to work hard as well as to play hard. As a result, the ancient Greeks led a balanced life. Work for these people consisted of hunting, fishing, caring for the Greek family home etc. On the other hand, play included watching dramas apart from listening to music. There were more fun activities to pursue especially in the Greek cities.

Ancient Greek Traditions and Customs

Greeks mostly live in the countryside. Initially, every family owned a small house. Subsequently, as depending upon the affordability new rooms came to be added to the existing house. As a result of this, ancient Greek homes were of an odd shape.

Ancient Greece Traditions and Customs

This resulted in the streets of the cities never looking straight. It was a general rule that the men went out to work while the women stayed at home taking care of the house. The ancient Greeks were of the opinion that girls were not of a much help and hence many time girl children were kept out of the houses to die.

Division of Ancient Greek Society

The ancient Greek society was divided into two categories: free and slaves. This distinction was based on birth for instance son of a king was a king while a son of a slave was undoubtedly a slave, the significance of Greek religion and to some extent also on the grounds of sex.

In Ancient Greek Traditions, Only people who were free enjoyed the right to citizenship and not the slaves. Athens, however, was an exception to this rule of distinction as in Athens, society was divided on the basis of wealth or affluence of a person. Contrary to this, in Sparta, equality formed the basis of the Greek male society though it could only be acquired with the help of education.

Ancient Greece Traditions and Customs

In ancient Greece, people usually resided in single family homes or low apartment buildings depending upon the kind of wealth they possessed. The center of the city consisted of all the public buildings.

Greece Culture Food

The common herd of Greece usually resided in small villages and farmhouses.The main diet of the ancient Greeks consisted of barley porridge which was enormously garnished with cheese, vegetables including onions and olive oil. Only a small percentage of the masses consumed meat as a part of the state festival involved animal sacrifice.

Ancient Greeks were basically Pantheists as they worshipped numerous different Gods and Goddesses. Some of these Gods and Goddesses were: Zeus King of Gods King of Gods, Apollo Greek God of war, Poseidon God of Sea, Goddess Athena Protector of the city of Athens etc to name a few.

Ancient Greece Traditions and Customs

Greek architecture has always managed to amaze the masses due to their sheer magnificence. Some of the structures which entice any persons mind are the Coliseum, Parthenon etc. Iliad and Odyssey, on the other hand, are still today considered to be the two most brilliant literary creations as they encompass both the joy as well the sorrow of human life in a wonderful manner. Apart from this the Greek literary works also include some tragedies as well as comedies which are relevant even in today’s times.

Ancient Greece was truly an embodiment of cultural, religious as well as societal grandeur. Ancient Greece is an ocean of antiques as the deeper you go into for finding hidden treasures, the more treasures await your discovery.