Ancient Civilizations
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Ancient Greece: Topic Page
Ancient civilization that flourished 2,500 years ago on the shores of the Ionian and Aegean Seas (modern Greece and the west coast of Turkey).
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Ancient Rome: Topic Page
Ancient Rome was a civilization based on the city of Rome. It lasted for about 800 years.
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Ancient Egypt: Topic Page
Ancient civilization, based around the River Nile in Egypt, which emerged 5,000 years ago and reached its peak in the 16th century BCE.
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Minoan civilization: Topic PageAncient Cretan culture representing a stage in the development of the Aegean civilization. It is named for the legendary King Minos of Crete.
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Mycenaean civilization: Topic PageAn ancient Aegean civilization known from the excavations at Mycenae and other sites.
Places
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Athens: Topic PageCapital city of Greece and of ancient Attica; population (2003 est) 747,300, urban agglomeration 3,247,000.
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Rome: Topic PageCapital of Italy and of Lazio region, on the River Tiber, 27 km/17 mi from the Tyrrhenian Sea; population 2,459,800.
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Sparta: Topic PageCity of ancient Greece, capital of Laconia, on the Eurotas (Evrótas) River in the Peloponnesus.
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Troy: Topic PageAncient city in Asia Minor (modern Hissarlik in Turkey), just south of the Dardanelles.
Events
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Peloponnesian War: Topic PageWar fought 431-404 BCE between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies, involving most of the Greek world from Asia Minor to Sicily and from Byzantium (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) to Crete.
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Trojan War: Topic PageIn Greek mythology, war between the Greeks and the people of Troy. The strife began after the Trojan prince Paris abducted Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta.
Overview of Classical Studies
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Classicism: Topic PageA term that, when applied generally, means clearness, elegance, symmetry, and repose produced by attention to traditional forms. It is sometimes synonymous with excellence or artistic quality of high distinction. More precisely, the term refers to the admiration and imitation of Greek and Roman literature, art, and architecture.
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Classical PoeticsIn The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Ancient Greek poetics at its inception was shaped by two features of archaic culture: the treatment of the Homeric epics as a source of authoritative knowledge and the nature of early poetry as song or recitation performed in social contexts. -
Greek LiteratureIn The Macmillan Encyclopedia
The epics of Homer date from the 8th century BC, though their echoes of Mycenaean civilization suggest that they may have existed in oral form for considerably longer. A little later (c. 700) Hesiod's poems portray the lives and concerns of farmers. -
Greek art: Topic PageWorks of art produced in the Aegean basin, a center of artistic activity from very early times.
People
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Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE): Topic PageOr Alexander III, king of Macedon, conqueror of much of Asia.
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Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE): Topic PageRoman general and dictator, considered Rome's most successful military commander.
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Cleopatra (69-30 BCE): Topic PageQueen of Egypt, one of the great romantic heroines of all time.
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Cato the Elder (234-149 BCE): Topic PageOr Cato the Censor, Lat. Cato Major or Cato Censorius, Roman statesman and moralist, whose full name was Marcus Porcius Cato.