1. Summit Hill Elementary Art EDventures
“Ancient Greece”
3rd Grade
Political Roots of Modern Democracy in the USA
Greek Art & Architecture
Brought to you by S.H.E. PTA
PLEASE NOTE: This presentation is to be used for educational purposes only. Do not reproduce.

2. Democracy What is Democracy? Government by the people
Where did it come from?
The origins of democracy (roots) come from Ancient Greece.
The English word democracy comes from the Greek word: dēmokratia,
dēmos = people + -kratos = power
Types of Democracy
Direct democracy
People govern themselves
Ancient Greece
Representative democracy
People grant others the power to govern
United States of America
This slide is designed to promote direct interaction with the children. The speaker can pose the questions to the class soliciting answers, then gradually have the answers appear at the click of the mouse.
The children should be able to recall the following (from their Oct. class work):
Democracy began in Athens, Greece
Greeks had a direct democracy, whereby only men were citizens.
US has a representative democracy as citizens vote and choose leaders to represent us in Washington, DC
Main Entry: de·moc·ra·cy
Pronunciation: \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\
Etymology: from Greek dēmokratia, dēmos = people + -kratos = power
Date: First written down in English in 1574.
1 a : government by the people
Source: The American Heritage Student Dictionary
Democracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed (direct democracy), or the power to do so is granted by them (as in representative democracy). The term is derived from the Greek δημοκρατία (dēmokratía (info)), "popular government",[1] which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos), "people" and κράτος (krátos), meaning "power" in the middle of the fifth-fourth century BC to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a popular uprising in 508 BC.
Source: Wikipedia

3. Locate Greece
In this slide, the children should be asked to locate Greece.
During the study of Map Skills in September, the children were taught how to locate Greece on a blank world map. The children should also know that Athens, Greece is located in Europe.
The island of Delos (introduced at the end of the presentation) is located in the center of the tiny islands on the right.

4. Greek Architecture
Given the Greek influence over our political system in the US, we will study Greek Architecture and how it has influenced architecture in the US.
The children will be asked to look at the photographs on the slide and determine what these buildings have in common.
The answer is: columns. The next few slides will be dedicated to the study of the three types of columns: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.

5. Doric Column
Most simple Greek column
Capital (top or crown) is made of a circle topped by a square
Shaft (tall part of the column) is plain and has 20 sides.
No base
Plain, yet powerful design
Frieze has simple designs
The Parthenon in Athens is the most famous example of a building with Doric columns.

6. The Parthenon

7. Ionic Column
More decorative Greek column
Capital (top or crown) consists of scrolls above the shaft
Shaft (tall part of the column) is tall and slender-looking
Base is large & looks like a set of stacked rings
Frieze is plain
The Temple of Athena Nike in Athens is the most famous example of an Ionic building.

8. The Temple of Athena Nike

9. A great example of a Corinthian building happens to be in the USA!
Corinthian Column
Most decorative Greek column
Capital (top or crown) consists of flowers and leaves below a small scroll
Shaft (tall part of the column) has flutes
Base is large & looks like a set of stacked rings
Very ornate design
A great example of a Corinthian building happens to be in the USA!

10. The U.S. Supreme Court
The children should recognize this building as the Supreme Court. Many US government building are modeled after Greek architecture.
The children may be able to recall (from their study of Democracy in late Oct.) the 3 branches of government:
Legislative (Congress)
Executive (President & Cabinet members)
Judicial (Supreme Court)

11. Round Bottom Bowl (needs a stand for display purposes)
Greek Art
In addition to architecture, Greek Art can be found in other forms:
Sculpture
Paintings
Painted pottery
Music
Winged Victory of Samothrace – The Louvre, Paris
Round Bottom Bowl (needs a stand for display purposes)
Athenian Vase

12. Paintings
The earliest paintings can be found on the Greek island of Crete.
The paintings were not on canvases but “frescos” painted on the walls of palaces where the rulers lived.
Dolphins – Minoan Palace at Knossos (Crete, 1500 BC)

13. Paintings Few Ancient Greek paintings still exist today.
The paintings often told stories.
Many paintings were of young adults and depicted athletic ability.
This image depicts a young man doing a somersault over a bull. During this specific time period, different colors were used to distinguish between men and women.
The Greeks are famous for being the founders of the Olympic Games. Many of their paintings depict athletic ability.
Toreador Fresco, painted around BC

14. Painted Pottery
Painted pottery was very popular and included various forms:
Geometric designs
Black Figure
Red Figure
The pottery clay varied in color depending upon where it came from:
Athens = reddish-orange
Corinth = creamy white

15. Black Figure Painted Pottery
This type of pottery was popular in Athens.
The people were painted in silhouette and in black.
Many of the pots had mythological scenes painted on them.
This pot is considered a masterpiece of Athenian black figure pottery.
The subjects are Ajax and Achilles, seated on low stools, leaning forward playing a board game. The helmeted Achilles is winning. How do we know? Tessara (four) is written beside his head and tria (three) by Ajax's.
The smaller image is the other side of the pot.
Source: Classical Art Research Centre, The Beazley Archive – University of Oxford

16. Red Figure Painted Pottery
After painting in the black-figure method, the potters became a little frustrated with it.
They wanted to show people overlapping and also show muscles in the figures.
As a result, red-figure painted pottery emerged.
The first image is two men with a fawn. Their legs and arms are overlapping.
The second image is a wedding vase: the bride is seated in a chair, while girls and women bring her gifts: decorated clay vases, baskets, chests, and incense burners.
Source: Classical Art Research Centre, The Beazley Archive – University of Oxford

17. Mosaics
A mosaic is art created by assembling small pieces of glass, stone or other material.
The large image on the left and top right are from the House of the Trident. Shown is a dolphin swimming around an anchor.

18. Mosaics
Mosaics have been found on the island of Delos in Greece – used as floors in ancient times
Delos is the birthplace of Greek mythology twins: Apollo & Artemis
Delos is pronounced \ˈdē-ˌläs\
During their study of ancient Greece, the children were introduced to Greek mythology.

19. Curriculum Georgia Education Standards – Grade Three
Historical Understandings
SS3H1 The student will explain the political roots of our modern democracy in the United States of America.
Identify the influence of Greek architecture (columns on the Parthenon, U. S. Supreme Court building), law, and the Olympic Games on the present.
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.
Geographic Understandings
SS3G1 - The student will locate major topographical features of the United States of America.
Identify major rivers of the United States of America: Mississippi, Ohio, Rio Grande, Colorado, Hudson.
Identify major mountain ranges of the United States of America: Appalachian, Rocky.
c. Locate the equator, prime meridian, and lines of latitude and longitude on a globe.
d. Locate Greece on a world map.
2009