Children were expected to help around the household. Girls were taught to cook and weave by their mothers. Boys learned a trade (handicraft) like farming, metal work, brick making etc. 

If the family could afford to, they would send the boys to school. Along reading, writing, maths, and science, tutors had their pupils memorise speeches and stories. Girls did not go to school outside the house. 

Archaeologists have excavated (dug up) a lot of marble works that depict Greek children at play. They had toys like dolls and balls made from rags or sheep bladders. They had hoops and anything you could make from sticks. It was not all work for Greek kids!

Dogs were often pets as well as working animals. The Greeks made pets of birds and other animals, sometimes even monkeys.

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British English: memorise or memorize
American English: memorize
▶ to excavate: to dig up (dig, dug, dug) 


Boeotian figurines from Thebes and Akraifnio (6th century BC),
one animal holding another.