People of Greece
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Alcibiades (BCE 450 - 404): TopicAthenian statesman and general. Of the family of Alcmaeonidae, he was a ward of Pericles and was for many years a devoted attendant of Socrates.
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Alexander the Great (BCE 356 - 323): TopicKing of Macedon, who conquered Greece (336), Egypt (331), and the Persian Empire (328), and founded Alexandria.
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Archimedes (BCE 287 - 212): TopicGreek mathematician, physicist, and inventor. He is famous for his work in geometry (on the circle, sphere, cylinder, and parabola), physics, mechanics, and hydrostatics.
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Aristophanes (BCE 448 - 388): TopicGreek playwright, Athenian comic poet, greatest of the ancient writers of comedy.
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Aristotle (BCE 384 - 322): TopicGreek philosopher, b. Stagira.He tutored Alexander the Great and founded the Peripatetic School.
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Democritus (BCE 460 - 370): TopicPhilosopher; particularly made his mark in the application of his theories of the universe to everyday morality and the simple goal of living a good life.
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Diadochi: TopicThe Macedonian generals and administrators who succeeded Alexander the Great.
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Epicurus (BCE 341 - 270): TopicGreek philosopher; defined philosophy as the art of making life happy and strictly subordinated metaphysics to ethics, naming pleasure as the highest and only good.
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Euclid (BCE 4th Century): TopicGreek mathematician (fl. 300 B.C.) whose works, and the style in which they were presented, formed the basis for all mathematical thought and expression for the following 2,000 years (although they were not entirely without fault).
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Euripides (BCE 485 - 406): TopicGreek tragic dramatist, ranking with Aeschylus and Sophocles. Born in Attica, he lived in Athens most of his life, though he spent much time on Salamis.
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Herodotus (BCE 485 - 425): TopicCalled the Father of History. ?485-?425 BC, Greek historian, famous for his History dealing with the causes and events of the wars between the Greeks and the Persians (490-479).
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Homer (BCE 8th Century): TopicPrincipal figure of ancient Greek literature; the first European poet. Two epic poems are attributed to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey.
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Pericles (BCE 495 - 429): TopicAthenian statesman and leader of the popular party, who contributed greatly to Athens' political and cultural supremacy in Greece.
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Plato (BCE 427 - 347): Topic
Greek philosopher. Plato's teachings have been among the most influential in the history of Western civilization.
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Praxiteles (BCE 370 - 330): TopicA Greek late Classical sculptor from Athens, Praxiteles was the foremost representative of the Attic School in the middle years of the 4th century B.C.
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Pythagoras (BCE 582 - 507): TopicPre-Socratic Greek philosopher, founder of the Pythagorean school, best known for two teachings: the transmigration of souls and the theory that numbers constitute the true nature of things.
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Sappho (BCE 7th Century): TopicFrom The Encyclopedia of Ancient History
Sappho of Lesbos (late seventh/early sixth century BCE) was the most famous woman poet of antiquity. -
Socrates (BCE 469 - 399): TopicGreek philosopher of Athens. Famous for his view of philosophy as a pursuit proper and necessary to all intelligent men, he is one of the great examples of a man who lived by his principles even though they ultimately cost him his life.
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Sophocles: (BCE 496 - 406) TopicGreek tragic dramatist, younger contemporary of Aeschylus and older contemporary of Euripides, b. Colonus, near Athens.
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Xenophon (BCE 430 - 355): TopicGreek historian, b. Athens. He was one of the well-to-do young disciples of Socrates before leaving Athens to join the Greek force (the Ten Thousand) that was in the service of Cyrus the Younger of Persia.
People of Rome
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Antony (BCE 83 - 30): Topicc.83 B.C.–30 B.C., Roman politican and soldier. Rival of Octavian (later Augustus) and lover of Cleopatra.
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Augustus (BCE 63 - CE 14): TopicFirst Roman emperor, a grandson of the sister of Julius Caesar. Named at first Caius Octavius, he became on adoption by the Julian gens (44 B.C.) Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian).
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Caesar, Gaius Julius (BCE 100 - 44): TopicRoman general and dictator, considered Rome's most successful military commander. He formed with Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus (the Elder) the First Triumvirate in 60 B.C.
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Cato the Elder (234-149 BCE): TopicRoman statesman and moralist. He fought in the Second Punic War and later served as quaestor (204), aedile (199), praetor (198), consul (195), and censor (184).
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Crassus: TopicAncient Roman family, of the plebeian Licinian gens. It produced men who achieved great note in the 2d cent. and 1st cent. B.C.
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Livy (BCE 59 - CE 17): TopicRoman historian. Livy's history reflects his admiration for the civilization of early Rome, and his belief that the importance of history was its applicability to contemporary life.
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Ovid (BCE 43 - CE 18): Topic(Publius Ovidius Naso) Latin poet, b. Sulmo (present-day Sulmona), in the Apennines. Although trained for the law, he preferred the company of the literary coterie at Rome.
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Pompey (BCE 106 - 48): Topic(Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus), Roman general, the rival of Julius Caesar. Sometimes called Pompey the Great, he was the son of Cnaeus Pompeius Strabo (consul in 89 B.C.), a commander of equivocal reputation.
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Vergil (BCE 70 - 19): TopicOr Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro)both: Roman poet, b. Andes dist., near Mantua, in Cisalpine Gaul; the spelling Virgil is not found earlier than the 5th century.
Mythological Figures
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Achilles: Topic
Foremost Greek hero of the Trojan War. Achilles, the object of widespread hero worship, is the main character of Homer's epic The Iliad.
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Bellerophon: TopicIn Greek mythology, a victim of slander who was sent against the monstrous chimera, which he killed with the help of Pegasus, a winged horse.
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Helen: TopicIn Greek mythology, the most beautiful of women; daughter of Leda and Zeus , and sister of Castor and Pollux and Clytemnestra.
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Heracles: TopicIn Greek mythology, an immortalized hero (Roman Hercules); son of Zeus and Alcmene; and famed for his strength.
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Oedipus: TopicIn Greek legend, son of Laius, king of Thebes, and his wife, Jocasta. When Oedipus was grown, he learned from the Delphic oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother.
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Romulus and RemusFrom Dictionary of Classical Mythology
Twin brothers, sired by war-god Mars, and the mythical founders of Rome. -
Theseus: TopicIn Greek mythology, a hero of Attica , who was believed to have united the states of the area under a constitutional government.