Some of the mountains reached above the clouds and made great walls around their homes. Men sometimes lived all their lives near the sea and never saw it.
These people who were shut up in the little valley of Greece did many wonderful things.
As they could not go far from their homes they had time to see how beautiful the things around them were.
Perhaps they looked at the sky so much that they wished to have everything on earth just as beautiful.
They gave their children work to do which made them strong and graceful.
Some of the Greeks carved statues from the marble in the mountains. Some built great temples of it.
Some painted pictures, while others made gardens more beautiful than pictures.
Others wrote books. Many of the stories you like were written by the poets who lived in Greece long ago.
In all these ways the Greeks showed their love for their country and made it a better place in which to live.
Though they were so wise they had many thoughts which seem strange to us.