Guides: Ancient Civilizations: Classical

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece
Ancient civilization that flourished 2,500 years ago on the shores of the Ionian and Aegean Seas (modern Greece and the west coast of Turkey).
Greek art
Works of art produced in the Aegean basin, a center of artistic activity from very early times
Greek architecture
The art of building that arose on the shores of the Aegean Sea and flourished in the ancient world.
Tragedy
The earliest tragedies were part of the Attic religious festivals held in honor of the god Dionysus (5th cent. B.C.).
Eleusinian mysteries
Ceremonies in honour of the Greek deities Demeter, goddess of corn, and her daughter Persephone, queen of the underworld, celebrated in the precincts of the temple of Demeter at Eleusis, in the territory of Athens.
Olympic Games
Held in honor of Zeus in the city of Olympia for four days every fourth summer, the Olympic games were the oldest and most prestigious of four great ancient Greek athletic festivals.
Delian League
Confederation of Greek city-states under the leadership of Athens.

Greek Places

Athens
The site was first inhabited about 3000 BC with Athens (named after its patron goddess Athena) as the capital of a united Attica before 700 BC.
Acropolis
The Acropolis of Athens was a ceremonial site beginning in the Neolithic Period. The area was adorned during the time of Cimon and Pericles with some of the world's greatest architectural and sculptural monuments.
The Parthenon
Temple sacred to Athena, on the acropolis at Athens. Built under Pericles between 447 B.C. and 432 B.C., it is the culminating masterpiece of Greek architecture.
Sparta
City of ancient Greece, capital of Laconia, on the Eurotas (Evrótas) River in the Peloponnesus.
Delphi
It was the seat of the Delphic oracle, the most famous and most powerful of ancient Greece.
Macedon
Ancient country, roughly equivalent to the modern region of Macedonia. In the history of Greek culture Macedon had its single significance in producing the conquerors and armies who created the Hellenistic empires and civilizations.

Philosophies and Systems

Stoicism
School of philosophy which taught that only by putting aside passion, unjust thoughts, and indulgence and by performing duty with the right disposition can people attain true freedom and rule as lords over their own lives.
skepticism
[Gr.,=to reflect], philosophic position holding that the possibility of knowledge is limited either because of the limitations of the mind or because of the inaccessibility of its object.
Democracy
Term originating in ancient Greece to designate a government where the people share in directing the activities of the state, as distinct from governments controlled by a single class, select group, or autocrat.

History

Peloponnesian War
War fought 431-404 BC between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies, involving most of the Greek world from Asia Minor to Sicily and from Byzantium (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) to Crete.
Trojan War
The mythical Trojan War probably reflected a real war (c.1200 B.C.) between the invading Greeks and the people of Troas, possibly over control of trade through the Dardanelles.

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a civilization based on the city of Rome. It lasted for about 800 years.
Latin Language
Indo-European language of ancient Italy.
Roman law
The legal system of Rome from the supposed founding of the city in 753 B.C. to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in A.D. 1453; it was later adopted as the basis of modern civil law.
Roman architecture
Structures produced by the ancient Romans.

Roman Places

Colosseum
Also known as the Flavian amphitheatre, the Colosseum in Rome was the largest of the ancient amphitheatres. Elliptical in plan, it measures...
Pompeii
Ancient city of S Italy, a port near Naples and at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius.
Vesuvius
The earliest recorded eruption (A.D. 79) was described by Pliny the Younger in two letters to Tacitus; the eruption buried Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae under cinders, ashes, and mud.
Sicily
Part of the Roman Empire (241 BC-AD 476).
Sardinia
Rome took possession of the island in 238 BC and formed it into a province. Sardinia was one of the chief sources of the Roman Empire's corn supply; it also produced silver and salt.

Greek and Roman Gods

Zeus
In Greek mythology, the chief of the Olympian gods (Roman Jupiter).
Hera
In Greek mythology, the goddess of women and marriage (Roman Juno); sister and consort of Zeus.
Aphrodite
Goddess of fertility, love, and beauty (Roman Venus).
Ares
Greek god of war, the son either of Zeus and Hera. Identified with the Roman Mars, though their characters were completely different.
Athena
In Greek mythology, the goddess of war, wisdom, and the arts and crafts (Roman Minerva).
Apollo
In Greek and Roman mythology, the god of sun, music, poetry, prophecy, agriculture, and pastoral life, and leader of the Muses.
Artemis
In Greek mythology, the goddess of chastity, all young creatures, the Moon, and the hunt (Roman Diana).
Dionysus
In Greek mythology, the god of wine, mystic ecstasy, and orgiastic excess; son of princess Semele and Zeus (Roman Bacchus).
Hephaestus
In Greek mythology, the god of fire and metalcraft (Roman Vulcan); the lame son of Zeus and Hera; and in Homer's Odyssey, husband of Aphrodite, goddess of love.
Hermes
The messenger of the gods; son of Zeus and Maia, one of the Pleiades. Identified with the Roman Mercury and ancient Egyptian Thoth.
Demeter
Goddess of agriculture, especially corn (Roman Ceres); daughter of the Titans Kronos and Rhea; and mother of Persephone by Zeus.
Persephone
The daughter of Zeus and Demeter. For six months of each year Persephone lived in the Upper World and brought spring and summer to the Earth; for the other six months she lived in the Underworld as Hades' queen, co-ruler of the shadow-world.
Hades
The ruler of the underworld (Roman Pluto).
Poseidon
God of the sea, protector of all waters (Roman Neptune).

Books

Who's Who in Classical Mythology, Routledge
Contains extensive entries, including detailed entries on all the major gods and heroes, from Athena and Zeus to Achilles, Odysseus and Tarquin and biographical listings of all the key authors, such as Homer.
Meet the Philosophers of Ancient Greece
Everything you always wanted to know about Ancient Greek philosophy but didn't know who to ask.
Who's Who in The Roman World, Routledge
A wide-ranging biographical survey of one of the greatest civilizations in history. The figures represented here come from all walks of Roman life and include some of the most famous - not to mention infamous - figures as well as hitherto little-known, but no less fascinating, characters.
Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy
The only encyclopedia in English specific to the field of Classical Philosophy, this work presents 270 articles on major and minor figures and on topics of importance to the philosophy of Greek and Roman antiquity.