成人快手

The song and other video content explores Ancient Greek society and culture and in particular life in Athens 2,500 years ago, when it was the most important of the Greek city-states.

The song

'Busy ancient city, Athens' - vocal

The song is a celebration of everyday life in early Athens, exploring parallels between Ancient Greek life and contemporary 21st century life: food, sport, fashion, family and the roles of men, women, girls and boys.

The market scene focuses on trade, money, food, drink, jobs and farming, while hinting at the history of ancient warfare and slavery.

The tune has five beats in a bar and the accompaniment conjures up a sound world featuring panpipes, lyres and percussion, with some clap-and-click actions to join in. It can also be performed like a Greek circle dance!

Refer to the for more information about the song, including follow-up music activities based on it and suggestions for cross-curricular study.

Context: what was life like in Athens 2,500 years ago?

We are transported back to the year 500 BCE (Before Common Era) to meet Aspasia of Miletus - one of the most important women in Athens.

Aspasia introduces us to the city-states of Ancient Greece and shares facts about the daily life of the citizens of Athens, the most powerful of all the city-states at that time. Aspasia shows us a statue of the goddess Athena - who has a special importance for the people of Athens - and the hill above the city called the Acropolis.

The topics Aspasia covers include work, home life, food, marriage and the lives of children.

She explains the importance of the sea as a source of food and transportation; the domestic arrangements of a typical household - including slaves; and the fact that boys can go to school to learn skills such as debating, but girls must stay at home and learn housekeeping.

Resources

'Busy ancient city, Athens' - instrumental

Click to download / print the Teacher Notes (pdf)

Teacher Notes

Click to download / print the lyric sheet (pdf)

Busy ancient city, Athens

Click to download / print the music sheet (pdf)

Busy ancient city, Athens - Music

Download the backing track of the song (mp3)

Download audio

Click to download / print the map (pdf)

Map: some city-states of Ancient Greece

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