Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2024 i Faces People, Places, and World Culture for Kids and Children

So much has been said and written about the contributions of ancient Greece that it might be easy to forget that Greece is a modern and dynamic country. Here are five fascinating facts to help open your eyes to the Greece of today. 1 Greece is a nation closely connected to the sea. It has a coastline of more than 8,000 miles and thousands of islands. As a result, shipping is one of Greece’s most important industries. 2 The capital city of Athens was named after the goddess Athena. According to Greek mythology, Athena bestowed the gift of the olive tree on the people of the city. Olives and olive oil remain a staple of Greek cuisine. 3 Easter is the biggest holiday in Greece, where the Greek Orthodox Church…

When you think of the country of Greece, you might picture the crumbling marble ruins of classical temples, the first Olympic games, and powerful gods and goddesses from ancient mythology. These things are very much a part of Greece. But it is also a modern country where the new exists along with the ancient, with whitewashed houses silhouetted against a bright blue sea and cities filled with the traffic and bustle of urban life. Greece is located in southeastern Europe on what is called the Balkan Peninsula. The Aegean Sea is on the eastern side of the country, the Ionian Sea washes the western side of the country, and the Mediterranean Sea borders the south. Living between three oceans has made Greece a nation closely connected to the water. The…

It’s Greek to me” is often said when something is beyond one’s understanding or especially difficult. But nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to the Greek language. The Greek alphabet and language may look and sound exotic and complicated, but they shaped the vocabulary of Western languages, including English. When early people began to write, they drew pictures that represented what they were writing about. In about 2000 B.C.E., early Greeks known as Minoans (mi-NOH-ahns) developed a system of picture or hieroglyphic (HI-roh-GLIF-ik) writing. They used this system to keep accurate records of goods they stored and exported. Their picture writing spread from the island of Crete to mainland Greece. By 1100 B.C.E., the Greek world was crumbling. As the Greeks abandoned their cities, they forgot…

Olympics: Then and Now The ancient Olympics began in Greece in 776 B.C.E., or about 3,000 years ago. The games started as simple footraces to keep Greek men fit. Women were not allowed to participate. They weren’t even allowed to watch, in part because men competed in the nude. The first modern-day Olympic Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece.…

OFFICIAL NAME: The Hellenic Republic LOCATION: Greece is located in southeastern Europe, at the tip of the Balkan Peninsula. Albania, Macedonia, and Bulgaria border it to the north. Turkey borders Greece on the northeast and lies across the Aegean Sea from Greece on the east. The Ionian Sea borders Greece on the west, and the Mediterranean Sea forms the southern border. POPULATION: 10,314,382 (2024 estimate) CAPITAL: Athens AREA: 50,949 square miles (131,958 square kilometers) TERRAIN: Most of Greece is rocky, mountainous, and close to the sea. Because the sea has carved out so many inlets and peninsulas, Greece has approximately 9,000 miles of mainland coastline. The Pindus Mountains run through the center of the country from northwest to southeast. Greece also includes more than 6,000 islands, of which about 200…

Tzatziki. Dolmades. Spanakopita. These words don’t really roll off the tongue, but they ripple with flavor in the mouth. You’ve probably had pita bread, munched on moussaka (eggplant or potato and meat casserole), and nibbled on feta cheese. But have you ever savored gemista (stuffed vegetables) or downed a hearty bowl of bamies (okra and tomato stew)? Forget grabbing a quick burger in Greece. Souvlaki (skewered meat and vegetables) is as popular and convenient as any cheeseburger. And of course you must try that most delicate of pastry desserts, tiropita. It is flaky phyllo drenched in local chestnut honey. A bounty from the sun and the sea, Greek fare does more than simply feed an empty belly. It’s a mindset, a philosophy of eating, and one of the healthiest diets…

Greek drama began with festivals honoring Greek gods. People sang hymns in the temples in celebrations that developed into plays. Soon the gods’ temples were too small to hold big crowds. Larger spaces were needed. The first theater was built on the south slope of the Acropolis in Athens in the sixth century B.C.E. to honor the god Dionysus. Over the next few hundred years, huge outdoor amphitheaters were built in cities throughout Greece. Greeks built their amphitheaters on hillsides, so everyone could have a clear view of the performances. The theaters varied in size but were similar in style. All had three distinct parts—an orchestra, a theatron, and a skene. The orchestra was a flat, circular space, usually 60 to 70 feet in diameter. It was where actors and…

CRITTER CORNER The Bezoar (BEE-zor) goat is the wild ancestor of the present-day domestic (tame) goat. Also called the “wild goat,” it lives in rocky mountain areas on Crete and other Greek islands, as well as in Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan. The wild goat is a bovid, similar to cattle, sheep, and bison. This means that it has hooves that are split into two toes and permanent horns made with keratin (just like your fingernails) that grow all year long. The bovids are not to be confused with the family called cervids that includes deer, elk, and moose, which have branched antlers made of bone that fall off every year. Both male (billy) and female (nanny) Bezoar goats have horns that curve in an arc upward and backward from…

The church. Unlike in so many other parts of the world, the church remains the cornerstone in Greek society. While secular (nonreligious) traditions have become more common around the world, Greece remains rooted in its Orthodox Christian beliefs. These beliefs can be seen in almost every facet of life among Greek people, both in that country and here in the United States. Priests in black robes with long beards and strong voices call their members to worship on Sunday mornings. Children are named in the family tradition with generations of namesakes traced back to saints of the early church. The most important holidays are centered on religion. Religious icons are visible in every home. Wherever you may be in Greece, there is a good chance the church is there as…

Athens is the city that comes to mind when people think of Greece. Millions of tourists visit it every year. But you can take this quick tour of the city’s landmarks without having to set foot on an airplane. THE ACROPOLIS The Acropolis is one of the most famous landmarks in the world. Perched on this steep, rocky hill is an ancient group of Greek monuments. They include the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, and the Erechtheion, a temple dedicated to Athena and Poseidon. These and other temples, most of them in ruins, are amazing examples of classical architecture. The Acropolis also includes the remains of fortresses, walls, and gates that were built to defend the hill in ancient times. From the top of the Acropolis, visitors…

Greeks have expressed happiness, sadness, anger, and love through dance for centuries. Vibrant costumes, distinctive music, and intricate footwork reflect the diversity of the people who call Greece home. Greek culture is incomplete without choros—dance. Musical notations that are thousands of years old show that ancient Greeks developed and performed almost 200 different dances. Choros kept the ancient Greeks physically and emotionally healthy. Professional dancers performed at special events, but most everyone danced at births and birthdays, weddings, funerals, and to prepare for war. Men’s dances, women’s dances, paired dances, and group dances all had a special place in ancient Greek society, and that richness continues today. Much like their ancestors, modern Greeks dance to commemorate significant events. For example, the Dance of Zalongo recalls a tragic episode from the…

Apollo was a young and handsome Greek god. He lived with his father, Zeus, and the other gods on Mount Olympus, almost 10,000 feet above the earth in the clouds. Apollo was one of the best loved of all the gods. As the god of music and poetry, prophecy and medicine, he came to Earth often to play the lyre and to sing and to show people how to heal the sick. Apollo was also an expert archer—and he was proud of it. His aim was perfect. He killed many monsters with his arrows. Once he slayed an enormous python that slithered up Mount Olympus and horrified the gods. They all praised Apollo for his marksmanship. One day, Apollo saw Eros, the young god of love, shooting arrows. “Why are…