Is it a Society?
Structure
Greek Society was mainly broken up between Free people and Slaves, who were owned by the free people. Slaves were used as servants and labourers, without any legal rights. Sometimes the slaves were prisoners of war or bought from foreign slave traders. Although many slaves lived closely with their owners, few were skilled craftsmen and even fewer were paid.
Nationality
Ancient Greece is split up in to two nationalities.
Stoicism, Platonism
Traditions
Name day celebration- Most Greeks are named after a religious saint. A very important tradition is that everyone who has a name coming from a saint celebrated by the church celebrates his name on a given day of the year. On the "name day" of someone, his friends and family visit him without invitation and offer wishes and small presents. The hostess of the house offers pastries, sweets and hors d'oeuvres to the guests. In Greece, name days are more important than birthdays.
Engagement- It is a custom in Greece to get engaged before get married. The man has to ask for the hand of the woman from her father and close family, while the two families give presents to bride and groom. The couple exchanges wedding rings that are worn on the left hand. After the wedding, these rings will be worn on the right hand. In Greece, the engagement period may last for years and it is like a commitment to the families. This custom is still vivid in the Greek mainland, while gradually it tends to disappear.
Carnival- In Greece, the Carnival is called "Apokries". The festival consists of two weeks of feast, beginning from the Sunday of Meat Fare and ends with the first day of the Lent, called Clean Monday (Kathari Deutera). Everyone is costumed and parties take place in the streets and bars, throwing coloured confetti to each other. The most famous Carnival Parade takes place in the city of Patra. In many towns around Greece and in the islands, local customs revive. The Carnival is believed to come from paganism, and more precisely from the old festivities worshiping Dionysus, the god of wine and feast.
Clean Monday- Clean Monday or Lent Monday is the first day of the Lent (Saracosti) during which families go for a picnic in the countryside and fly kites.
Easter- Easter is the most important celebration for the Greeks, even more than Christmas. On Good Thursday or Good Saturday, women dye eggs in red and bake buns. On Good Friday, the day of mourning, the Epitaphios, the tomb of Christ with its icon, decorated with flowers, is taken out of the church and carried around the village followed by a slow procession. After the procession returns to the church where the believers kiss the image of the Christ. During the night of the Holy Saturday (Megalo Savato), everybody dresses well and goes to the church where a ceremony is hold. Just before midnight, all of the lights of the church are turned off, symbolizing the darkness and silent of the tomb, while the priest lights a candle from the Eternal Flame, sings the psalm Christos Anesti (meaning Christ has risen) and offers the flame to light the candles of the people. Everyone passes the flame one to another. The bells ring continuously and people throw fireworks.
The Good Saturday- Dinner takes place after midnight and consists of mayiritsa, tsoureki (Easter cake) and red eggs. On Easter Sunday, the family roasts the lamb on the spit. Corfu island is the most famous place for easter.
Greek Independence Day- The Greek Independence Day is celebrating the declaration of the Independence War against the Ottomans on March 25th, 1821. Apart from a national celebration, this day is also a religious celebration dedicated to the Annunciation of Virgin Mary.
The Ohi Day- On October 28th, the Greeks celebrate the day when the Greek dictator Metaxas refused to let the Italians invade the country during World War II. It is the celebration of the heroic OXI (NO): most Greeks put a Greek flag on their windows and balconies, while a parade takes place with the participation of school students and the army. Source: www.greeka.com
Worldview
In Ancient Greece all Greeks believed in the gods like : Aphrodite, Hera, Zeus, Hestia, Poseidon, Pluto, Demeter, Ares, Artemis, Apollo, Athena, and Hermes. But of course there are many more than those. Each god had a different title like Zeus was Chief God and Hera was Chief Goddess. The Gods, in Ancient Greece, were a guideline to what people thought of how things in the world came to be. like an echo, the Greeks believed that an echo was made when you could hear the nymph Echo repeat everything you say.
Institutions
A variety of ancient higher-learning institutions were developed in many cultures to provide institutional frameworks for scholarly activities. These ancient centres were sponsored and overseen by religious institutions, which sponsored cathedral schools, monastic schools, and madrasas by scientific institutions, such as museums, hospitals, and observatories; and by individual scholars which were used by Greeks, but only if they were part of the free people group that was mentioned earlier, slaves were not permitted to use these institutions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_higher-learning_institutions
Greek Society was mainly broken up between Free people and Slaves, who were owned by the free people. Slaves were used as servants and labourers, without any legal rights. Sometimes the slaves were prisoners of war or bought from foreign slave traders. Although many slaves lived closely with their owners, few were skilled craftsmen and even fewer were paid.
Nationality
Ancient Greece is split up in to two nationalities.
Stoicism, Platonism
Traditions
Name day celebration- Most Greeks are named after a religious saint. A very important tradition is that everyone who has a name coming from a saint celebrated by the church celebrates his name on a given day of the year. On the "name day" of someone, his friends and family visit him without invitation and offer wishes and small presents. The hostess of the house offers pastries, sweets and hors d'oeuvres to the guests. In Greece, name days are more important than birthdays.
Engagement- It is a custom in Greece to get engaged before get married. The man has to ask for the hand of the woman from her father and close family, while the two families give presents to bride and groom. The couple exchanges wedding rings that are worn on the left hand. After the wedding, these rings will be worn on the right hand. In Greece, the engagement period may last for years and it is like a commitment to the families. This custom is still vivid in the Greek mainland, while gradually it tends to disappear.
Carnival- In Greece, the Carnival is called "Apokries". The festival consists of two weeks of feast, beginning from the Sunday of Meat Fare and ends with the first day of the Lent, called Clean Monday (Kathari Deutera). Everyone is costumed and parties take place in the streets and bars, throwing coloured confetti to each other. The most famous Carnival Parade takes place in the city of Patra. In many towns around Greece and in the islands, local customs revive. The Carnival is believed to come from paganism, and more precisely from the old festivities worshiping Dionysus, the god of wine and feast.
Clean Monday- Clean Monday or Lent Monday is the first day of the Lent (Saracosti) during which families go for a picnic in the countryside and fly kites.
Easter- Easter is the most important celebration for the Greeks, even more than Christmas. On Good Thursday or Good Saturday, women dye eggs in red and bake buns. On Good Friday, the day of mourning, the Epitaphios, the tomb of Christ with its icon, decorated with flowers, is taken out of the church and carried around the village followed by a slow procession. After the procession returns to the church where the believers kiss the image of the Christ. During the night of the Holy Saturday (Megalo Savato), everybody dresses well and goes to the church where a ceremony is hold. Just before midnight, all of the lights of the church are turned off, symbolizing the darkness and silent of the tomb, while the priest lights a candle from the Eternal Flame, sings the psalm Christos Anesti (meaning Christ has risen) and offers the flame to light the candles of the people. Everyone passes the flame one to another. The bells ring continuously and people throw fireworks.
The Good Saturday- Dinner takes place after midnight and consists of mayiritsa, tsoureki (Easter cake) and red eggs. On Easter Sunday, the family roasts the lamb on the spit. Corfu island is the most famous place for easter.
Greek Independence Day- The Greek Independence Day is celebrating the declaration of the Independence War against the Ottomans on March 25th, 1821. Apart from a national celebration, this day is also a religious celebration dedicated to the Annunciation of Virgin Mary.
The Ohi Day- On October 28th, the Greeks celebrate the day when the Greek dictator Metaxas refused to let the Italians invade the country during World War II. It is the celebration of the heroic OXI (NO): most Greeks put a Greek flag on their windows and balconies, while a parade takes place with the participation of school students and the army. Source: www.greeka.com
Worldview
In Ancient Greece all Greeks believed in the gods like : Aphrodite, Hera, Zeus, Hestia, Poseidon, Pluto, Demeter, Ares, Artemis, Apollo, Athena, and Hermes. But of course there are many more than those. Each god had a different title like Zeus was Chief God and Hera was Chief Goddess. The Gods, in Ancient Greece, were a guideline to what people thought of how things in the world came to be. like an echo, the Greeks believed that an echo was made when you could hear the nymph Echo repeat everything you say.
Institutions
A variety of ancient higher-learning institutions were developed in many cultures to provide institutional frameworks for scholarly activities. These ancient centres were sponsored and overseen by religious institutions, which sponsored cathedral schools, monastic schools, and madrasas by scientific institutions, such as museums, hospitals, and observatories; and by individual scholars which were used by Greeks, but only if they were part of the free people group that was mentioned earlier, slaves were not permitted to use these institutions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_higher-learning_institutions