-we put on our togas and stolas to get ready for the day!
-Mr. A. passed out zip-lock bags so some of us could finish our mosaics at home
-Nummus Diei... (coin of the day) Today's coin talked about the island of Crete off the mainland of Greece. The Minoan civilization dominated Greece around the 1300's BC, and this is where the myth of the Minotaur and Theseus originates. The city of Knossos is a maze in and of itself, and is likely the origin of this story. The labyrinth (where the Minotaur lived) was carved onto their coinage.
-DEMOCRACY
We briefly talked about democracy and how we can often take it for granted in our modern world. In ancient times, very few enjoyed the freedoms and say in government that we enjoy. Parts of the world today still lack basic freedoms such as freedom of religion.
-VOTING: we briefly discussed voting in the ancient world; we learned how the Athenians ostracized citizens, banishing them from the city for 10 years! The voted on broken pieces of pottery. We did the same and booted Cicero!
-MYTH mp3: we listened to parts 3 & 4 of our myth about the Trojan War. Achilles' mother raised him and disguised him as a girl to hide him from danger! When he was born, she dipped him in the river Styx, holding him by his heel; his skin became impenetrable and helped him become and even stronger child. Zeus didn't want to choose whether Athena, Hera, or Aphridite was "Belissimae" (the most beautiful or the fairest), and so he passed the duty of to a handsome youth named Paris, prince of Troy. Legend has it that Paris would bring trouble to his city, and his choice of Aphrodite, who promised him the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen, certainly sealed his fate! We'll see where this picks up and ends tomorrow!!!!
-We looked over a handout naming the Olympian gods with their Greek and Roman names
-We analyzed some examples of Greco-Roman and Egpytian architecture, and how those styles are still emulated and virtually copied by architects today. For example the U.S. Capitol building as well as the Supreme Court look just like Greco-Roman temples. The "Luxor Casino" in Las Vegas is designed to look like the site of the great pyramids in Giza. What is old is new!
-CRAFT: Today we had a group craft (as seen in the pics). The kids were give 5 sheets of styrafoam and they had to build a Greco-Roman temple in 20 minutes! I was amazed at their ability to work civilly together and their creativity. They pulled it off! The end result is pretty cool.
-SNACK: today we dined on pita, olive oil, grapes, cheese, feta, and our feature today: OLIVES & HUMMUS!
-We watched a brief clip from the film gladiator about a battle scene, viewing the different war devices, weapons, and armor donned by the Romans. They demolish a German tribe in the scene.
-After the clip, we viewed some items pertaining to weaponry in our handout
-We also learned about what a "pyrric victory" is.
-Our final activity, as we wrapped up, was looking at a few of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
-Nummus Diei... the ancient coin of the day (Caesar claimed to be related to Venus!)
-Olympics: Javelin throw!
3rd place - Matt Z.
2nd place - Matt
1st place - Gabe (again! someone needs to take him down Thursday!)
-ROMA - "The toga-clad nation"
We learned a little about Romans and their togas
WE ALL MADE TOGAS FOR OURSELVES TO WEAR - (lots of posing and pictures!)
Girls wear what is called a "stola"
Boys wear the "toga"
Only Roman citizens were allowed to wear the toga!
-MYTH: we listened to part II of the origins of the Trojan War
"The wedding of Thetis and Peleus" This wedding was
attended by the Olympian gods themselves... but soon a conflict insued
Who is "belissimae"? Aphrodite, Athena, or Hera? Zeus doesn't want
to choose!!!!
-Great Orators of Greece & Rome
We read a little about 4 major historical figures:
1. Pericles - leader of Athens during the 'golden age'
2. Cicero - great Roman statesman, orator, philosopher, and writer
-we did not quite get to these two!-
3. Demosthenes - Greek statesman and orator
4. Cato the Elder - grump old Roman statesman; he ended every speech, no
matter what it was about with "CARTHAGO DELENDA EST!" (Carthage must
be destroyed!)
SNACK: pita bread, olive oil, cheese, and TODAY's FEATURE...
-dried apricots
-dried rasins (vaious types)
-oranges
-FINAL CRAFT: Scroll making!
We produced replicas of ancient scrolls with famous quotes
from the figures we have been studying. Socrates was a favorite
among the students.
We also put wax seals on our scrolls to authenticate them.
-Mr. A. handed out a packet reviewing yesterday's adventures
-Nummus Diei... The coin of the day was revealed and discussed
-The Olympics- Discus throw
Laura 3rd place
Matt Z. 2nd place
Gabe 1st place
-Greek philosophy: we read about and discussed Socrates, Plato,
and Aristotle. We also learned some of their famous quotes.
-Mythology- we listened to an mp3 about the origins of the Trojan War
Today's story was about Thetis and "War-like" Peleus'
-Craft: we learned about Roman mosaics and "tesserae", the little
stones or glass with which the Romans made mosaics. We then
produced our own mosaics out of construction paper
-7 Wonders of the Ancient World: (today's pick) The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
-snack: as usual: pita bread, olive oil, and mozzarella cheese; today
we also had green grapes and tried Feta cheese from Greece!
-Quick architecture lesson: we looked at the Doric columns/capitals
outside and learned about the order of: doric, ionic, and corinthian
capitals.
