Zig Zag: Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a unit of the BBC Schools TV series Zig Zag from the 1990s & 2000s, covering history for primary school pupils.
A mixture of documentary and drama about society in Ancient Greece.
Greek presenter Crissa Venetti visits modern Greece to explore its history and takes part in recreations such as a masked theatre production and an ancient Olympic race.
Meanwhile two "imagined" characters from ancient times talk about their lives and interests. Stephanos, a potter, and his slave Lydos, an artist, describe their trades, discuss events, and Stephanos tells stories including the myth of Theseus in programme 1, and the Wooden Horse of Troy in programme 2.
Crissa Venetti
Stephanos & Lydos
Primary History
In 2003 this unit was repeated as part of the new series Primary History, with amended opening titles but otherwise intact.
After this final repeat run it was replaced by a new Primary History series on Ancient Greece in 2004.
Titles & Theme Music
Episode List
| # | Title | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Theseus and the Minotaur | 28 Oct 1996 |
| 2. | The Wooden Horse of Troy | 4 Nov 1996 |
| 3. | The Persians | 11 Nov 1996 |
| 4. | The Parthenon | 18 Nov 1996 |
| 5. | The Olympic Games | 25 Nov 1996 |
Broadcasts
| Year | Term | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Channel | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | Autumn 1996 | Monday, 11:10am | Wednesday, 1:25pm | BBC2 | ||||
| 1998-99 | Summer 1999 | Monday, 11:20am | Thursday, 11:15am | BBC2 | ||||
| 1999-2000 | Summer 2000 | Tuesday, 11:20am | Thursday, 11:20am | BBC2 | Eps 1, 2, 4 & 5 | |||
| 2000-01 | Autumn 2000 | Monday, 11:50am | BBC2 | Eps 1, 2 & 5 | ||||
| 2002-03 | Summer 2003 | Monday, 11:30am | BBC2 | Primary History |
Learning Zone
Also broadcast overnight on BBC2's Learning Zone broadcasts, from 2am on Tuesday 15th April in Summer 1997.
CBBC Channel
Also broadcast on the CBBC Channel 'Class TV' service of schools programmes:
- 2002-03: Autumn 2002
- 2003-04: Spring 2004 (Primary History)
Credits
| Presenter | Crissa Venetti |
| With | Hugo Myatt as Stephanos Chris Pavlo as Lydos |
| Music | Peter Howell |
| Designer | Alan Spalding |
| Script writer | Derek Farmer |
| Producer | Nicholas Whines |
Resources
There were teacher's notes, a resource pack, a Factfinders book (Ancient Greece), a Video Plus pack and software for Acorn computers available.
Related programmes
- Zig Zag: The Odyssey
- Zig Zag: The GreeksZig Zag's original look at Ancient Greece from the 1980s
- Primary History: Ancient Greece (2004)The replacement unit in the next decade.
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