Today was a very exciting day. My mother was about to give birth to a baby. I hoped it was a girl, so I could care and love her and teach her how to weave. I hope it is not weak...then he or she would have to be abandoned., or left to die! Then, I was called into my mother's room. I saw my new baby sister. She was named Aphrodite, after the goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite was a strong baby. Ten days after she was born, she was treated very kindly.

Seven years later, it was time for Aphrodite to move out of the women's quarters. She looked as if she could cry. I felt bad for her. It's hard at a young age not to be near your mother. But, she got used to it. During the midday meal, my mother and father made an announcement. They said it was time for Hera, my older sister, to get married. She is only fourteen, but it is a ancient Greek custom to get married at a young age. Father would decide whom she would marry. Days went by, and the wedding party came. Greeks do not have a ceremony. For my sister's husband's dowry, my parents gave him a well-behaved cow who produced very good milk.

The Olympics were coming up. My father, who is a shepherd, wanted to participate in it. I thought he had no chance. He was born and raised in Athens. Athens does not emphasize sports. The state bordering us, Sparta, does. Even if my father was in the Olympics, I wouldn't be able to watch it. Neither my mother, or my sisters. No woman at all could watch it. Then, my mother told the slaves to clean the house as soon as possible, because my uncle was coming all the way from Rhodes. Finally, he came. He was on our front porch. He had brought us pounds of grain he had traded with another merchant from the British Isles. He sailed the Mediterranean Sea. We cannot grow grain in Greece because the soil is too rocky.
 

My family is rich. All the rich people of Athens have to go to a meeting at the Pynx, near the Acropolis. My father has to wake up early to go to the meeting, for he is a part of the Assembly. The tholos is near the Aegean Sea. I am not going because, only men can be citizens of government. Soon, my father came back, and he said that the poor people of Athens wanted a say in the government, so a democracy was created. A democracy is a government which is ruled by the people. He also said that there would be no more tyrannies. A man named Eucartes created this law.

The next day, our family went to see the Parthenon. In seeing that, I realized how amazing and beautiful our Greek art is! The Parthenon is the temple dedicated to the goddess, Athena. It is Ionic, a type of architecture. There are three main types of architecture: Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian. Ionic is elegant, and has a scroll-like design, and this style is used in Eastern Greece. The temple of Apollo at Didyma is Ionic. Doric is   simple, and strong. Not fancy. The columns had no base. And, this style is used in mainland Greece. There is a square block under the architrave.
 

Today was the day to worship Athena. Everyone in town made a long line. We carried the bull, which would be sacrificed to Athena. There is also cakes and wine given to Athena. There is music and song. Many ancient Greeks worship gods and goddesses, such as Zeus (lord of sky), Aphrodite (goddess of love), Dionysus (god of wine), Athena (goddess of wisdom), Hares (god of war), Poseidon (god of sea), Hera (goddess of marriage.). All gods are descendants of Gaia (the earth) and Uranos (the sky). My friend's grandmother had passed away. She got cremated on a funeral pyre. We gave her food, so she could be happy in the afterlife. Her tomb was decorated. There were mourners who were dressed in black, and my aunt cut her long hair and gave the locks to my friend's grandmother. We all cut our cheeks until blood ran.

 

The whole town of Athens was buzzing about something. A man named Archimedes had called everyone to go to the River Styx. We all saw a magnificent machine that helped irrigate the fields. It is called Archimedes' Screw. I have a feeling it will people in the future. Pythagoras is a brilliant scientist who had developed a theory for music, and how to find the area of a right triangle.

I realized that Ancient Greece has so many accomplishments and achievements. That is why I am proud to be an Athenian of Greece.