Thousands of years ago on the shores of the Mediterranean sea a beautiful civilization was born .. the ancient Greeks! Their achievements laid the foundation of Western civilization. Their monuments provide evidence to one of history’s most spectacular two centuries! Science, politics, democracy, philosophy, literature, and theatre all emerged during this period. An era distinguished by the growth of art and architecture, which we are still trying to equal today. These achievements, which continue to affect our world, were accomplished by men and women whose voices we can still “hear” and whose lives we can still “follow”, such as Pericles, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles, and many more. This is the story of these extraordinary people, as well as the birth and collapse of a civilization that altered the course of history.

This course introduces 8th grade Greek language students to Bronze Age (ca. 3200 -1000 B.C.) and Classical Golden Era Greece (ca. 480-323 B.C.). It covers aspects of the three early ancient Greek Civilizations, Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean, and the ‘Golden Era’ of Classical Greece.
In particular, it covers the following topics: 

1. Daily life of the early Greek civilizations (Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean) & the Classical age (Athenians & Spartans).
2. Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean Art.
3. Political systems (Athens’ Democracy & Sparta’s Oligarchy) and other contributions of ancient Greece.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. Create deliverables that demonstrate understanding of the daily life of the people living in the early Greek civilizations.
2. Compare and contrast different forms of art from the early Greek civilizations.
3. Develop a deliverable recommending one of the two major city-states of the classical era.
4. Analyze how the principles of the ancient Greek democracy affected modern-day democracies.
5. Explain how ancient Greece influenced western civilization.

Georgia Konstantinou was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She is a Greek language & history teacher and the director of a Greek language afternoon school located in New Rochelle, NY.  She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in history and a Master’s degree in Educational Technology.

She has worked as a history and Greek (ancient and modern) language teacher for more than 15 years in public and private schools. She has also taught computer science courses at the college level as an adjunct and visiting instructor. Currently, she is working toward her EdD in Educational Technology at Boise State University.

Reading, walking, website development, and graphic design are some of her favorite activities.