AncientGreece.StudyPast.com

Battle at Thermopylae

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 16:37:41 -0600

Thermopylae was a pass that the Greeks tried unsuccessfully to defend in battle against the Persians led by Xerxes in 480 B.C. shortly after that year's Olympic games. Although the Spartans who led the defense were all killed, their courage provided inspiration to the Greeks, many of whom otherwise might have willingly become part of the Persian Empire.

Read more about the Battle at Thermopylae

Battle at Thermopylae

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 16:37:41 -0600

Read more about the Battle at Thermopylae

Geography of Greece

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 11:44:43 -0600

Greece is a mountainous on the Balkan Peninsula of southeastern Europe that includes hundreds of islands mostly in the Aegean Sea and also in the Ionian Sea. The most famous group of Greek islands are
the Cyclades Islands, in the Aegean. A partial list of the Cylcaldes islands includes Amorgos, Anafi, Andros, Antiparos, Delos, Ios, Kea, Kimolos, Folegandros, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Santorini, Serifos, Sikinos, Sifnos, Syros and Tinos.

The climate of Greece is Mediterranean, temperate, and Alpine, depending on where in Greece you go, but in general, it is characterized by mild winters and warm summers with little rain. There is little arable land because of the hills and mountains as well as the forests.

Cecrops

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 12:29:07 -0600

Cecrops

Cecrops or Kekrops -- not to be confused with the black-bottomed Hercules' foe Kerkopes, was the person(?) responsible for instituting monogamous marriage among the Athenians. He was an early king, before Athena had gained her city and actually helped decide that it would be Athena's instead of Poseidon's.

Greek Weddings

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 12:26:00 -0600

Greek Marriage
In ancient Athens, a woman couldn't own property on her own, so if she were orphaned or widowed and left with the property of her guardian, the next closest male relative would marry her. If she didn't have any property, the nearest male relative might be legally compelled to marry her.

Finger Counting

Fri, 19 May 2006 18:17:33 -0600

Finger Counting

Counting on one's fingers seems a natural way to compute numbers, but the Greco-Romans didn't just count "on" their fingers. They counted with their fingers, and not to be quick and accurate with the finger symbols could be embarrassing.

Comparisons Between Greece and Rome

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 20:04:14 -0600

Comparisons Between Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome

Both Greece and Rome are Mediterranean countries, but the terrain of the two is very different. The ancient Greek city-states were separated from each other by hilly countryside and all were near the water. Rome was inland, on one side of the Tiber River, but the Italic tribes (in the boot-shaped peninsula that is now Italy) did not have the natural hilly borders to keep them out of Rome.

Ancient Mediterranean Maps

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 19:34:42 -0600

Historic maps of the ancient Mediterranean Sea and surrounding areas of Asia Minor, Northern Africa (Egypt), and Europe (primarily, Greece and Rome).

30 Tyrants

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 15:49:22 -0600

After the Peloponnesian War - 30 Tyrants

When Athens surrendered at the end of the Peloponnesian War, democracy was replaced by the oligarchic rule of the Thirty Tyrants. From 404-403 B.C., during the start of the period known as the Spartan hegemony (404-371 B.C.), hundreds of Athenians were killed, thousands exiled, and the number of the citizens was severely reduced.

Piraeus

Sat, 25 Feb 2006 15:48:35 -0600

title="Piraeus">Piraeus

The Long Walls linking Athens to the port of Piraeus were begun during the time of Themistocles, after his victory at Salamis, in the mid-fifth century B.C.

7 Stages of Greek Democracy

Fri, 24 Feb 2006 15:47:37 -0600

7 Stages of Greek Democracy

Solon the lawgiver of Athens is the first to give a democratic form to Athenian government, but there were other stages in Athenian Democracy.

Greek Trickster God Hermes

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 15:42:21 -0600

Greek Trickster God Hermes

Hermes was clever, tricky, a thief, and, with his awakening or sleep conferring wand (rhabdos), the original sandman, whose descendants include a major Greek hero and a noisy, fun-loving god.

Solution to the Pericles Plague Mystery

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 18:16:51 -0600

Reuters reports that dental evidence suggests that the plague that struck Athens during the second year of the Peloponnesian War may have been Typhoid Fever. The evidence comes from DNA in teeth found in an ancient mass burial pit. Besides Typhoid Fever, candidates for the plague that may have killed as many as one third of the Athenians had been smallpox, bubonic plague, anthrax, and measles.

The Plague of Pericles

Alexander the Great Quotes

Sat, 21 Jan 2006 16:06:53 -0600

Alexander the Great Quotes
Plutarch attributes the following to Alexander the Great: "Alexander was wont to say, “Were I not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.”'
The story goes that when Alexander the Great met the Greek philosopher, all Diogenes wanted of the Macedonian leader was that he stop blocking his sunlight.

Plato

Sat, 21 Jan 2006 16:01:58 -0600

Plato - Greek Philosopher Plato

Plato was a follower of Socrates until 399 when Socrates died after drinking the cup of hemlock. It is through Plato that we are most familiar with the philosophy of Socrates because Plato wrote dialogues in which his teacher Socrates took part, usually asking leading questions -- the Socratic method.