Interesting Facts about Ancient Greece
Ancient Greek Gods
Welcome to our Greek Gods and Goddesses page here on History for Kids. We have some fun facts and pictures for you to color. You will learn some interesting facts about each God as you read down the page. Take your time there is a lot of information on this page, check out the quick facts also if you just need a quick understanding and characteristics of each one.
Athena was tall, strong, graceful, gray-eyed, and she liked owls. From the beginning, she was a pretty amazing goddess. In fact, even her birth was most unusual.
Zeus, the father of gods and goddesses, was also Athena’s father. Her mother was a mortal woman named Metis. Older gods had warned Zeus that he would be in trouble if Metis gave birth to a daughter. So he swallowed Metis whole.
When it came time for Athena to be born, she sprang full grown out of Zeus’s head. She was completely dressed in armor, as she always would be. She also carried a shield and a spear. As you might guess about a woman in armor, she was a great warrior.
Athena didn’t get along with the sea god Poseidon. For one thing, they were often rivals over one thing or another. Once the people of a new city were looking for a god to watch over and protect them. Athena and Poseidon both wanted the job.
To impress the city’s citizens, the two gods gave them gifts. Poseidon struck the ground with his three-pointed spear, and water poured out. The water turned into a river that flowed into the sea. Poseidon told the people to build ships to sail to the sea. He said that they could travel everywhere. They could become the most powerful people on earth.
The citizens were indeed impressed. But then Athena told them to taste the water. It tasted awful. It was saltwater, which is impossible to drink.
Then Athena gave the citizens her gift. When she hit the ground with her spear, a tree magically grew up within seconds. She explained that it was a special tree—an olive tree. Its wood was good both for building houses and for heating those houses in winter. Better still, the tree’s little green fruits, called “olives, ” were delicious. And oil made out of the olives was useful for cooking.
What are some interesting facts about Ancient Greece.
Text Before: Spartan mothers told their sons to die in battle because they believed that death was better than defeat.
Landon90 Says: Infact one saying that the spartan mothers told their son, went something like this "Come back with your shield, or on it" they said that because the Spartan's shields were so big that when they die in war, they get carried on their own shield.
What are some facts about ancient greece?
In Athen's (a city-state in Ancient Greece) they developed the first Democracy government. Sparta mainly focused on war. Ancient Greece city-states fought against the Trojans in the Trojan War and defeated them by making a wooden horse that the Trojan's thought to be a gift from the gods but at night Greeks sneaked out of the horse and attacked the Trojan's from the inside of the walls.