Ancient Greece

The Greeks invented democracy, started the Olympics, built the foundations of Western arts and culture, and loved a good party. Read about Greek history and politics from the Archaic period through the Hellenistic period.

  • Deucalion and Pyrrha
    Why Were the Ancient Greeks Called Hellenes?
  • Oil painting depicting Greek philosophers and citizens.
    30 Maps of Ancient Greece Show How It Became an Empire
  • Alexander fighting a lion mosaic
    Alexander the Great Study Guide
  • The Rape of Proserpina by Bernini, Galleria Borghese Rome, Italy
    Greek Goddess Demeter and the Abduction of Persephone
  • 'The Death of Socrates', 4th century BC, (1787). Artist: Jacques-Louis David
    What Was the Charge Against Socrates?
  • statue of Leonidas against blue sky
    Sayings of Leonidas
  • Leonidas.jpg
    King Leonidas of Sparta and the Battle at Thermopylae
  • Painting of The Judgment of Paris by Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1528).
    The Major Events in the Trojan War
  • Engraving depicting Greek philosopher Aristotle
    Biography of Aristotle, Influential Greek Philosopher and Scientist
  • Raphael's "School of Athens"
    Inventions and Discoveries of Ancient Greek Scientists
  • Detail of Mosaic Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus, Pompeii
    Political Aspects of the Classical Age of Greece
  • Socrates, Greece, Athens
    Profile of Socrates
  • Greek ruins
    Corinth Legends and History
  • 2,500 years old ruins of Persepolis in Iran
    Why Did Alexander Burn Persepolis?
  • Sappho and her companions listening as the poet Alcaeus plays a kithara
    Overview of the Archaic Age of Ancient Greek History
  • Large patera dish; terracotta; c. 340-32 B.C.; Artist: Patera Painter
    Ancient Greek Pottery Types
  • Historical ruins in Athens, Greece
    Formation of the Delian League
  • Leonidas at Thermopylae
    Persian Battle at Thermopylae in 300 Movie
  • Alexander Entering Babylon (The Triumph of Alexander the Great). Artist: Le Brun, Charles (1619-1690)
    Was Alexander the Great a Greek?
  • From 11th to 1st century BC Olympia was site of Panhellenic Games, forerunner to modern Olympics.
    Panhellenic Games in Ancient Greece
  • Lycurgus of Sparta portrait by Merry Joseph Blondel
    Lycurgus Lawgiver of Sparta
  • Bust of Aristotle
    Aristotle on Democracy and Government
  • Tragic masks
    Parode and Related Terms in Ancient Greek Tragedy and Comedy
  • The Oxford Bust, an ancient sculpture of Sappho
    Greek Women in the Archaic Age
  • Greece, Athens, Asyrmatos District, Areopagus Rock and Acropolis
    Solon's Constitution and the Rise of Democracy
  • Attic kylix depicting a lover and a beloved kissing (5th century BC)
    Greek Eros and Philia Love Magic
  • Map of Peloponnesian War
    The Peloponnesian War: Causes of the Conflict
  • Kameiros ancient city on Rhodes, Greece
    7 Points to Know About Ancient Greek Government
  • Map of the Peloponnese
    Points About Ancient Greek History
  • 'Leonidas at Thermopylae', 5th century BC, (c1814). Artist: Jacques-Louis David
    Who Were the Ancient Kings of Sparta?
  • Democracy Then and Now
  • Map of the Peloponnese
    Geography of Ancient Greece
  • The Age of Pericles and Periclean Athens
  • Emperor Justinian and Bishop Maximianus, after a mosaic in Ravenna
    Types of Eunuchs in the Roman Empire
  • Bust of Sophocles (Colonus, 496 BC - Athens, 406 BC), Athenian playwright, Roman sculpture in marble from the imperial era
    Who Was Sophocles
  • ancient scene of Hippocrates
    Types of Ancient Greek Medicine
  • Eurybates and Talthybios lead Briseis to Agamemmon
    Who Was Briseis in The Iliad?
  • Democracy and Knowledge by Josiah Ober
    How Athenian Democracy Developed in 7 Stages
  • Wood engraving of Thrasybulus, published in 1864
    The Thirty Tyrants After the Peloponnesian War
  • Etruscan civilization is a civilization of ancient Italy (from the 8th century BC onwards) in the area corresponding roughly to central Italy.
    Who Were the Etruscans?
  • Trojan Horse
    Answers to FAQs About the Trojan War
  • statue of Socrates sitting and thinking
    Socratic Irony
  • The Macedonian Empire, 336-323 B.C.
    King Porus of Paurava
  • Statue Detail Showing Persephone from The Rape of Persephone by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
    The Greek Festival of Thesmophoria
  • Ajax and Odysseus vote
    Did Hector Kill Ajax in the Trojan War?
  • Illustration of the Eternal Punishment Of Sysiphus, Ixion and Tantalus
    Greek Tragedy and the House of Atreus
  • Painting of duel between Eteocles and Polynices
    Eteocles and Polynices: Cursed Brothers and Sons of Oedipus
  • Theater of Miletus against partly cloudy sky.
    The Great Ionian Colony of Miletus
  • Croesus shows Solon his treasures
    Solon's Reforms and the Rise of Democracy in Athens
  • Winner of a Roman Chariot Race
    Cheating During the Ancient Olympics
  • Image ID: 1623849 [Kylix depicting Hercules wrestling with Triton.] (1894)
    Heracles Fights Triton
  • Red figure pottery of ram's head rhyton with maenads and dancing satyrs.
    Goats in Greek Tragedy
  • Detail of Fleeing Persians from The Battle of Issus Roman Mosaic
    The Battle at Issus
  • The Acropolis of Athens at sunset.
    Cleisthenes and the 10 Tribes of Athens
  • Bronze bust of Seleucus I Nicator
    Seleucus, the Successor of Alexander
  • Bas-relief of King Darius I, bas-relief in Iran.
    The Start of the Persian Wars
  • Panathenaic prize amphora. Pancratists, by the Berlin painter. 490 B.C. Staatliche Museen, Berlin.
    Red-Figure Pottery in Greek Art
  • The Sanctuary of Apollo Lyceios, Aspis Acropolis, with the castle of Larissa in the background, Argos, Peloponnese, Greece. Greek civilization
    Argos, Greece
  • Hermes and Charon
    The Ancient Greek Underworld and Hades
  • Illustration of Alexander the Great on his deathbed, 1830.
    Hellenistic Greece
  • Greek Vase
    The History of the Olympics
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