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Greek and Roman Copycats

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Greek and Roman Copycats
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 9 to 12
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	8.64

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		pictograms, stylus, meticulous, scribes, scribe, counteract, sleep-deprived, blocky, parchment, pointed, disastrous, writing, better, papyrus, unreliable, spite
	content words:		Middle Ages, King Eumenes II, Many Roman, Emperor Trajan

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Greek and Roman Copycats By Colleen Messina

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¹     The ancient Greeks created lively sculptures, graceful architecture, and a unique system of government that inspired our own. The great Greeks were also conquerors... and copycats. Alexander the Great conquered and destroyed the Phoenician city of Tyre, but he preserved one important Phoenician invention. Perhaps the Greeks soldiers asked the conquered Phoenician merchants, "Got letters?" When the Greeks saw the incredible Phoenician writing system, they took it home. Copying is not always a good idea, but in this case, the Greeks made a smart move because they acquired the best alphabet in the ancient world.
 
²     The Greeks copied the innovative Phoenician alphabet because pictograms and ideograms just didn't work out for them. Their famous historian, Herodotus, recorded a disastrous event that came from misinterpreting pictograms. A general received a scroll with pictures of a bird, a frog, and several arrows on it. The pictures intrigued him, but he was too proud to admit that he couldn't figure out what the message meant. He studied the scroll all night.
 
³     In the morning, the general told his officers that the scroll meant the enemy was surrendering to them! The officers patted themselves on the back and congratulated each other on their victory. However, the poor, sleep-deprived general had made a deadly mistake. The pictures meant that the enemy would attack them and that they should prepare to surrender! The Greeks learned the lesson that communicating with pictures was unreliable. They needed a better system.

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