The Lawmaker of Athens
(died 559 B.C.)
SOLWN
by Plutarch
Athens, unlike Sparta, was a money-mad commercial city. The constitution written by Solon mitigated the class struggle between rich and poor, and allowed for the growth of democratic institutions.
Solon was born into a well-to-do family of Ath...
(all dates B.C.)
circa 9000 Atlantis disappears.
circa 1600 Island of Thera explodes, causing a tidal wave that inundates coastal settlements in the Aegean, and cripples the civilization of Crete.
circa 1300 Theseus establishes the city of Athens.
circa 1250 Troy falls to Agamemnon and his Greek a...
"The Olympian"
(495 - 429 B.C.)
PERIKLHS
by Plutarch
By the power of his eloquence, and the money embezzled from Athens' unwilling allies, Pericles built Athens into a beautiful city and a powerful empire. Athenian imperialism, however, soon led to war with Sparta.
Augustus Caesar observed some fore...
"The Last of the Greeks"
(252 - 182 B.C.)
FILOPOIMHN
by Plutarch
Philopoemen led the last remnants of resistance to the creeping domination of Rome in Greece. In this austere general, we see an indomitable character, superior to his circumstances.
Cleander was a man of high birth and great power in ...
The Fool of Hope
(319 - 272 B.C.)
P U R R O S
by Plutarch
In Pyrrhus' wild career of restless trouble-making, we see a soul incapable of satisfaction. He was a mighty man of war, and nearly conquered Rome, but he could never finish what he started before getting distracted by a new project.
Glaucias...
From Plutarch's Lives, still inspirational after 19 centuries:
15 Ancient Greek Heroes
from Plutarch's Lives
Ploutarcou
A modern English edition, abridged and annotated by Wilmot H. McCutchen
Preface
It's brief, so start here, then read these biographies in chronological order:
Theseus
The Athenian...
The Savior of Syracuse
(409 - 354 B.C.)
DIWN
by Plutarch
Sicily was an important part of the Greek world. Dion led the struggle against tyranny in its largest city, Syracuse. Ingratitude and betrayal were his reward for indulging the democrats of Syracuse.
Dionysius [the Elder] 1 had become tyrant o...
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 Just"
(530 - 468 B.C.)
ARISTEIDHS
by Plutarch
Aristides was so respected throughout Greece for his fairness that Athens assumed the leadership of the alliance against the Persian invaders. His character is a model for all ages.
Aristides was a close friend of Cleisthenes, the man who had stampe...
Surviving Greek and Roman texts reveal the remarkable level of mathematical and engineering skill that went into the development of these early ballistic-missile launchers
by Werner Soedel and Vernard Foley Scientific American, March 1979, pp. 150 - 160
Web version made available with additional dia...
