Ancient Greece History

In ancient Greece and across the Mediterranean, kingdoms strive for dominance. The great powers of Carthage and Egypt look on with avarice as the might of the Greeks is spent warring between themselves, oblivious to external dangers. Year in and year out, the people suffer at the hands of their rulers and the famine and pestilence that comes with conflict. The great rulers of the day are themselves helpless to end this cycle of destruction. While life on the battlefield is cheap, the slave trade flourishes through the years of interminable battle and death.

Adrienne Mayor is renowned for exploring the borders of history, science, archaeology, anthropology, and popular knowledge to find historical realities and scientific insights—glimmering, long-buried nuggets of truth—embedded in myth, legends, and folklore. Combing through ancient texts and obscure sources, she has spent decades prospecting for intriguing wonders and marvels, historical mysteries, diverting anecdotes, and hidden gems from antiquity, medieval, and modern times. Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws is a treasury of fifty of her most amazing and amusing discoveries.

Forse esiste una "retorica della Grecia", come ne esiste una di Roma, che altera un po' le proporzioni del suo contributo. Ma nessuno può negare ch'esso sia stato immenso e che soprattutto siano stati vari, vivaci e affascinanti i suoi protagonisti Indro Montanelli. I greci di Montanelli sono nostri contemporanei. Molte le affinità e i confronti anche paradossali: Omero era il "poeta della Confindustria", Platone un totalitario che "se vivesse oggi, riceverebbe il premio Stalin".

Dankzij goed generaalschap, een solide leger en een flinke dosis geluk wist de Macedonische koning Alexander de Grote tussen 334 en 323 v.Chr. het oppermachtige Perzische Rijk te onderwerpen. Hierdoor kon de Griekse cultuur zich verspreiden naar Egypte, Babylonië, Iran, Centraal-Azië en de vallei van de Indus. Jona Lendering laat zien hoe het Perzische Rijk in conflict raakt met Macedonië. Vervolgens behandelt hij Alexanders troonbestijging, de consolidatie van zijn macht in Europa en de inval in Azië.

What is commonly called the kingdom of Pontos flourished for over 200 years in the coastal regions of the Black Sea. At its peak in the early first century BC, it included much of the southern, eastern, and northern littoral, becoming one of the most important Hellenistic dynasties not founded by a successor of Alexander the Great. Previous histories of Pontos have focused almost exclusively on the career of its last ruler. Setting that famous reign in its wide historical context, Empire of the Black Sea is an engaging account of a powerful yet little-known ancient dynasty.

Dal rovente deserto del Sahara fino alle gelide foreste scandinave, da sempre uomini e donne levano lo sguardo verso il cielo e, colmi di fascino e meraviglia, si pongono domande circa le origini dell'uomo e del mondo Sulla Terra i miti nascono per dare spiegazioni a fenomeni naturali apparentemente inspiegabili, come le eruzioni vulcaniche e i fulmini. Ma servono anche a dare un senso alla vita umana, a fornire risposte alle domande che ci facciamo ancora oggi: da dove viene l'Umanità? Perché siamo destinati a morire?

Eumenes lived in the shadows of conquerers - Philip and Alexander the Great - until he rose up to claim his own title. He was one of the many who grappled for power in the wake of Alexander's sudden death. Dive into his life and the machinations behind the thrones of ancient Greece and Egypt. Will Eumenes be victorious, claiming a crown of his own, or will he fall prey to the wiles of others?

The ancient Greeks told stories about their gods, and these stories were later called myths and became part of Greek mythology. Even today, myths about ancient Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes are quite popular.

Hören Sie einen Abriß der griechischen Geschichte von den Anfängen der Polis bis zu den siegreichen Feldzügen Philipps II. von Makedonien. Das Feature führt durch die wichtigsten Abschnitte der griechischen Geschichte...

Chi è più sapiente? Colui che dice di sapere o colui che sa di non sapere? Su questo bivio del pensiero Socrate ha fondato la sua vita e imposta ora la sua autodifesa: stringente, appassionante, inoppugnabile. La fine è nota. E tuttavia Socrate non perde la sua forza: perché anche la morte può essere un’avventura, di silenzio o di conversazione.

In a continuation of his multivolume series on ancient Sparta, Paul Rahe narrates the second stage in the six decades long, epic struggle between Sparta and Athens that first erupted some 17 years after their joint victory in the Persian Wars. Rahe explores how and why open warfare between these two erstwhile allies broke out a second time, after they had negotiated an extended truce.

The classical world was full of many great and influential cities, ranging from Rome and Alexandria to Athens and Sparta. There were many more that enjoyed periods of prominence, yet they were often ephemeral, seeing their fortunes rise and fall due to their connection to a ruling dynasty. Smyrna was one of the various cities that enjoyed brief yet important periods of influence in which they spawned important dynasties, were the scenes of history-changing battles, and were the sites of great advances in philosophy, science, and economics.

Although it is no longer quite as well remembered as it was thousands of years ago, one of the most important cities in the ancient world was Ephesus, a city that dates back nearly 3,000 years and can lay claim to the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Moreover, while Sparta and Athens were often the centers of power in ancient Greece, Ephesus, located in present-day Turkey on the coast of Ionia, was an instrumental part of the Ionian League.

Of all the empires and kingdoms in the ancient world, few could compare with the Lydians in terms of wealth and opulence. From the early seventh century BCE until the middle of the sixth century BCE, the Lydians played an important role in the history of the eastern Mediterranean region as they took on the role of middleman between the empires of the Near East and the emerging Hellenic civilization in Greece.

Tyranny in ancient Greece was not a phenomenon limited to any particular period. Tyrants could be found in power throughout Greece, ruling poleis from the seventh century BC right through to the second century BC, when Roman domination effectively put an end to this form of government throughout the Hellenistic world.

Of the surviving work of Cornelius Nepos, Lives of the Eminent Commanders is the only piece that has come down to us intact, and it was actually only one of a much larger set of volumes on foreign and Roman kings, generals, lawyers, orators, poets, historians, and philosophers. What makes the writing of Nepos highly original was his intent to endow his biographies with a moral purpose and to display the strengths and weaknesses of each great man. Modern listeners will enjoy the work of Nepos and gain new insights into classical Greek leaders, among others.

"L'amore. Cominciamo da qui, parliamo d'amore. Ma per farlo dobbiamo ricordare che anche i sentimenti hanno una storia. Tutto cambia nel tempo, persino questo sentimento che una retorica tanto facile quanto ingannevole ci spinge a considerare immutabile. Dimentichiamo allora la concezione romantica e cerchiamo di capire che cos'era l'amore per i greci, cerchiamo, addentrandoci in un mondo lontano, di cogliere i diversi volti dell'amore.

A görög mitológia történeteinek folytatása sem kevésbé szórakoztató, mint az első rész. Megtudhatjuk többek között, hogy miért kellett Sziszüphosznak bűnhődnie, vagy hogy milyen átok sújtotta Midász királyt. A szerző a maga humoros módján rávilágít, a görög istenek olyanok, mint mi. Erősebbek és bölcsebbek ugyan, de közben ugyanolyan esendőek, és ballépéseikkel, felfokozott szerelmi életükkel, veszekedéseikkel bármikor képesek felforgatni az isteni és az emberi világot.

Esta vez se embarca con los argonautas en busca del legendario vellocino de oro. Jasón es solo un niño inexperto cuando zarpa en el Argo y, tras sortear los miedos, tentaciones y trampas que la larga navegación entraña, regresa como un héroe victorioso acompañado de su amada Medea.

The two great Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 and 480-79 B.C., both repulsed by the Greeks, provide our best opportunity for understanding the interplay of religion and history in ancient Greece on a large scale. Using the Histories of Herodotus as well as other historical and archaeological sources, Jon Mikalson shows how the Greeks practiced their religion at this pivotal moment in their history.