A day in the life of an ancient Athenian - Robert Garland

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It’s 427 BCE, and the worst internal conflict ever to occur in the ancient Greek world is in its fourth year. Athens is facing a big decision: what to do with the people of Mytilene, a city on the island of Lesbos where a revolt against Athenian rule has just been put down. How did these kinds of decisions get made? Robert Garland outlines a day in the life of Athenian democracy.
Lesson by Robert Garland, animation by Zedem Media.
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[@TEDEd]

If you enjoyed this glimpse at daily life in an ancient civilization, check out our "Day in the life..." playlist: bit.ly/2Ipapkl

[@goonerOZZ]

TED-Ed so did the 2nd ship made it in time? Please I must know!

[@tfd7915]

So I liked the video. The only flaw as Ozz Lee noted was that you didn't finish it. Now I have to go and look up if the second ship ever caught the first one. Otherwise my head will hurt for the rest of the night.

[@BossHossGuitars]

TED-Ed and?!?! What happened

[@rainman4835]

need more!

[@epixdevo3180]

Day in the life of a eygptian or malian

[@MrDunkleostus]

In case anyone was wondering, the second ship rowed much faster than the first ship whose crew was in no rush to carry out their gruesome task. The second ship managed to catch up with the first ship on the shore of Mytilene, narrowly stopping the massacre with mere minutes to spare.

[@MasterJ58]

@Natalia Wojtczak Same. It was really close

[@kr_international_8608]

The first ship was not being rowed fast because the people on board needed their strength for a massacre. On the other hand, the second ship was rowed as fast as possible as they needed to stop a massacre.

[@EswarValluri]

thank you :)

[@t2av159]

never happaned luke

[@anlocha8330]

thanks for your comment. I would be in insomnia if it hadnt been for ya

[@JoKeR1997fly]

"A ship was immediately dispatched to Mytilene to countermand the execution order sent out the previous day. The Mytilenean representatives in Athens offered a sizable reward to the crew if the ship arrived in time to prevent the executions. Rowing day and night, sleeping in shifts, and eating at their oars, the rowers of the second trireme managed to make up the first ship's one day lead and arrive at Mytilene just as Paches was reading the original order, in time to prevent its execution." - Wikipedia page on Mytilenean revolt, Thucidides account

[@seferino]

Wow. That's a relief man

[@estieramie]

You da real MVP. Let's upvote this for others to see!

[@hellothere9407]

I don't think I ever thought I'd feel relief about something that happened More than 2 millenia ago

[@stevengreen9536]

Glad they made it.

[@jw6588]

Thanks for the update!

[@starcherry6814]

They’re quite a calm family despite being in the middle of a war

[@jamestown8398]

Life must go on.

[@errornull390]

Star Cherry said every American

[@peroz1000]

Star Cherry The war hadn’t fully caught up with them.Yet.

[@RenaHigu2006]

Nice

[@jesseward568]

Stoucism

[@amcghie7]

I'd love the Ted-Ed videos 2,000 years from now, talking about a day in the life of someone today.... "Andy, a student, drank too much the night before, so he slept in today. Although he was meant to be working on his dissertation, he sat and watched videos about people in Ancient Athens. " That's literally it.

[@claudiab4014]

Well now 2000 years from now Karen was getting ready to go to the store she had to get there early before all the toilet paper ran out

[@rouckinghans4653]

angelica schuyler she also had to get there before the cashier left so she can scream at the cashier for small problems and get the cashier fired

[@ioftenarguewithidiots.3811]

2000 years from now? Don't think we will last even a 200 years from today with this rate of global warming and pollution.

[@armyyyyyyyyyyyy]

My favourite comment😍

[@aditisk99]

A day in the life of a typical millenial

[@SciencewithKatie]

I love this narrator, his voice is so calming. If he doesn't already do audiobooks he should! 💛

[@shaozhe98]

Science with Katie ted-ed should hire Morgan Freeman

[@colgateuniversity]

He's a professor at Colgate.

[@ema1489]

Colgate University Do u know his Facebook account or his name?!

[@shamoonsaqib]

Ema 148 His name is Addison Anderson

[@teacoffee7809]

I KNOW YOUR SOOOOOOOOOOOOO RIGHT

[@georgekokkos5347]

Alternative title: ‘A day in the life of an Athenian, during one of Athens’ most infamous and controversial parliamentary votings of the ancient times.’ Amazing video! Well done!

[@saadawan5502]

George Kokkos that is too long for a video title

[@georgekokkos5347]

Saad Awan I know 😆 It was a joke. But I mean it (not as a title of course)

[@owenwilliams9919]

What happened in the end George?

[@pedroluizb]

plis tell us more about it George!!! Were there any well known philosophers or historians involved that you know of?

[@ComradeHellas]

Razing a city to the ground and enslaving its inhabitants was pretty common back then. Heck in fact the great conquerors of the Republic Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeus Magnus and Marcus Licinus Crasus comited literal genocides of the natives in the areas they conquered.

[@jungkooksbeautifulvoice7326]

It's so fascinating watching these videos because I am Greek(I don't live in Athens though). I feel proud that my country has such a long history, even if nowadays things are not going well for us financially...

[@orppranator5230]

Baekhyun & Seulgi stan just don’t vote for left leaning policies and you all will be fine.

[@ViciousViscount]

I'm Polish and I love Greece. You can be truly proud of your history.

[@nitishsaxena1372]

Baekhyun & Seulgi stan lol you're mixed with the Turks.

[@WERTYUIO821]

Nitish Saxena Actually Greeks were keep their blood "pure" like every single nationality that was under foreign control. Ottoman were the one that stole Greek childrens(and different nationalitist) and raise them as they were their childrens. Also a great deal of Greek ware leaving as Turk because of their religion(and economical interest as well)

[@gingin3919]

Nitish Saxena lol we are not! Due to our different religions there weren't any marriages between Greeks and Turks. Maybe turks are mixed with us because turks used to steal little greek children (usually boys), raised them, making them to believe they were Turkish.

[@Elizabeth-pb1rx]

As a Greek student who has been taught about the Peloponnesian war at school an awful amount of times, I find this way of learning about it much more interesting than just reading straight from a book. You focus on the main events of the war and also get to see what everyday life was like back then. I wish classes were more like that, students would be way more interested in the subject Great video though ~

[@VALDIGNE]

I hate the Peloponnesian wars. I hate Greeks fighting eachothers.

[@riccardocuciniello2044]

And you didn't notice the error at 3:17?

[@Mickey203]

@@VALDIGNE then Greece wasn't a only one country, we united many years later ( I don't know so good English🙁 ( you release it))

[@NoName-xc6cg]

Μόνο στην Α' Λυκείου μας κάνανε εμάς Πελοποννησιακό πόλεμο, τα προηγούμενα χρόνια απλώς μαθαίναμε πόσα χρόνια ήταν και την κατάληξη, πρακτικά τίποτα

[@user-Prometheus]

Δεν νομίζω ότι αυτό είναι σωστό το βίντεο. Μας κανουν να φαινόμαστε σαν βάρβαροι.

[@rynieryarom4277]

What about a life a day of ancient China

[@ProfessorPolitics]

That'd be really fascinating! I imagine it'd vary a lot depending on what dynasty you chose.

[@cyzhouhk]

It’ll also depend on your social standing, and ethnicity. There are many Chinese ethnic groups, although most are of Han ethnicity.

[@abdullhuq4926]

Professor Politics ম

[@nemoys_]

That would be awesome! I always loved seeing the history of China! They should do more videos about countries Like India, China, Korea, Pakistan And also Srilanka and Japan and many more countries in Asia. African Countries included. IT WOULD JUST BE SO AWESOME TO LEARN ABOUT THOSE DIFFERENT CULTURES!

[@BlueEyes-WhiteDrag0n]

+Natasel Not True! They could show about their Heirlooms Kingdoms Wars Myths Discoveries Religious Myths Infamous Scientists Dark Pasts etc etc..

[@fadhillahsidik]

Could you do A Day in the Life of A Venetian in the Renaissance?

[@faizalf119]

MLG Elf "Late paying my debt, lose an arm. At least I don't have debt now"

[@fadhillahsidik]

I also would like to know whether or not the hermetic society had a profound influence on their society. Considering how astrology seems to improve your skills quite significantly.

[@agrajyadav2951]

It's like paying a lot of money to your friend and ending up signing a bond with an overly ambitious greedy moneylender and almost getting killed before your friend and his girlfriend save you. Nothing special.

[@TheArmchairHistorian]

Awesome video! It'd be really interesting to make this a series, "A day in the life of a ____" and cover all different time periods and cultures. Griff

[@stamatiamichelaki5008]

Hello

[@laibahameed689]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIKwmH-ui92mqNk here's the playlist

[@sinctova]

@Laquelectro dunno

[@admiralackbar3615]

Yes agreed, I love this series. Also loved your new video.

[@countvladislausdragulia7414]

Is that sarcasm or was this vid the first ‘day in the life of’ vid and this comment was just incredibly prescient?

[@despoinaldr9220]

I'm greek,and i absolutely love this work. I'm so relieved to know ppl with care for history and information take time to study them properly and unbiased. Everything in this video is true btw❤🇬🇷👏

[@steliostoulis1875]

As a Greek, I've waited a long time about this.

[@duhaNomad]

Stelios Toulis my wish to visit and live in greek ❤

[@taramas5582]

Ήξερα ότι κάποιος θα το έλεγε αυτό!

[@professorphoenixia1245]

Stelios Toulis Χαίρετε!

[@steliostoulis1875]

Professor Phoenixia Χαίρε Καίσερα, σε χαιρετούν οι μελοθάνατοι.

[@alexanderkazantzis8019]

Ditto

[@AGENT47ist]

As a Greek, I am fascinated by our history, yet I can't help but think what would our ancestors think of us if they ever saw us what have we become today? A mere shadow of the country that existed before everything, and gave birth to civilizations on the planet. I am proud and ashamed at the same time....

[@lesbolilo08]

I need more day in the life videos! I’m obsessed! I love seeing what a day for an average person on this earth might have been like 1000’s of years ago!

[@gerryj313]

"A race of democracy against time" gave me shiver

[@justinrill2483]

yea that was a good line

[@mareksagrak9527]

Ha ha, that's rather sad that inhabitants of ancient Melos during Peloponesian war hadn't experienced such a 'mercy' from 'Democratic' Athenians, who slaughtered all the island and enslaved the rest even though the Greeks of Melos was pleading for peace and hadn't even revolt against Athens, the 'city-tyrannos' :D

[@allans.5678]

Love this "A day in the life of" series, it's extremely interesting and awesome.

[@abdullahmohammad6803]

Im in Hong Kong learning about ancient Greece!and on monday its our test

[@cyzhouhk]

Make KSI fight ADAM SALEH !!! Are you a secondary school student in S1? I remember learning about that too, a few years ago.

[@rustyshackleford4076]

I love Ted-Ed’s content on Roman and Greek histories, classics, and myths. The animation and clear narration makes these types of stories accessible to people who would otherwise consider it dry content

[@gigglysamentz2021]

That was absolutely amazing ! And oh the tension at the end :'D

[@driven_films]

Just stumbled across this playlist today. My god I want more of these!

[@damaryssalladay-perez6184]

I love these "A day in the life" videos they're my favorite.!!

[@diyardhassan970]

we need more videos like this and in depth if possible , i can watch this all day literally

[@Literally_1984_owl]

WE NEED MORE OF THESE "DAY IN THE LIFE OF ...", THESE ARE SO INTERESTING AND EDUCATING! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS WITH US TED-ED!!!

[@1218Draco]

For more info, play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

[@lukaurbankitek6019]

THIS IS AMAZING! Thank you so much.

[@isabellabarone8329]

Please make more day in the life videos! I loved these!

[@blank1507]

These are my favorite videos. I also find the opening music very warm and relaxing.

[@D.M.S.]

Please more stories from ancient Greece!

[@marvelfangirl3328]

*"A multitude is a better judge of many things than any individual."* -Aristotle, _Politics_

[@samrevlej9331]

Bravo for copy-pasting the quote that was displayed at the beginning of the video. I'm sure we'll all be awed by your general knowledge.

[@evaperez5625]

These videos are always so interesting! Keep producing!

[@jeffonmars]

I love these videos; thank you for all the amazing and free education you guys are putting out!

[@danielshifron5672]

Daily life in Sparta, or Thebes.

[@athytrbl3725]

Giorgos Vasileiou sparta is badass because of it was the birthplace of the ghost of sparta

[@FirstNameLastName-oz5ij]

@@athytrbl3725 “THIS IS SPARTAAA!”

[@john_k1388]

I really liked this video. Here in Greece we're taught similar things to that and that means you do a great job with your research. Keep up the great work

[@Danielfaust0]

Amazing at every level. Great work TED Ed guys

[@frankcovington6591]

This was a great video, as always. I eould like to see more "History vs." series also.

[@jezanne]

I just came back from vacation in Athens and everything is so vivid in my mind, the Agora, the Acropolis, the heat at midday.

[@kingjeffry6125]

I love these historical cartoon commentaries, they’re why I subbed to Ted-Ed.

[@rendopatto2751]

I need so much more of this!!!

[@VardhanShrivastava]

loved this glimpse!

[@chromefox8347]

Thank you for this informing and well both narrated and designed video! Much love from Athens! Σας ευχαριστώ πολύ!

[@haileyxin]

This is so beautiful. This makes me appreciate the freedom that most of us are tasting now with the emergence of social media. Communication is easier but responsibility is greater and should be. I hope we all practice such responsibility well. ☺

[@thewholeeventhorizon]

This is the kind of daily life info I been looking for. I want more of this type of thing.

[@galleryg998]

Have been loving these!!

[@malcomburt3025]

Thanks for this,TED-Ed,I'm 10 and used the video for a project on the ancient Greeks!😃 I find it fascinating how they lived!

[@spring6066]

Please continue this series of ancient day🙏

[@zainahmed8018]

This guy's voice is so soothing, it's the best voice on this channel

[@dr.apollo4226]

Please make more videos about the ancient civilizations, especially Greece and Egypt.

[@NameNikole]

Ε, τίς αγορεύειν βούλεται ρε παιδια;

[@sofia-lh6cq]

Ατσα η καθαρεύουσα😊

[@emilrostobagia]

@@Makaneek5060 3:03

[@jerrywhite7328]

LOVE this guys voice. Also did my favorite Ted-Ed video on Stoicism, talking about Zeno.

[@trunc8]

Amazing animation! Keep up the good work

[@an0nsaiko890]

I live in Mytilene and its nice to see that you mentioned us. But there is something wrong here: Mytilenians did not betray their alliance with Athenians. Athenians instead controlled the alliance in a harsh way towards its members, forcing them to pay annually either by giving money or ships. Mytilene and other cities protested trying to leave the alliance but Athenians didnt let them, and ended up violently stopping them as it was mentioned in the video.

[@grece5660]

Also as someone from Mytilene I agree with you, δεν ηξερα οτι απο το νησι μας υπαρχουν ατομα που βλεπουν τεδ εδ

[@Waybackwhennn]

An0N SaiKo so what happened in the end ? Did the second ship make it to stop the first ?

[@dtcanxz]

If a vassal stops paying tribute it is usually considered a revolt or rebellion. I do understand their alliance was an unfair one, but this type of alliance is fairly common throughout history.

[@spartanprometheus8309]

laxman khatri unfortunatelly,no.the first ship arrive and gave the order to butcher all the island.Athenians themselves after the massacre didnt even want to mention it.I am greek,I live in athens and according to many historians this was one of the most terrible things in ancient greek history!

[@MiauFrito]

It almost as if.. there's two sides to every story

[@Elizabeth-pb1rx]

It would be great if you guys made a video about a day in the life on an ancient spartan

[@imarandalvani9848]

I love the intro music it's so soothing ❤️

[@jupitired777]

Love these day in the life videos omg im obsessed

[@w0ry035]

Thanks for the Spanish translations!! I really appreciate it

[@jjoewriter]

Gosh, the way the narrator pronounces greek words is adorable and weird at the same time... I am greek and I can tell his efforts are great!!

[@luisab7901]

i love this kind of videos!! please do more

[@colgateuniversity]

Thank you for featuring the work of professor Robert Garland.

[@Constellation-fg5tb]

There is an over emphasis on democracy in Athens, while not much is mentioned about the temples and religion of common people. How come parliament was not set on the Acropolis of Athens then? We all know about the Parthenon.

[@zeuskf62]

This is a great video with alot of reasearch and hard work done. The only small thingy that is wrong is the translation from ancient Greek to English. "Τοίς αγορεύσει βούλετε;" means "Who wants to talk?" not "Who wants to address the assembly?". But other than that very small mistake everything other is perfect.

[@psypsynos]

Thank you for work friend. You are amazing. Εὐχαριστῶ !

[@renzocheesman862]

Amazing! ive been stuck to these videos, please make one about the inka empire!

[@pehlavoon]

Like the Greeks, my ancestors in Iran were also organized. They innovated and had great culture. Not so sure about now though. Let's not even start with how they are now. Our Greek brothers and sisters are in the same boat with corruption and sell out officials. Here's to a better Greece and Iran. We will all rise again.

[@CaptainHarlock-kv4zt]

Let's hope we will and then we can have a second ''Thermopylea battle'' round.(All my love to Persians)

[@pehlavoon]

Maybe just a simple wrestling match will do :)

[@CaptainHarlock-kv4zt]

Yes and a battle rap afterwards !

[@tomxiao1]

Alexander the best Emperor?

[@marloyorkrodriguez9975]

Spartans let's dance!

[@makeitbetter7436]

Отличное видео, как всегда вдохновляете на создание контента) Спасибо.

[@peroz1000]

Please continue with this “a day in a life of “ series! It’s my favorite.

[@hannahbusillo958]

Thanks!! I love videos like this

[@moritzschroder]

it gives me a weird satisfaction to see these high-quality, educational videos get on trending! i thought informational videos are just not "trending material". this means there is hope for channels like mine as well! 😁

[@veltacassidy1851]

Who else is in quarantine and having to do work at home

[@interstellar5316]

🖐😔

[@AesopsTeachings]

We just love the TED-Ed animations and storytelling 🌟🌟🌟

[@LittleA]

We need more!

[@debbienandalall6400]

0:18 that looks just like the map in assassin's creed odyssey

[@joeljacob4546]

lol

[@SongOfTheSwan]

Do a day in ancient Indonesia please! That would be interesting!

[@amelialondon]

Loved this video! Well done :)

[@submityourmovietrailer]

More of these day in the life please!

[@user-yj4qz5lo6k]

Things in Ancient Greece seem much better than in modern Greece , I wish we still had those meetings

[@abyssstrider2547]

Blade You support slavery?

[@VALDIGNE]

Animals were sacrificed to Deities (only in religious events) which is more honorable and humane than the way they slaughter animals today.

[@bristoled93]

Yeah they had slaves and they had a meeting about massacring all the men and enslaving the women and children of an island, ancient Greece seems so much better than modern Greece.

[@Ernest_XX]

We dont have them cause we are too many and imagine SHOWING YOUR VOTE IN GREECE

[@zutrue]

LoL...yeah, sure you do. Ask Socrates about those meetings. Also the ancient Greeks were conquered for one reason: They never learned how to get along with each other. They literally beat themselves into such a state of weakness that they were easily conquered. They never united. And finally it was too late for them to unite.

[@Ceyda-nm7ty]

2:09 is that “I wont say Im in love” from disneys hercules?

[@ultimatebishoujo29]

Hmmm

[@subrisubrika5652]

This is great! Love it!

[@spiffo5349]

Such a cool video. I love this channel!

[@aayushhegde6738]

Animation is the lifeblood of Ted Ed

[@mikeoxmaul577]

Ok I completed my time machine, this will be the first stop. Who’s coming with?

[@mrnegativity8730]

I’ve got my go bag ready.

[@mikeoxmaul577]

Mr Negativity My nemesis, I didn’t expect to find you here

[@HattieMcDanielonaMoon]

Bones Senpai Me!

[@bobrossestitaniumwhitepaint]

Bones Senpai I’m in! I wanna meet a few peeps and learn bout there life. Lemme just pack my bags. ;)

[@allysonwonderland8923]

🙋‍♀️

[@d_wang9836]

YES! Been waiting for another "Day in the life of" forever

[@TheEnabledDisabled]

VEry educational it really shows how life was like during those times. do more of these!

[@leviackerman8617]

I expected a video on Sir Hawkings

[@stealthboy5767]

Athens is my favorite Classical civilization. However during war, The wise individual is quicker to act than the masses.

[@TheLYagAmi]

It still amazes me how much information we have about such an ancient civilisation. Thanks god for historians and all who kept track.

[@jeffryjossy3579]

Very nice... Would love more!!

[@bluekeybo]

They could've just tweeted at the other ship to tell them to come back.

[@danielandres1579]

I was in Athens this summer ❤️

[@someonethatexists46]

It’s good you put a cliffhanger on this one!

[@Andre-ql2ei]

“It’s a warm summer evening in Ancient Greece...”

[@anzchar2366]

A G O R A

[@babuaditya27]

Wow nice video

[@babuaditya27]

I am 1st

[@emily-pc5dn]

Can you do the history of Commodus? I absolutely love your videos! (Preferably greek mythology ones)

[@mustaqimmarsidi6546]

More of this please!

[@faidonmagalios9639]

See, these are the things that make me proud of being Greek. Not our current doo Dab leaders.

[@riyazuo]

You could start a revolution! and assign philosophers to be your leaders or smth

[@errornull390]

Faidon M. Lol you guys went down super hard today though isn’t Greek worth like -3.50$

[@ebonymaw8457]

I'm Stuck that's a terrible idea

[@riyazuo]

Ebony Maw why?

[@WERTYUIO821]

I'm Stuck The last philosopher has died more than 2 thousend years ago...

[@aurazero0]

I'm Greek and didn't know the execution story! Apparently the basic events are true, although the protagonist a fictional representation of a well-off Athenian. Very nice!

[@dachellewatson7102]

this was amazing :D

[@JayDoesCode]

Wow I loved it. Great story!

[@niladrisaha5441]

its really nice content. hope many more chimes ahed. best wishes from india ❤🙏