Ancient Greece, the cornerstone of Western civilization, was a northeastern Mediterranean society that flourished from the 12th century B.C. to approximately A.D. 600. Through the centuries, Ancient Greece was the cradle of Western thought and culture as the ideals of philosophy, medicine, mathematics, theater, democracy, and others were conceived and flourished at various times. Ancient Greece was also involved in numerous wars, both as city-states such Athens and Sparta vied for supremacy, and as foreign invaders sought to dominate the Peloponnese, the geographic peninsula that was its nexus.
Ancient Greece
It was raining, raining with a force and intensity few had ever experienced. The Macedonian army was marching upstream near the northern banks of the Hydaspes River in India (now Pakistan), trying to reach a ford under the cloak of darkness. Read more
Ancient Greece
When we think “catapult,” we imagine the types of weapons used for hurling rocks, dead plague victims, or unlucky cows against a castle. Read more
Ancient Greece
By the spring of 415 bc, a peace treaty between the warring city-states of Athens and Sparta had held firm for six years. Read more
Ancient Greece
While not a major military power today, from the time of the classical age through the Middle Ages, Greece was the center of several major military dynasties. Read more
Ancient Greece
On a warm summer day in the year 378 BC, a large Spartan army stood baffled on the plain of Boeotia in central Greece. Read more
Ancient Greece
By the middle of the 4th century bc, the Roman Empire had steadily expanded its reach into the southern half of Italy. Read more
Ancient Greece
The kapu kulu, made up of the regularly paid troops, provided the backbone of the Ottoman Empire army. Read more
Ancient Greece
It was the autumn of 333 bc and Alexander the Great stood triumphant on the battlefield of Issus. Read more
Ancient Greece
What nation of Asia, did not Xerxes lead against Hellas? —Herodotus
On the Doricus, the vast Thracian plain and beach on the Aegean coast, rose a stronghold. Read more
Ancient Greece
The Greek trireme combined grace, speed, and maneuverability, and it was these qualities, together with its powerful bronze ram, that made it the most powerful warship of its day. Read more
Ancient Greece
In the summer of BC 481, a delegation from Athens arrived at Delphi in central Greece to consult with the oracle of Apollo. Read more
Ancient Greece
The Celts, like all other Indo-European peoples, originated on the steppes of Eurasia, from whence they drifted into central Europe. Read more
Ancient Greece
The age of Alexander is one of the most celebrated epochs in history, the subject for such Greco-Roman writings as Diodorus, Arrian, and Plutarch. Read more
