A Bit Beyond the Ancient / Classical History Basics
Fake Facts - Top 10 Urban Legends About Ancient History
It's a little harder to prove that myths about ancient history are false than it is to disprove myths about more modern eras, but the prevailing opinion is that the following ideas are wrong.
Croesus - The Proverbial "As Rich as Croesus"
Do you know the name Croesus? It's connected with many other famous names, including Aesop, Solon, Midas, Thales, and Cyrus. King Croesus encouraged trade and mining, and his resultant wealth was legendary -- as was much of his life.
Damocles - The Sword of Damocles
The Sword of Damocles is a legend about a a man who tries on the life of a king only to find it is more dangerous than he realized.
Ancient Rome
Did you know that according to the history they wrote about themselves, ancient Rome started in the 8th century B.C.? It lasted, by some accounts, until Constantinople was overcome in the 15th century. That's roughly 2300 years. Although this site focuses on the period from the eighth century B.C. to the fifth century A.D., this article, a look...
Greece - Introduction to Classical Greece
The Classical Age of Greece begins with the Persian War (490-479 B.C.) and ends with the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.). Besides war and conquest, in this period the Greeks produced great literature, poetry, philosophy, drama, and art. Also see Archaic Age of Greece .
Democracy - Introduction to Ancient Democracy
Ancient Greece is called the birthplace of democracy. While this is fair, what they called democracy and what we do is not the same.
Helen of Troy - Who Was Helen of Troy?
Helen is the object of one of the most dramatic love stories of all time and one of the main reasons for a ten-year war between the Greeks and Trojans, known as the Trojan War.
Heroes - Who Were the Top Heroes in Greek Legend?
Achilles was the greatest hero to the Greeks in the Trojan War, but Hercules is second to none. In the Iliad, the wise old man Nestor says that all the heroes of the Trojan War are second rate compared with earlier ones, like Theseus.
Gladiators
In ancient Rome, gladiators, who were usually slaves trained in special schools, fought to the death in arenas to entertain the crowds.
Greece vs. Rome
Although we refer to Classical Antiquity as an umbrella term covering ancient Greece and ancient Rome because the two cultures had much in common, there were substantial differences.
Mt. Vesuvius - The Volcanic Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Mt. Vesuvius is a volcano located in Campania that erupted in A.D. 79 covering much of the area in volcanic ash that preserved the area for centuries.
Ancient Calendar
The Ancient Calendar, development of the ancient calendar, the reforms made by the Julian and then Gregorian Calendars, and the names of days of the week.