What are facts about megara the ancient city state?

Answer 1

Mégara (mĕ´gərə, -gärä), town (1991 pop. 25,061), E central Greece, on the Saronic Gulf. Wine, olive oil, and flour are produced. It is the site of the ancient town of Mégara, the capital of Mégaris, a small district between the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf. The Dorians who succeeded the earliest known inhabitants made Mégara a wealthy city by means of maritime trade, and they founded many colonies, including, in the 7th cent. BC, Chalcedon and Byzantium. After the Persian Wars the citizens of Mégara summoned the aid of Athens against Corinth (459 BC), but soon thereafter expelled the Athenians. The mathematician Euclid was probably born in Mégara. Megara was a highly respected city-state in ancient Greece. As a coastal city-state, their history was similar to Corinth's, their neighbor. Any Megarian would have told you that their schools were as fine as those of Athens, although they would have had no doubt that any Athenian would disagree. Boys were trained in the arts and the sciences. As a child, kids were taught at home by their mother or by a male slave. From age 7-14, boys attended a day school near their home where they memorized poetry and studied drama, public speaking, reading, writing, science, poetry, the Flute, the lyre, and a great deal of mathematics. Boys then attended a higher school, and went on to military school for at least two years. Like Athens, Megara offered its citizens a great deal of freedom. Like nearly all Greek city-states, Megara had beautiful temples, gorgeous statues, and open-air theatres. They were famous for their glorious textiles, which were the envy of other Greek city-states. As a coastal town, Megara did a great deal of trading. They had their own coinage, an idea they copied from Corinth (who copied it from Argos.) They were also explorers. Like all Greeks, they loved to establish new towns. The city-state of Megara founded the city of Byzantium, also called Constantinople, now called Istanbul, way back in 630 BCE.