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Many historians will argue that the Ancient Greek Civilization contributed more to our modern-day civilization than any other group of people. They were a knowledgeable people, who valued intelligence and ambition as well as physical strength. They lived in a democratic society and encouraged all the people to “strive for excellence”. They made many contributions in the fields of philosophy, astrology, physics, biology and mathematics as well as contributing to the dramatic arts and sports (As you may already know-they started the Olympic Games back in 776 BC). But what about their religious beliefs? We know that that they built many beautiful temples and buildings (ex-the Parthenon and the Acropolis), but who did they worship in these great structures?

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Have you ever wondered where a word came from? Do you know the meaning of the words echo and narcissistic? An echo is a repetition of a sound. Echo is also the name of a character in Greek mythology.

If someone is described as narcissistic, they are very in love with themselves. Narcissistic comes from the word Narcissus which is the name of a lovely white flower. Like Echo, Narcissus is also the name of a character in Greek mythology. These two words are common words to our modern society, but how they were derived goes back to ancient Greece. Read the Greek mythology about Echo and Narcissus and see if you can find the common thread between this ancient story and the words we use today.

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In the early 1840’s, California was a place that housed very few people and was not of much interest to people. One man, John Sutter, saw it as a land of opportunity, a place where he could build an agricultural empire. In 1847, Sutter sent some men down to the American River to build a sawmill which would provide lumber for his visionary farm.

Things were going as planned, the sawmill was almost finished, when all of a sudden, one of the men James Marshall spotted something shiny. It was on this day, January 24, 1848, that the first gold of the gold rush was discovered.

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Welcome to San Francisco, one of the most beautiful and cultural cities in the world. But it wasn’t always that way. Imagine a time in the 1840’s when there were only a few hundred people that lived in what is now a metropolis. If you know about the gold rush, then you can probably guess why San Francisco became so important. Let’s take a look.

With the first words of gold came the most successful prospectors. These men, called the Forty-Niners, because of the year 1849, were able to gather gold at a rate of more than an ounce every hour.

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There are many fascinating castles that have been built in the world. But few have the long and interesting history of the famous Tower of London in England. Built over 900 years ago in England, the Tower of London has housed, protected and imprisoned hundreds of people in its long history.

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An earlier article discussed interesting information about the origins of the first Olympic Games in Greece in 776 BC. The article concluded with the Romans gaining control of Greece and ultimately canceling the Olympic Games in 393 AD. The ancient Olympic Games actually lasted for 1170 years! But then…there was a long gap with no Olympic Games. In fact, there were no games held for over 1500 years.

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Do you enjoy sports? Do you know what popular and historic sporting event is just around the corner? If you have been watching TV or reading the newspaper this past month you may have heard of some Olympic trials in various sports being held. That’s right…the 2000 Olympic games are just around the corner! But do you know about the long history behind these games?

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Imagine if you could capture one moment in time in a city. Imagine what you could learn about an ancient city if it remained untouched for hundreds of years and we could see it as it existed in the past. Imagine what you could learn about the history and the culture of the people who lived in that city. This is exactly what happened in an ancient city in Italy. This city was covered by volcanic ash and remained hidden and forgotten for hundreds of years. Recently, this city and the treasures that it contained were uncovered!

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“Spring Forward, Fall Back.” Most of you have probably heard that phrase before, but do you know what it really means or how it originated? The phrase serves as a reminder telling us in which direction we turn the clock on Daylight Savings Time. Do you know how and why this moving of the clock all started?

Benjamin Franklin was the first person to mention this idea in an essay he wrote in 1784. However, nothing was done with this idea until it was mentioned again by an Englishman named William Willett who in 1907 wrote about this issue in an essay titled “The Waste of Daylight”.

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Pinch! This is what you might get if you are not wearing something green today! People from many different countries are putting on their green shirts, jackets, and hats and are going out to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Do you know in what country this holiday originated? This country is surrounded by water and is filled with beautiful green hills and valleys. Ireland is the place where St. Patrick’s Day began and where the most celebrating occurs on this day. There are many legends and superstitions that originated in Ireland and are thought to be associated with this holiday. Leprechauns and the history of the Blarney Stone both originated in Ireland, however, they have nothing to do with holiday of St. Patrick’s Day.

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One of the greatest archeological finds in history is the discovery of the burial tomb and mummy of a young king who ruled over 3,300 years ago! The tomb of King Tutankhamun (more commonly referred to as King Tut) was discovered by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon in Egypt, 1922. It all started with the discovery of a single step that would ultimately lead the young king’s tomb. The most significant aspect of this discovery is that it was the first tomb found in Egypt that was untouched by robbers.

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Each October we celebrate Black History Month as a tribute to the history of African Americans. What you might not realize is that the history of African Americans was not studied or recognized for a very long time. In fact, African Americans didn’t gain recognition in history books until the 20th century. We have a man named Dr. Carter G. Woodson to thank for bringing the history of African Americans into the classroom and to the world.

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