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Ancient Greece
The ancient greek civilization starts around 3200 BC with the Cycladic civilization [followed by the Minoan (2700 BC) and the Mycenean civilization (1600 BC)] and flourished from the 7th century BC to the 2nd century AD, especially in the 5th century BC with the city-states of Athens and Sparta.
10,833 Questions
What was Hellenistic culture and how was it spread?
After Alexander the Great took over the Persian Empire he began a policy of Hellenisation - his vision of bringing Greek culture to the eastern world to civilise it. His early death cut this short, but his generals carved up his empire amongst themselves and continued the policy of Hellenisation, partly successfully for some regions. We now call these kingdoms the Hellenistic Kingdoms as, although not completely Hellenised, they spread a veneer of Greek culture over the eastern Mediterranean which lasted for a few hundred years.
What Persian king began a war against Athens and the Greeks after the Ionian revolt of 499 BC?
First was Darius I who sent a punitive expedition to repay Athens and Eretria for their intervention in support of Miletus which revolted against Persian rule; in the process these forces had burnt the Persian government centre of Sardis in Asia Minor. Darius' expedition captured Eretria but was turned back at Marathon and then in front of the city of Athens in 490 BCE. Darius determined to return in full force to bring mainland Greece under Persian rule and establish an ethnic frontier to stop the external Greek interventions in his Greek subjects in Asia Minor. A revolt in Egypt delayed this, and Darius then died. However his son Xerxes carried out his father's plan ten years later, and executed a full scale invasion of mainland Greece. Athens was captured in 480, but the Persians were crippled by defeat of their fleet at Salamis, and the following year a land defeat at Plataia and destruction of the rest of their fleet at Mykale.
Where did democracy first appear in Greece ancient Greece?
The first appearance of democracy is often said to have been in Athens in Ancient Greece. However one should be aware that there are very great differences on what was considered democracy in Athens and what is considered as democracy today (just as there is a rather large differences between modern democracies). For example only men could vote and these men had to be landowners as well as sons of two athenian parents.
How did the Ancient Greeks earn their money?
They earned it like people earn money today: by providing services and goods for others. Naturally barter was more ubiquitous than money, but you'd still encounter coins quite a bit for labor/goods.
Where did ancient Greeks have baths?
No. Given the size of modern showers, I'm assuming it would have been impossible to fit every single Ancient Greek into a single shower. Also, if the Ancient Greeks were capable of taking showers, I'm assuiming they would have taken multiple showers, rather than a single shower.
In ancient greek what did elektron mean?
Its from the greek ήλεκτρον or έλεκτρον the name the Greeks gave (I thing it was Thales of Miletus) to a mineral that showed magnetic qualities.
Did the circus exist since the time of the Ancient Greeks?
Very little is known about this subject, it is most likely that the term 'circus' was not used.
Circus skills are as old as civilization this must be so. Riding skills would be known to the the ancient races thousands of years ago, also juggling acrobatics and balance.
It is well known that a form of 'clowning' has existed no doubt in the Roman Arena
to entertain and amuse. Some clown gags have no known origin.
In the Middle Ages the above circus arts were put in Market Squares with touring troupes and players (including the theater and puppets).
See Astley (n England) for the commencement of our circus.
How did people in Ancient Greece become slaves?
Slaves came from a variety of sources:
Captives taken in war
Convicted criminals
Born slaves (The children of slaves)
Debtors
Orphans
These groups of people were eiher forced into slavery (eg captives taken in war) or sold themselves into slavery (eg if they were debtors), when their new masters paid their debts for them.
There are quite emotive attitudes towards slavery in the Roman Empire, because we always see the Roman slave through the eyes of modern-day slavery (eg that seen in the USA in the 1700s, and the Slave Trade) which was a shameful episode in human history. However, the Roman - and Biblical - idea of slavery was very different.
This may now sound very controversial, but in Roman times, provided a slave was owned by a good master or mistress (which was very common) being a slave was often seen as a reasonably good life. Many were actually proud of their slave status. Slaves, as someone's "property", had rights in law, were often given great responsibility within a household (such as a 'butler', housekeeper, etc), often had other staff under them and were given protection (both physically and lawfully) that they would otherwise not have had if they had been sent, say, to a debtors' prison or made, as a war prisoner, to fight in the arena, or even if they had ended up on the streets as a casual labourer. Casual workers, on the other hand, were not given these same rights, and for them, slavery was seen as an upward step socially.
Whilst these days the very thought of a person being 'owned' by another is abhorrent, in Roman society this was part of their culture and accepted. And, as a result, slaves, on the whole, were well-treated in the same way as someone today would treat a prize possession like a car (automobile). Good motorists make sure it's serviced, topped up with fluids, clean, the tyres are legal and so on as it is an expensive commodity to replace. In the same way, slaves were treated on the whole, very well. Of course, there were bad and abusive owners, but, on the whole, these tended to be the exception rather than the rule. In fact, being in slavery in those days was similar to being 'in service' in Victorian times.
The Romans also practised a slave ransom system whereby a slave could either purchase his freedom (say, by paying his debts if he was once a debtor), or by marrying out of slavery, or by his freedom being granted by his master for good deeds performed or a host of other reasons. In Jewish Law, as an example, Jewish slaves were all released every seventh ("Jubilee") year.
So while we see slavery today as a horrid episode in human history, we must be careful not to see Roman history and culture through 21st century eyes. Slavery, in the possession of a human by another, is very wrong, but we must realise that the the actual day-to-day existence of a Roman slave was not as wretched as we might think.
How do you spell Athena in ancient Greek?
1 Á, á Alpha a a
21 Ö, ö Phi p (aspirated) f
17 Ñ, ñ Rho r r
15 Ï, ï Omicron o o
4 Ä, ä Delta d th (voiced)
9 É, é Iota ee ee, y
19 Ô, ô Tau t t
7 Ç, ç Eta e ee
How did the Hellenistic culture differ from earlier Greek culture?
The Hellenistic period begins right after the end of the "classical" period. The divding line is the reign of Alexander the Great. The Classical Period is generally considered to be from about 500 B.C. to 323 B.C. and then the Hellensitic period is 323 B.C. to around 140 B.C. when the Romans began to gain more power. There are techonological and cultural differences between the two periods, but the main difference is the amount of territory controlled by the Greek civilization after the reign of Alexander. The Hellenistic period brought a great deal of Egyptian and Middle Eastern culture into the Greek civilization.
Aesop was a slave. He was said to wash clothing in his latter days. Was sacrificed to Aphrodite when he got to old to be of use.
Why do historians consider the mycenaean civilizatoin to be the first Greeks?
They don't, the Minoans are the earliest Greek civilization of which we know.
Which kingdoms succeed the empire of Alexander in 323?
The Empire split into four kingdoms, which would retain their sovereignty in order from least to longest: the Seleucids in Asia Minor and the Middle East, the Antigonids in Macedon (an area partly encompassing Greece), the Attalids in Pergamum (Asia Minor) and the Ptolemys in Egypt.
All four kingdoms were eventually incorporated into the Roman Republic.
After the Battle of Magnesia in 190 B.C., the final major battle in the Antiochan War, Antiochus is defeated by a conglomerate alliance of Rome, Pergamum, Rhodes and the Greek city state of Athens. Relying largely on its military authority and claim of monarchic divinity, the Seleucid Empire loses its power following the Treaty of Apamea in 188 B.C. which entails humiliating terms dictated by the Romans.
The kingdom of Macedon, after a series of four wars with Rome intermittedly spanning from 215 to 148 B.C., becomes increasingly weakened until Macedon loses its political sovereignty and becomes the Roman Province of Macedonia in 148 B.C.
The Kingdom of Pergamum in Asia Minor, founded by the Attalid dynasty, is peacefully left to Rome in 133 B.C. by Attalus III.
The Ptolemic dynasty in Egypt enjoys good relations with Rome until it is marred by the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, during which the advisors of the Ptolemic dynast execute Pompey, believing this will grant them favor with Caesar. Caesar, however, is infuriated at the execution of a worthy Roman citizen (a consul and military hero no less) at the hands of foreigners, and, trying to establish Cleopatra's faction on the throne, comes under serious assault by rioting crowds and hostile Egyptian forces in Alexandria until reinforcements arrive from across the Mediterranean. The independence of Egypt, with its massive agricultural potential for grain production, comes to an end when it becomes acquired by Gaius Julius Caesar Octavius (Octavian; Augustus following 27 B.C.) following his defeat of Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony) and Cleopatra's fleet at the naval Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. (off Greece's Eastern coast near the opening of the Ambracian gulf). Octavian then acquires hegemony over Egypt, marking an end to its political independence.
Why did they wear there mask the Greeks in theatre?
To distinguish their role as the common folk.
Masks were simple, and fast, better for the plays than make-up.
The chorus would wear similar masks to difrenchiate them from the main characters.
Remember, the chorus is the population. They are fillers. So they too need masks to display emotion, etc.
Is Sparta still a city state in Greece?
Yes it is.
The modern city of Sparti is located at the same location of ancient Sparta and is the administrative center of the Laconia region.
No it is not. Infact, it doesn't even exist. It was once the greatest powers in Greece, but lost the Peloponnesian War to the Athens. It is a great mystery as to what happened to the Spartans afterwords.
Crete is a major city.
What are some cons of living in ancient Athens?
Its policy of preying on other city-states made it a dangerous place to be when they ganged up to lay siege to and capture it.
Citizens were obliged to serve in the army and navy and many were killed in wars.
It had no medical defence againt the plague.
Did Archimedes have any hobbies?
He liked to tackle and solve mathematical problems and he liked to invent things to solve practical and military problems. Archimedes was one of the finest mathematical minds that ever lived, and he was an engineering genius.
Who is the greek god of the toilet?
If this is a serious question probably Hestia would be the closest though she was actually the goddess of the hearth.
Why did Greeks feel Alexander the great was less then Greek?
Alexander the Great was not actually a Greek ruler, as he was the King of Macedonia. Although there are quite a few similarities between Macedonian and Greek culture, Alexander was not Greek in the sense of the classical greek city states of Athens, Sparta, Thebes, or Corinth.
How did Greek Theater originate?
It developed from religious rituals of dancing and singing for the god which were held in forest glades.
These rituals progressively became more structured and special theatres were built for their performance.
The format developed to have actors play lead roles and a chorus to support them.
What did ancient Greeks grow and why?
Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and bananas didn't arrive in Greece until after the discovery of the Americas in the 15th century, because that's where those foods originated.
