Bordessa - Tools of the ancient Greeks: a kids guide to the history & science of life in ancient Greece

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by Linda Formichelli and W. Eric Martin

Tools of the Ancient Romans: A Kids Guide to the History and Science of Life in Ancient Rome

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Tools of Native Americans: A Kids Guide to the History and Culture of the First Americans

by Kim Kavin

Nomad Press

A division of Nomad Communications

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Copyright 2006 by Nomad Press

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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. The trademark Nomad Press and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc. Printed in the United States.

ISBN: 0-9785037-1-6

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W hen we look at the modern world and try to figure out why we live the way we do, we find ourselves turning again and again to a small nation in the Mediterranean Sea, and to events that took place there more than 2,000 years ago.

Much of the world around us has been heavily influenced by people we now call ancient Greeks. If you find that hard to believe, just look to the sky. Our constellations go by names like Orion, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and Perseus. Those names come directly from ancient Greek mythology. Even one of Americas space programs was named for the Greek god, Apollo.

Some American cities sport Greek namesAthens, Georgia, is one and Homer, Alaska, is another. Some of our most famous buildings feature sweeping colonnades and imposing columnselements that were prominent in ancient Greek architecture. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is just one example: it was modeled after the Greek Parthenon.

From our democratic society to our theater, and from our architecture to our names for constellations, ancient Greek culture has influenced our lives today. When we measure, map, and mold the world, we use tools that were invented by the ancient Greeks. Even when we do something simple like argue or run a race, we have the ancient Greeks to thank for showing us how to do it best.

Tools of the Ancient Greeks will take you through the intellectual triumphs and mechanical creations of this long-gone, but not-forgotten civilization and show how their world has influenced ours. Biology, astronomy, athletics, democracy, logic, and reasonthe Greeks laid the groundwork in nearly every field of learning you can imagine. With this book you can follow in their footsteps.

W hen we talk about ancient Greece, we are referring to the time period from about 800 BCE to 31 BCE. Those 800 years in ancient Greece produced some amazing ideas, inventions, discoveries, and beliefs, many of which we use in our daily lives today. But before we focus solely on those clever Greeks, lets take a quick look at how ancient Greece evolved.