Ancient Greek Families

Ancient Greek families had similar lives of what we live today except that they had many different customs that they would follow.

Men

The men of Ancient Greece would be the head of the house.  The men went where they wanted to go and they would work outside of their home.

Most of the men worked as soldiers, in the fields or in the town in government positions.  The men would leave their home and would go to work each day.

Men liked to gossip and would go places to hear the new news.

They might go to the barber shop and get their hair cut.  Men that were free were citizens of Ancient Greece and they could vote, argue and the could help make decisions for the town.

Sometimes, a man might decide that he wanted to move his family to a different town.  If he decided this, the family would pack up and move with him without arguing or disagreeing.

The men expected the wife and children to keep the home clean and to make food.  When the husband got home from work, the house should be tidy, and the children should be respectful.  There should always be food ready to eat.

Women

Women of Ancient Greece were not considered citizens and they were considered property of their husband.  Women were not allowed to leave the home by themselves or with someone unless the husband gave them permission to leave.

In the home, women were in charge of what happened and women that had money would have slaves that would do the housework and cooking for them.  Sometimes the slaves would even shop and take care of the kids.

If the women were given permission by their husband, the women would go to the marketplace to shop and to visit their friends or to go to the temple.

Women were expected to take care of the house, keep it clean and to cook food and make their families clothing.

Children

The Ancient Greek children would go to school until they were 18 years of age.

They would go to school so that they could learn to read, write and do math.

When the kids finished school, they were required to join a military school for two years.

This school would help to teach them to be disciplined and respectful to other people.

The children of Ancient Greek had a good life growing up.

They would play games, play with their friends and they would have toys and pets.  Boys would play games that would teach them to be strong.

Both boys and girls were made to do chores.

Children loved to play with things like dolls, yo-yo’s, moveable toys, balls and would play different kinds of games.  Some of the pets that Greek children had were pigs, dogs, geese, chickens and more.

Women in Sparta

Sparta was a different kind of town in Ancient Greece.  In Sparta, women were different, and they were strong and independent.

Women in Sparta would not ask for permission from their husband to do anything and women were warriors, business owners, artists, teachers, farmers and more.

Many of the best warriors came from Sparta.

Sparta was an important town when there was war and anyone that went to war wanted Sparta on their side.

Religion

People in Ancient Greek were very religious.  The people would go to the temple, sometimes more than once a day and they would worship the different gods in the temple.

Facts About Ancient Greek Families:

• Men and women usually ate in different parts of the home.
• Women would cut the food up in small pieces because most of the families would use their fingers to eat with.
• Greek women wore long tunics called chiton that was made from cotton or linen.
• Men wore tunics that were short, and most people went barefoot or leather sandals.
• Families would go together to watch plays in the theater or to go to the stadium.
• Men were sometimes soldier, scholars, artists or scientists.

What Did You Learn?

1. What was the difference between men and women in Ancient Greece?  Men were the head of the home and would leave the house and work in a job.  Women would stay home and take care of the house and the family.
2. Could women leave the house? Women were not allowed to leave the house unless their husband gave them permission to leave.
3. What did the children do? The children would attend school until they were 18 years of age and then they would go for two more years to military school.
4. Did the children get to play? Yes!  Children liked to play games, with toys such as dolls and balls and they even had pets to play with.
5. Did the families do things together? Yes!  The families would do things like going to the stadium or to the theater together to watch plays or games.