Day 4: summary & pics

THE CIRCUS MAXIMUS

OUR CIRCUS MAXIMUS (IN FRONT OF TRINITY!)

CONSTRUCTING THE TEMPLE (pt. I)

CONSTRUCTING THE TEMPLE (pt. II)

CONSTRUCTING THE TEMPLE (pt. III)

CONSTRUCTING THE TEMPLE (pt. IV) COMPLETED!!!

Crowning the victor of the Chariot Race!
3rd place - Matt
2nd place - Carly
1st place - Anne-Sophie

MATT Z's MOSAIC

WE OSTRACIZED MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO!

ONE OF OUR HOME-MADE WAX SEALS

OUR ARTIFACTS TABLE
Today's events/activities:

-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

We are packing tons of info and activities in! It's a whirlwind, and I hope you are all enjoying it!

I am glad that you will bring home the folders at the end of the week so you can look over more closely what we studied. There is some really interesting information in there! We really are just touching the surface of the ancient world! We have stuck with the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian world exclusively.

See you tomorrow!