Ancient GreeceAncient Greece is a peninsula located off the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by several islands. Ancient Greece consisted of different types of government. There were two types of city-states: an oligarchy ruled by a small group of citizens and a direct democracy ruled by the people. All citizens could make speeches and vote in the Assembly. The Council composed of 500 citizens adopted new laws which were debated in the Assembly. Only citizens could vote, women, foreigners and slaves were not allowed to vote. Religion and myths were very important in the lives of Greek citizens. They used gods and goddesses to explain things that happened in science and everyday life. They built temples to honor their gods and goddess and held the Olympic Games in honor of the king of the gods Zeus. The Parthenon was a temple built to honor the goddess Athena. People believed that the gods and goddesses would favor you if you gave them offerings such as gold, silver and the fruits of the harvest. Some of the gods and goddesses were Zeus, king of the gods, Athena, goddess of wisdom, war and the city, Apollo, god of the sun, light, truth, music and prophecy, Hades brother of Zeus and king of the underworld and the afterlife, and Poseidon, ruler of the seas. All the gods and goddesses lived on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. The Greeks had many professions, traders, merchants, architects, philosophers, playwrights, sculptors, doctors, poets, astronomers and physicists; every citizen protected the city-state. Every citizen had a duty to defend the state as a hoplite, which is a heavily equipped warrior. They operated in a large rectangular formation composed of thousands of men of equal rank. The Greeks have influenced the way we live today. The educated Greeks wanted explanations. for the world and the things around them. they made observations and formulated theories. These people were known as philosophers, which means “love of wisdom.” Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were famous philosophers. Hippocrates is known as the father of medicine. Today, doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, named after him, which requires them to act ethically and morally. Anaxagras, an astronomer explained that a solar eclipse is caused by the moon passing between the earth and the sun, blocking the sunlight. .