Athens a Democracy

The definition of democracy is “government by the people.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/democracy). Athens was considered a democracy where the people had the power. Their government was not ruled but one single person. Athens was one of the oldest Greek democracies. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greekdemocracy_01.shtml). What was considered a democracy to them is not what we would consider a democracy today. The people would vote for their leader. Their government was not always stable but it worked best for them. the democracy would get overthrown but somehow restored. We choose the people to rule for us but in Athens it was more direct. Democracy has changed over time but Athens was still considered a democracy.

"BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: The Democratic Experiment." BBC - Homepage. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. .

"Democracy | Define Democracy at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. .

IMAGE FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS 

Olympics: Then and Now

They Olympics that take place now are a more advanced version of the Olympics that occurred many years ago in Greece. This means there are some similarities and differences. The ancient Olympics were for men and no women participated in them. “Women did not participate at the main Olympic festival.” The purpose of the Olympics was to get the men in shape for the military. Today we play for fun. Now many women compete and even win. They used to only have one event but now we have many. We even have to Olympics, one in the winter and one in the summer. Some of these events were the same.  Just like today the winners brought great pride to their home city. Also like today not everyone enjoyed athletics.   Religion played a big role in the Olympics because the athletes thought that their Gods brought them good luck and looked over them. A big difference from the Olympics then and the Olympics now is that then they played naked and now we participate fully clothed and often bundle up to keep warm in the winter.  The Olympics then were a lot different than now but also have many similarities and are a big part to many cultures.

SOURCE: "BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: The Olympics: Ancient versus Modern." Ow.ly -Shorten urls, share files and track visits - Owly. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. .

IMAGE SOURCE: wikimedia commons 

War is Technology? Agree or Disagree

The definition of technology is “the terminology of an art, science, etc.; technical nomenclature.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/technology). Some of the things we would consider technology are things like computers, iPods, phones, and etc. The definition of war “a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/war).  I would disagree because war is a conflict and technology is an advancement and a type of art. Technology is an advantage while war is a disadvantage.  Technological inventions can help the people battling in the war. For example with great technology more inventions are made for war like guns, swords, and other weapons. These weapons are used in war and are a type of technology but the war itself is not. The war is a battle and technology is a scientific advancement.

"Technology | Definition of Technology at Dictionary.com:." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. .

"War | Definition of War at Dictionary.com:." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. . 

image from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle.jpg

What is Important? Article #3

Important is a word that can be interoperated in many different ways. According to dictionary.com, important means “of much or great significance or consequence.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/important).  According to freedictionary.com important “means strongly affecting the course of events or the nature of things; significant.” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/important).  Important is more of an opinion word. Different things are important to different people. For example to me getting a good education, family, and friends are important. To someone else something like sports or money may be more important. Important can be a very strong word or can be a very relaxed word. In the sense saying that picture is very important to be because my grandmother gave it to me would be stronger than saying it is important to turn off your TV. Sometimes we use the word important without really thinking about what it means.

                Some things important to me are things like my family, friends, and education. Without these three things my life would be totally different. These three things get me through life and help me accomplish some many things. My family helps guide me through life helping me make good decisions and supporting me along the way. Without my family especially my mom and dad I would not be alive. Family is the people who punish you when you do wrong so you learn that lesson and can achieve that goal. Friends are the people who stand at the end and clap for you when you cross the finish line. Your friends support you and motivate you to accomplish things. Friends are always there for you and this is why they are important. My education is another thing that is very important to me. Without my education I would not be where I am today. It helps me have the success I have had throughout my life and the success in my future. Some of the greatest events would not occur without education. The education is our basis for life. It teaches us what we need to know to survive and be successful. Some things important to everyone are food, shelter, and water. These three things are necessities for life. These things are key to survival and without them you will greatly struggle to live. To me that is what important means. Things needed to live or things that mean so much to you would be considered important. I would also consider something important if it has greatly helped me and or made me successful in life. These are some of the things I would consider important and why, the mean a lot and are things I need in my life.  

                The Egyptians didn’t have many things they would considered important but what they did consider important was like sacred to them. For example life after death was very important to them. This is something they strongly believed in and everything they did in their life was based around the fact of life after death. When they were being mummified they made sure to keep the heart in this way they could survive in their life after death. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/mummies_01.shtml). Without their heart they wouldn’t be able to survive. This is one belief or practice that is very important to them. Something else important to the Egyptians are their pharaohs. Their pharaohs are greatly worshipped. They have a cycle in which a pharaoh dies and a new one is positioned and these keeps repeating. They have specific orders and if something goes wrong the whole cycle will become ruined. That is because it is very important to them and they don’t want to mess it up. (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/pyramids.html).  Another thing that is important to their lives is a piece of geography. This would be the Nile River. This is very helpful in their life which makes it important. They became very dependent on the river for many things. They used the Nile for things such as a water source and a way of transportation.  The land around the Nile was very fertile which made it could land to settle near. This river became helpful in so many ways that made Egypt a more civilized region and helped advance it throughout the years. Pyramids were also an important practice they believed in. They would build the pyramids in large groups and spend a lot of time on them. These pyramids were not only important to the Egyptians but to us too because we learned a lot from them. It taught us a lot of mathematics education because it took a lot of thought and math to plan out the building of the pyramids. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/egypt_importance_01.shtml). Archeologists have found many old Egyptian paintings or drawings. The Egyptians must have used art as a way of communication. That was a very important part of their life because without communication nothing can occur or advance. We need communication to talk to one another so that way we can work together and become a civilization. The Egyptians used something called Hieroglyphs to communicate with one another. This was a list of symbols that look a lot like pictures, but were not. 

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/decipherment_01.shtml).  Overtime people have advanced this and how way of communication has improved over time. Egypt is an overall important place because it has helped us become where we are today and has made many very helpful inventions. That have caused a more advanced civilization. Today we have learned some of the things we know from what Egypt has done and created. These things are important to Egypt because they helped them become successful and truly mean something to them .

                Something is important if it is significant. Something important to you would be considered one of you “number ones.” By this I mean that it would be top on your list and truly mean something to you. Important is a word that can be interpreted in many ways and is like an opinion word that could be different from person to person.  Important things would be the things you would save first out of a fire. Things don’t just have to be material to be important they can be ideas or beliefs kept in your head also. What would you consider important?

Works Cited

"BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: Ancient Egypt and the Modern World." BBC - Homepage. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. .

"BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: Mummies Around the World." BBC - Homepage. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. .

"BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: The Decipherment of Hieroglyphs." BBC - Homepage. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. .

"Important | Definition of Important at Dictionary.com:." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. .

"Important - definition of important by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. .

"The Invention of the Wheel." Inventors. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. .

"National Geographic: Egypt Pyramids--Facts, Photos, Diagrams." National Geographic - Inspiring People to Care About the Planet Since 1888. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. .

Image from: Wikimedia commons 

What is the Most Important Human-Created Artifact To You?

The oldest invention that has mattered to me is the invention of the pencil. Without the pencil we would have no written records of things that happened in our past and present. The pencil is a way of keeping data, a key part of education and a great resource used every day. It was invented in 1564 when a huge graphite mine was founded.  The graphite was sawed into rods and these rods were carved into wooden holders forming pencils.  The English were the ones producing these at first because they were the only ones with a pure graphite mine. Pencils have many uses and without them we would not know much that we know today. The pencil was what most people first used to learn to write and how many key events were kept track of. Without a pencil in life many things would not occur.  

Source: "Invention of the Pencil - EnchantedLearning.com." ENCHANTED LEARNING HOME PAGE. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. .

Image Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pencil.jpg 

Mummification- Pixton Comic

http://pixton.com/comic/fdzxcxod 
"BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: Ancient Egypt and the Modern World." BBC - Homepage. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. .
"BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: Mummy Maker." BBC - Homepage. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. .

Pyramids of Egypt

Pyramids were the greatest testaments. Many Egyptians believed when the pharaoh died they became the king of the dead. The new pharaoh would become god of the heavens. This cycle would keep occurring. The pharaoh’s spirit remains with his body. If the corpse didn’t have proper care then the pharaoh would not be able to be the king of dead and this would ruin the cycle. This is why the pharaoh would be mummified, to keep it in good care so it could fulfill its duties. Egyptians built tombs, sometimes pyramids and sometimes not. These were used to protect the pharaoh’s soul. The pyramids were modeled on the benben which symbolized the rays of the sun. This is because it was said that pharaohs reached the heavens from sunbeams.  Workers of the pharaohs were the ones who built the pyramids, not slaves or foreigners. People found graffiti that showed that some of them actually liked their work.  It took them a lot of time and work to create these. Many workers would work on one pyramid at a time because it was such a large job.  All of the people who helped even the slightest bit on building the pyramids helped keep the life and death cycle of the pharaoh running. 

"National Geographic: Egypt Pyramids--Facts, Photos, Diagrams." National Geographic - Inspiring People to Care About the Planet Since 1888. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. .
Image from: "File:All Gizah Pyramids.jpg -." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. .