Tag: Ancient Greece

Tired of changing dirty diapers? The ancient Greeks had the answer: This late-fifth-century B.C. wine jug, found in Athens and now in the British Museum, shows a baby on a potty. The toilet training device is a deep bowl in which the child sits with legs dangling out of two holes. The baby waves a r...

The Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek-inh...

Embark on a virtual odyssey through the cradle of Western civilization as we offer a comprehensive overview of Greece. This timeless land, steeped in history, mythology, and vibrant culture, invites exploration from the ancient wonders that shaped our world to the modern allure that continues to cap...

The Reformer of Sparta (reigned 245 - 241 B.C.) AGIS by Plutarch The love of money had virtually destroyed the laws of Lycurgus in Sparta by the time Agis became king. This idealistic young man tried to restore the old way of life that had made Sparta great, but he was defeated by the power of greed...

The Slave of Fear (died 413 B.C.) N I K I A S by Plutarch The turning point of the war with Sparta was the disastrous Sicilian Expedition, eagerly undertaken by the greedy Athenians. Superstitious old Nicias was their reluctant leader in this debacle. After the death of Pericles, the democracy of At...

Romans borrowed their gods and goddesses from the Greeks and gave them new names. Below is a chart of the Greek and Roman names of the God or Goddess and a description of what they were believed to control. Greek NameRoman NameResponsibilitiesAphroditeVenusgoddess of beauty and loveAresMarsgod of wa...

The Friend of Fortune (411 - 336 B.C.) TIMOLEWN by Plutarch Against heavy odds, but with the help of the gods, Timoleon took up where Dion had left off, and liberated Sicily from barbarians and tyrants. His courage and wisdom established peace and prosperity where before there had been desolation an...

The Freedom Fighter (410 - 364 B.C.) PELOPIDAS by Plutarch Pelopidas led the Thebans to recover their liberty, then he led them to victory over the invincible Spartans. From beginning to end, his was the life of a hero. Pelopidas, the son of Hippoclus, was born into a prominent family of Thebes. He ...

The Lame King of Sparta (444 - 360 B.C.) AGESILAOS by Plutarch Agesilaus inherited the Spartan throne after Sparta had defeated Athens in the Peloponnesian War. At that time, Sparta was the undisputed master of Greece and the Aegean. Because of his stubborn lust for conquest, Agesilaus violated the ...

The main real estate market in Athens is on the verge of becoming a booming market with great prospects to both the investors and the prospective home owners. As Greece experiences steady economic growth and urban renewal, buying apartments for sale in Athens has become not only a lifestyle choice b...

PLOUTARXOS (circa 45 - 125 A.D.) Priest of the Delphic Oracle Greece, by the turn of the first millenium, was a sad ruin of its former glory. Mighty Rome had looted its statues and reduced Greece to conquered territory. 1 Despite these circumstances, Mestrius Plutarchus (known to history as Plutarch...

A Vital Legacy The final complexity in dealing with classical Greece (and then Rome)involves its relationship to us - to contemporary residents of North America.For most Americans, Greece constitutes the first phase of "our own" classicalpast. The framers of the Constitution of the United States wer...