Lesson video

Hello there my fellow historians and welcome to the second lesson on this unit of Ancient Greece.

My name is Mr. Pedroza and in this lesson, we're going to have a look at the following question.

So the question is, why do we know so much about Ancient Greece? So let's have a look at the lesson structure for today.

So we're going to begin with the Star Words, I'll share some key vocabulary, then we're going to have a look at what do archaeologists do? Then we'll have a look at a case study for the Minoans and how we know so much about this Greek civilization, then we'll end by having a look at the Greek influence on the Romans, which is another reason why we know so much about Ancient Greece and then at the very end is our end of lesson quiz.

Things that you're going to need in this lesson, you'll need your exercise book or a piece of paper, you'll need your pencil or a pen and you'll need your ruler.

So if you haven't got those things, go and get them now.

Okay, let's have a look at the key Star Words for today.

So this is the key vocabulary.

So we've got archaeology, archaeologists, we've got fresco, we got historian, we got influence, and we got polytheism.

So let's begin with archaeology.

And archaeology is the study of humans through the recovery and the study of artefacts.

Then we got archaeologist, and that archaeologist digs up and then studies artefacts such as poetry, tools, and buildings in order to learn about how humans lived in the past.

Then we've got fresco and a fresco is a painting on freshly applied plaster, usually on wall surfaces.

Next one we've got historian and a historian, is a bit like you, is someone who writes about or is an expert on history.

We're all historians at the moment.

Then we've got influence, and influence is the ability to affect or change how someone or something develops, behaves, or thinks.

And then last we've got polytheism and polytheism is the belief in more than one God.

So those are the vocabularies, those are Star Words that we need in this lesson.

So let's begin with the first section.

So what do archaeologists do? Well, one of the reasons why we know so much about Ancient Greece is thanks to the work of archaeologists.

And archaeologists, they find and they study objects from the past to learn about how people used to live.

These objects are called artefacts.

What are the objects called? They're called artefacts, good job.

And these objects are often from a very long time ago.

So they have become buried underground, and the job of the archaeologist is to take them out from the ground.

They have to be really careful so that they are not damaged.

So let's have a look at the first task, what does an archaeologist do? Option one, is it draw pictures about how people used to live? Is option two, find and study artefacts to discover about how people lived in the past? Is it option three, do they read books about history to learn about how people used to live? Or is it option four, use maps to show where people used to live? So was it option one, two, three, or four? What does an archaeologist do? So at this point, pause the video and then have go.

Okay, let's have a look.

What does an archaeologist do? Is it one, two, three or four? It is number two.

So an archaeologist finds and studies artefacts to discover how people lived in the past.

Awesome job guys, well done.

Now let's have a look at the first case study, and this case study is about the Minoans.

So you might think, who are the Minoans? Well, the Ancient Greeks may have lived over 2000 years ago, but they left a lasting influence that still affects Western culture and way of life.

And during the height of the Greek civilization, Greek culture spread throughout the Mediterranean and it was then imitated by the ancient Romans, who were another powerful empire.

From democracy, to architecture, to art, we see the effects of Ancient Greece throughout the world today.

And one of the ancient Greek civilizations that we have learned a lot about through archaeological finds is the Minoan civilization, and the Minoans were the first great Greek civilization.

And they didn't live on the mainland but they actually lived on the neighbour island of Crete.

So I'm going to point to where Crete is.

So this is the island of Crete and this is the mainland.

So, they were known as the Minoans after their legendary king, king Minos, and they lived between the years 2,200 BC and 1,450 BC.

So let's complete the sentence.

So here you have a sentence, you've got to complete it.

At this point, what I want you to do is you're going to pause the video and then have a go.

So which was the first Greek civilization and who were they named after? So have a go, pause the video and complete this task.

Okay, let's have a look at that first task, the second task.

So, complete the sentence.

The Minoans were the first great Greek civilization.

They we're known as such after the legendary king Minos.

So, good job guys, well done.

At this point, I'm going to put it up so that you can check it against your own.

Awesome job guys, well done.

Okay, let's continue.

So let's learn a little bit more about them.

Now, archaeologists have discovered that the Minoan civilization grew rich on trade and they built glorious palaces decorated with beautiful war paintings.

And the term Minoa was coined by the archaeologists, Sir Arthur Evans, who uncovered the Minoan palace of Knossos in 1900 CE, and he named the culture for the ancient Greek king Minos.

And on the right you can see the great palace of Knossos on the island of Crete.

So, here's the next question.

Which archaeologist coined the term Minoan? And here is a prompt that you can use to write a full sentence.

So you could say the archaeologist who coined the term Minoan was, who was he? Again, pause the video and complete this task.

Okay, let's have a look at that one.

So which archaeologist coined the term Minoan? It was, of course, Sir Arthur Evans.

So the archaeologist who coined the term Minoan was Sir Arthur Evans, who uncovered the Minoan palace at Knossos in 1900 CE.

He named the culture after the Cretan king, Minos.

Awesome job guys, well done, excellent work.

Okay, I'm going to leave it up so that you can check it against your own.

Now, let's continue.

So let's learn a little bit more about the Minoan civilization.

So one of the most striking archaeological finds regarding the Minoans is this fresco.

This is a painting that was done on plaster, on wet plaster.

And this fresco shows, it's called "The Bull-Leaping Fresco" as you can see.

You might be able to see why it's called "The Bull-Leaping Fresco".

Now, part of the palace of Knossos in Crete in Greece, and it was painted in around 1400 BC, and it offers one of the depictions of the ancient practise of bull leaping, which was a sport which was practised by the Minoans.

Pretty dangerous sounding sport.

And historians believe that it gives us an insight into the type of sports which the Minoans were engaged with.

Others view it as representing the Minoans' belief in their mastery and supremacy over nature.

Archaeologists have also discovered evidence of a writing system that was developed by the Minoans known as Linear A, and it was discovered by Sir Arthur Evans.

And examples of Linear A have mostly been found on stone tablets as well as pottery.

However, this language has not been deciphered and therefore the meaning of the various examples that have been found remains unknown.

We don't know what it means because nobody has been able to decipher what the language means.

Let's have a look at this one.

Where have examples of Linear A been found? Remember that Linear A is the language that developed during the Minoan civilization.

Again, here's my prompt.

So examples of Linear A have been found on, where have they been found? On what type of artefacts have they found examples of Linear A? Here, pause the video and complete this task.

Okay, let's have a look at the answer to this one.

So where have examples of Linear A been found? The answer is examples of Linear A have been found on stone tablets and pottery.

And remember, we don't know what it means because the language has not yet been deciphered.

So we don't know what the messages say.

I wonder what they say though.

So let's have a look at the next bit.

So what other sources of information do we have about ancient Greece? So other sources upon which historians have relied upon when studying Ancient Greece has been poetry and also coins.

The ancient Greeks used to make pots from clay and large pots were used for cooking or storing food and small bowls and cups were made for people to eat and drink from, and as the Greeks became more skilled, they began to decorate their pots in order to commemorate, in order to remember important individuals as well as tell different stories, including those of their different gods.

Coins from this era tended to commemorate important people, a tradition which continues with modern coinage.

Most of the coins that you see now, in modern times, have an important person on them, and that tradition began with the ancient Greeks.

For example, this coin that you can see on the right-hand side displays Alexander The Great, who was one of the most influential and powerful leaders of ancient Greece.

In Ancient Greece, there were also prolific writers, that loved to write, and a lot of their surviving work informs us about life in ancient Greece.

For example, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, my apologies, was known as the father of history and he wrote all about his travels through Greece, Northern Africa, and Western Asia.

He also chronicled the events of the wars between the Persian Empire and the Greek city states, and he wrote them in a book called "The Histories." Now, despite some doubts about his accuracy, some people think that he made a few things up, Herodotus is an important source of information about life in Ancient Greece, and the reason why is because he's an eye witness.

He was present at the time.

So what is Herodotus known as? Is he known as A, the father of geography? Is he known as the father of history? Is he known as the father of maths? Or is he known as the father of war? So what is the historian, Herodotus, known as? Is it A, B, C, or D? Again, at this point, pause the video and then have a go.

Okay, let's have a look.

What did you think? What is Herodotus, a historian, known as? A, B, C or D? It's, of course, B.

So the Ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, is known as the father of history.

Awesome job my friends.

Now let's move on and see, let's learn about the Greek influence on the Romans.

Now, one of the reasons as to why we know so much about the Ancient Greeks is due to the influence they had on another great civilization, the Romans.

And based out of the city of Rome, the Romans became one of the largest and most powerful empires.

And the Romans' initial interactions with Greeks were mainly trade, but they soon became influenced by the Greek ideas regarding warfare, religion, literature, art, and architecture.

And in 146 BCE, the Romans, they conquered the Greek peninsula, bringing the Greeks into their empire.

So let's have a look.

You've got to compete the sentence and you have three key words that you can use.

So you've got 146 BCE, you've got Romans, and you've got the word peninsula.

So, have a think, where would those words go to complete that sentence? Once you think you've got it, write it down and then read it to check.

So at this point, pause the video and complete this task.

Okay, let's check.

Ready? So, the Romans conquered the Greek peninsula in 146 BCE.

Awesome job guys.

Let's continue.

Now, Greek ideas of education and language were highly valued and sought after within the Roman empire, and as a result, Greeks were often employed as tutors, musicians, doctors, and artists.

For the rich and powerful, it was considered mandatory to learn Greek alongside Latin and to study the works of important philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, whose work cover topics such as morality, philosophy, and science amongst others.

And as a result, the work of all of these Ancient Greek philosophers became distributed across the empire, expanding the influence of their thinking to the present day.

Let's have a look at this task.

In this task, again we have some missing words in these sentences and you have some key words.

You can use rich, Greek, Romans, education, mandatory, and philosophers.

So have a think, where do you think those words would go to complete those sentences? Once you think you've got it down, write them down, and then read it back to check.

So at this point, pause the video and then complete this task.

Okay, let's check.

Right.

Greek ideas around education and language were highly valued by the Romans.

For the rich and powerful, it was considered mandatory to learn Greek and study the works of philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates.

And there we used up all six words.

We used education, Romans, rich, mandatory, Greek, and philosophers.

Awesome job.

Okay, I'm going to put it up so that you can just check your work against my own.

Awesome job guys, well done.

Remember, in case you made a mistake, the reason why I stop at certain points is for you to just check your work and see that you've got it right.

It's fine to make mistakes if you have.

So let's continue.

The Ancient Greek influence can also be seen in some of the buildings around us.

Their architecture has been imitated throughout history.

For example, this is a picture of the Parthenon, which was a former temple dedicated to the goddess, Athena, and this temple, the Parthenon, is in the city of Athens.

Now the Romans, they copied many of the Greek ideas into their own buildings, their homes, and with the famous Colosseum displaying signs of Greek influence.

And today, many government buildings are built in the Greek classical style, including the US Capitol Building and the US Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC.

So you can see that even to the present day, Greek ideas about architecture and art are still really popular, and they're still imitated by us.

So, let's have a look.

Now, Greek art in the form of portraits and statues also heavily influenced Roman artists.

Greek statues, above all else, were among the most popular designs incorporated by the Romans.

And Hellenic statues, Greek statues could often be seen within public buildings and even within private homes.

True or false, the Romans copied many Greek ideas in their buildings and homes.

Is that true or is that false? What do you think? Again, pause the video and complete that task.

Okay, let's have a look.

Ready? It is, of course, the Romans copied many Greek ideas in their buildings and homes.

It is, of course, true.

The Romans were heavily influenced by Greek architecture and they incorporated their designs into their own buildings.

Now, in addition to literature, architecture, and art, the Romans, they were also really heavily influenced by Ancient Greek ideas in regards to religion.

And early Roman religious beliefs implemented a polytheistic system of worship based around the belief in gods and goddesses.

So both the Ancient Romans and the Ancient Greeks were polytheistic.

That means they believed in more than one God.

And some Roman gods shared many characteristics with Greek gods.

For example, the Roman god Neptune, which you can see on the left, which is the God of the sea shared a direct correlation with the Greek god, Poseidon.

You can see that they're quite similar looking.

Now, the head god, Jupiter, who was a Roman god resembled the Greek god, Zeus.

Some Greek gods like the god Apollo were adopted outright by the Romans as their own without making any changes to them.

And Apollo was actually, he became a deity, a god of healing, medicine, and light.

Finally, one of Greece's most important contributions to the Roman empire can be seen with their ideas of military formations and tactics.

Greek military thinking became an intricate part of Roman military strategy and success.

And the Greek idea of the phalanx, which was a military formation, coupled with the concepts of teamwork and unity became the basis for the Roman legions.

And the phalanx was a rectangular military formation with soldiers packed really closely together as you can see on the left-hand side.

The Romans, they adopted the formation of the phalanx and they changed it to better suit their army.

That allowed them to establish a really large empire.

So here's my last task and it's probably the most challenging task because in this one, you've got to summarise some of the information that I've just given you.

But I know that you can do it.

So, let's have a look.

How did the Ancient Greeks influence the Romans in regards to religion and the army? And I have some key key tips for you.

So in your answer, you should talk about how some Greek and Roman gods were similar, and in the last bit, you should talk about how the Romans, they copied Greek military formations.

So what was similar about ancient Greek religion and ancient Roman religion? So what did the Romans copy from the ancient Greeks and then in terms of the military, what did the Romans copy from Greek military formations? So again, at this point, have a go.

Pause the video and complete this task.

Okay, let's have a look and see what answers you've given.

So, here you had to summarise how did the Ancient Greeks influence the Romans in regards to religion and the army? So a great answer would be, early Roman beliefs were polytheistic just like the Ancient Greeks.

Remember polytheism is the belief in more than one God, good job.

Many Roman gods, such as Neptune and Jupiter share similar characteristics to Greek gods.

In terms of the military, the Romans used the Greek phalanx formation, adapting it later on to better suit their army.

So the Romans, they learned from the Greeks about military formations, but then they adapted those formations to better suit their own army.

So those would be some great answers to that question.

So at this point, I'm going to pause the video and you can change your answers or you can tick it as you see fit.

And that my friends, is the end of the lesson.

Great work today, I'm so proud of you.

It's now time to complete your end of lesson quiz.

And as always, if you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer to share your work on Instagram, they can do it on Facebook, they can do it on Twitter.

They're going to tag @OakNational and use the hashtag #LearnwithOak.

But please ask your parents or carers to do that for you.

I would love to see some of your work.

Guys, thank you so much for joining me today.

I hope you had a lovely lesson, I hope you learned lots, and we shall see you in our next lesson.

Goodbye my friends.