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The Ancient Greeks were seeking new land, trade, and opportunities. They were conquerors. The Trojan War was one of their last conflicts before the dark ages, and is the battle that Homer narrates in The Iliad.

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Trojan War - Definition, Summary & Hero | HISTORY

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Watch a brief video summarizing the Trojan War, the conflict recounted in Greek mythology between the kingdoms of Troy and Mycenaean Greece.

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753 BCE - Legendary brothers Romulus and Remus founded Rome

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753 BCE - Legendary brothers Romulus and Remus founded Rome

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The most widely accepted legend of the beginning of Rome is the story of Romulus and Remus. The legend says that Romulus and Remus had an argument over who would rule the city and who it would be named after, and Romulus killed his brother in order to rule.

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Hear the dramatic story of Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Abxyz/Dreamstime.com

Almost 3,000 years ago the Roman Empire was born here in central Italy, on this site by the River Tiber, nestling among seven hills. A dramatic story is said to have taken place here all those years ago, between twin brothers called Romulus and Remus.

It had been predicted that the two brothers would become mighty leaders. But they were the victims of an evil plot. Their power-crazed great uncle ordered that the babies should be drowned. Yet, miraculously, they were washed up on the banks of the Tiber. A she-wolf took it upon herself to care for the twins, suckling them and thus giving them the strength to survive. The she-wolf remains the symbol of the Roman Empire to this day, an empire which over the next centuries was to exert its influence across the known world - primarily through expansionist wars.

But the empire experienced its first war - a conflict between the brothers Romulus and Remus - at the very founding of its capital. In a fit of pique, Remus leaps across the provisional city wall which his brother has erected. Romulus cannot tolerate this act of provocation and slays his own brother. The founder of Rome thus made one thing clear from the start: anyone attempting to breach the fortifications of Rome would be severely punished. "Those who violate the laws of Rome will meet the same fate as my brother," he proclaimed.

Thus is founded a city that goes on to become the center of the ancient world. Many wars follow - against the Etruscans, Celts, Greeks, Germanic tribes - and Rome triumphs every time for many hundreds of years. Eight hundred years after the founding of Rome, the Roman Empire rules the known world, from Portugal to Arabia. Many different people live within the borders of the empire, probably the world's first multi-ethnic state. And the Eternal City, itself a metropolis of millions, lies at the heart of this mighty empire.

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Almost 3,000 years ago the Roman Empire was born here in central Italy, on this site by the River Tiber, nestling among seven hills. A dramatic story is said to have taken place here all those years ago, between twin brothers called Romulus and Remus.

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GREECE: 700 BCE - The Ancient Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet

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GREECE: 700 BCE - The Ancient Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet

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After the dark age and the "fog lifted", the ancient Greeks started to write again, borrowing Phoenician letters. It began the recovery of Ancient Greek culture.

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GREECE: 700 BCE - The fullest and most important source of Greek myths and the origins of the gods found in Theogony of Hesiod 

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GREECE: 700 BCE - The fullest and most important source of Greek myths and the origins of the gods found in Theogony of Hesiod 

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Now that the Greeks could write, they were now able to describe their belief systems in detail.

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Who are some of the major figures of Greek mythology?

What are some major works in Greek mythology?

When did Greek mythology start?

Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks. That the myths contained a considerable element of fiction was recognized by the more critical Greeks, such as the philosopher Plato in the 5th-4th century bce. In general, however, in the popular piety of the Greeks, the myths were viewed as true accounts. Greek mythology has subsequently had extensive influence on the arts and literature of Western civilization, which fell heir to much of Greek culture.

Although people of all countries, eras, and stages of civilization have developed myths that explain the existence and workings of natural phenomena, recount the deeds of gods or heroes, or seek to justify social or political institutions, the myths of the Greeks have remained unrivaled in the Western world as sources of imaginative and appealing ideas. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in Classical mythological themes.

Sources of myths: literary and archaeological

The 5th-century-bce Greek historian Herodotus remarked that Homer and Hesiod gave to the Olympian gods their familiar characteristics. Few today would accept this literally. In the first book of the Iliad, the son of Zeus and Leto ( Apollo, line 9) is as instantly identifiable to the Greek reader by his patronymic as are the sons of Atreus ( Agamemnon and Menelaus, line 16). In both cases, the audience is expected to have knowledge of the myths that preceded their literary rendering. Little is known to suggest that the Greeks treated Homer, or any other source of Greek myths, as mere entertainment, whereas there are prominent Greeks from Pindar to the later Stoa for whom myths, and those from Homer in particular, are so serious as to warrant bowdlerization or allegorization.

The fullest and most important source of myths about the origin of the gods is the Theogony of Hesiod (c. 700 bce). The elaborate genealogies mentioned above are accompanied by folktales and etiological myths. The Works and Days shares some of these in the context of a farmer's calendar and an extensive harangue on the subject of justice addressed to Hesiod's possibly fictitious brother Perses. The orthodox view treats the two poems as quite different in theme and treats the Works and Days as a theodicy (a natural theology). It is possible, however, to treat the two poems as a diptych, each part dependent on the other. The Theogony declares the identities and alliances of the gods, while the Works and Days gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, and Hesiod urges that the most reliable-though by no means certain-way is to be just.

Other literary works

Fragmentary post-Homeric epics of varying date and authorship filled the gaps in the accounts of the Trojan War recorded in the Iliad and Odyssey; the so-called Homeric Hymns (shorter surviving poems) are the source of several important religious myths. Many of the lyric poets preserved various myths, but the odes of Pindar of Thebes (flourished 6th-5th century bce) are particularly rich in myth and legend. The works of the three tragedians- Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, all of the 5th century bce-are remarkable for the variety of the traditions they preserve.

In Hellenistic times (323-30 bce) Callimachus, a 3rd-century-bce poet and scholar in Alexandria, recorded many obscure myths; his contemporary, the mythographer Euhemerus, suggested that the gods were originally human, a view known as Euhemerism. Apollonius of Rhodes, another scholar of the 3rd century bce, preserved the fullest account of the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece.

In the period of the Roman Empire, the Geography of Strabo (1st century bce), the Library of the pseudo- Apollodorus (attributed to a 2nd-century-ce scholar), the antiquarian writings of the Greek biographer Plutarch, and the works of Pausanias, a 2nd-century-ce historian, as well as the Latin Genealogies of Hyginus, a 2nd-century-ce mythographer, have provided valuable sources in Latin of later Greek mythology.

Archaeological discoveries

The discovery of the Mycenaean civilization by Heinrich Schliemann, a 19th-century German amateur archaeologist, and the discovery of the Minoan civilization in Crete (from which the Mycenaean ultimately derived) by Sir Arthur Evans, a 20th-century English archaeologist, are essential to the 21st-century understanding of the development of myth and ritual in the Greek world. Such discoveries illuminated aspects of Minoan culture from about 2200 to 1450 bce and Mycenaean culture from about 1600 to 1200 bce; those eras were followed by a Dark Age that lasted until about 800 bce. Unfortunately, the evidence about myth and ritual at Mycenaean and Minoan sites is entirely monumental, because the Linear B script (an ancient form of Greek found in both Crete and Greece) was mainly used to record inventories.

Geometric designs on pottery of the 8th century bce depict scenes from the Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracles. The extreme formality of the style, however, renders much of the identification difficult, and there is no inscriptional evidence accompanying the designs to assist scholars in identification and interpretation. In the succeeding Archaic (c. 750-c. 500 bce), Classical (c. 480-323 bce), and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear to supplement the existing literary evidence.

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Greek mythology | Gods, Stories, & History

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Greek mythology, oral and literary traditions of the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes and the nature of the cosmos. The narratives influenced the arts of later centuries so that such stories as the abduction of Persephone and those from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey remained popular in the 21st century.

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GREECE: 447 BCE -  Construction of the Parthenon, the largest and most lavish temple the Greek mainland had ever seen

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GREECE: 447 BCE -  Construction of the Parthenon, the largest and most lavish temple the Greek mainland had ever seen

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The Parthenon was dedicated to the Greek God Athena. Over the years it has withstood fires, earthquakes, wars, explosions, and storms, and still stands today as a symbol of Ancient Greece.

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Delian League

The Parthenon was the center of religious life in the powerful Greek city-state of Athens, the head of the Delian League. Developed to thwart the possibility of an attack by the Persian Empire or other foes, the Delian League was a cooperative alliance of Greek city-states founded in 478 B.C. during the invasions of the Persian Wars.

The celebrated Greek statesman Pericles is credited with ordering the design and construction of the Parthenon as a temple for Athena-the goddess of wisdom, arts, literature and war-but it may not have been the first attempt to house the deity.

An earlier structure known as the Older Parthenon or Pre-Parthenon once existed on the site of the current Parthenon. Many historians believe the Older Parthenon was under construction in 480 B.C. when the Persian Empire attacked Athens and destroyed the Acropolis, although some experts dispute this theory.

When Was the Parthenon Built?

In 447 B.C., some 33 years after the Persian invasion, Pericles commenced building the Parthenon to replace the earlier temple. The massive structure was dedicated in 438 B.C.

Sculpting and decorative work at the Parthenon continued until 432 B.C. It's estimated that 13,400 stones were used to build the temple, at a total cost of around 470 silver talents (roughly $7 million U.S. dollars today).

Doric Columns

Pericles commissioned the renowned Greek architects Ictinus and Callicrates and the sculptor Phidias to design the Parthenon, which became the largest Doric-style temple of its time.

The structure has a rectangular floor plan and is built on a 23,000-square foot base, part of which was the limestone foundation of the Old Parthenon.

Low steps surrounded each side of the building, and a portico of Doric columns standing on a platform create a border around it. There are 46 outer columns and 19 inner columns.

The columns are slightly tapered to give the temple a symmetrical appearance. The corner columns are larger in diameter than the other columns. Incredibly, the Parthenon contains no straight lines and no right angles, a true feat of Greek architecture.

Amazon Warriors

Many of the Parthenon's features depict scenes from Greek mythology. Ninety-two carved metopes (square blocks placed between three-channeled triglyph blocks) adorn the exterior walls of the Parthenon. The metopes on the West side depict Amazonomachy, a mythical battle between Amazon warriors and the ancient Greeks, and were thought to be designed by the sculptor Kalamis.

The metopes on the East side show Gigantomachy, mythical battles between gods and giants. Most metopes on the South side show Centauromachy, the battle of mythical centaurs with the Lapiths, and the metopes on the North side portray the Trojan War.

Parthenon Frieze

A broad, decorated horizontal band called a frieze runs along the entire length of the walls of the Parthenon's inner chamber (the cella). The frieze was carved using the bas-relief technique, which means the sculpted figures are raised slightly from the background.

Historians believe the frieze depicted either the Panathenaic procession to the Acropolis or the sacrifice of Pandora to Athena.

There are two sculpted, triangular-shaped gables known as pediments on each end of the Parthenon. The East pediment depicted Athena's birth from the head of her father, Zeus. The West pediment showed the conflict between Athena and Poseidon to claim Attica, an ancient region of Greece which included the city of Athens.

Athena Parthenos

A shrine within the Parthenon housed an extraordinary statue of Athena, known as Athena Parthenos, which was sculpted by Phidias. The statue no longer exists but is thought to have stood about 12 meters high (39 feet).

It was carved of wood and covered in ivory and gold. Historians know what the statue looked like thanks to surviving Roman reproductions.

The Athena statue depicted a fully-armed woman wearing a goatskin shield known as an aegis. She held a six-foot tall statue of the Greek goddess Nike in her right hand and a shield in her left hand that illustrated various battle scenes. Two griffins and a sphinx stood on her helmet and a large snake behind her shield.

It's unclear if the Parthenon served solely as a home for Athena or also as a treasury. It was undoubtedly an awe-inspiring sight for anyone who gazed upon it. Ancient spectators weren't allowed inside the structure but viewed its splendor from the outside.

Parthenon Changes Hands

In the sixth century A.D., the Christian Byzantines conquered Greece. They outlawed pagan worship of the ancient Greek gods and converted the Parthenon to a Christian church. They blocked the East side entrance and, following the custom of Christianity, forced worshipers to enter the church on the West side.

The massive statue of Athena was gone before the Byzantines arrived. In her place, they put a pulpit and marble bishop's chair.

The Parthenon remained a Christian church until 1458 A.D., when the Muslim Ottoman Empire seized Athens. The Ottoman Turks converted the Parthenon into a mosque, yet kept many Christian paintings and artifacts intact.

In 1687, facing attack from the Christian Holy League (an alliance of European powers against the Ottoman Empire), the Ottomans converted the Parthenon into an ammunitions depot and shelter, but it was anything but safe. The structure was bombarded with cannonballs and its ammunition stores exploded causing hundreds of deaths and massive structural damage.

After centuries of being ruled by the Turks, the Greeks fought for independence in the 1820s. The Acropolis became a combat zone and the Turkish Army removed hundreds of marble blocks from Parthenon ruins. They also used the lead-coated iron clamps which held the blocks together to make bullets.

Elgin Marbles

After the Holy League's assault and numerous military campaigns, by the 1800s the Parthenon sat in ruins and was at the mercy of looters and the elements.

In the early 19th century, Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, removed the marble friezes and several other sculptures and shipped them to London, England, where they remain on public display in the British Museum today.

It's unclear if Elgin had permission to remove the sculptures, and the Greek government has requested they be returned.

Time, weathering and cleaning has caused the Elgin Marbles and other Parthenon sculptures to look white, but they and other parts of the structure were once painted with vivid colors.

Did you know? A full-scale replica of The Parthenon was built in Centennial Park, Nashville in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.

Parthenon Restoration

In the 1970s, the Greek government got serious about restoring the rapidly-deteriorating Acropolis and the Parthenon, which had become one of the country's national treasures. They appointed an archaeological committee called the Acropolis Restoration Project.

With Greek architect Manolis Korres at its helm, the committee painstakingly charted every relic in the ruins and used computer technology to identify their original location.

The restoration team plans to supplement original Parthenon artifacts with modern materials that are weather-resistant, corrosion-resistant and will help support the integrity of the structure. Where needed, new marble from the quarry where the original marble was obtained will be used.

Still, the Parthenon will not be restored to its original glory. Instead, it will stay a partial ruin and will feature design elements and artifacts that reflect its rich, diverse history.

Acropolis Museum

Renovations are ongoing at the Parthenon and the entire Acropolis; however, tourists can still visit the historical site. Areas undergoing a makeover may be off-limits.

Some important artifacts and remaining Parthenon sculptures were moved to the nearby Acropolis Museum. To see many of the Parthenon's original marble sculptures and other Acropolis artifacts, visitors are encouraged to tour the museum.

Sources

Secrets of the Parthenon. PBS NOVA.
The Glorious Parthenon. PBS NOVA.
The Parthenon. Ancient-Greece.org.
The Parthenon. Oxford Bibliographies.
The Parthenon. Reed College.
The Parthenon: Religion, Art and Politics. The State University of New York.

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Parthenon: Definition, Facts, Athens & Greece - HISTORY

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The Parthenon is a marble temple built atop the Acropolis in Athens during the classical age of ancient Greece. It was the largest and most lavish temple the Greek mainland had ever seen.

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GREECE: 146 BCE - Roman Invasion of Greece

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GREECE: 146 BCE - Roman Invasion of Greece

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The Romans, like the Greeks, were conquerors, and absorbed a lot of Greek culture like religion, medicine, science, architecture, and more.

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Oxford Academic (Oxford University Press)

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How did the Romans conquer classical Greece?

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The Third Servile war was a slave rebellion against Rome, led by the gladiator Spartacus. It was the most successful slave rebellion in Roman history. Rome's economy relied on agriculture and war. The slaves were brought in from multiple different sources to be used for fieldwork, housework, and more. The poor treatment of slaves was so widespread that it became normalized. Spartacus became tired of the slave system. He managed to stretch the war out for 3 years. The Romans, who at first had thought nothing of the gladiator, were now scared. The war ended with Spartacus dying while bravely standing his ground, surrounded by Crassus and his enemies. He is regarded as a hero in histories writings.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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44 BCE - Julius Caesar is assassinated, ending his dictatorship

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44 BCE - Julius Caesar is assassinated, ending his dictatorship

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Julius Caesar was a leader of Rome who was instrumental in starting to transform the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He declared himself dictator for life, although he only served a year's term. He made some radical changes to Rome, relieving debts, granting citizenship to foreigners, and establishing the 365 day calendar. His success was met with envy and concern that he would become a king, and Caesar was murdered by political rivals. He became the first Roman figure deified. His assassination was met with anger towards his killers.

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Virgil based his most famous work, the Aeneid, on Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey. It tells the story of a Trojan Prince named Aeneid after the Trojan War. This poem reflects back on early Roman history. He wrote for 11 years, and died with the piece unfinished. Students still study the Aeneid today.

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Excerpt from The Aeneid of Virgil | Penguin Random House Canada

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Aeneas flees the ashes of Troy to found the city of Rome and change forever the course of the Western world--as literature as well. Virgil's Aeneid is as eternal as Rome itself, a sweeping epic of arms and herois

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27 BCE - Roman Empire established after demise of Roman Republic

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27 BCE - Roman Empire established after demise of Roman Republic

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After Julius Caesar's murder, the lower and middle-class was outraged. A power struggle that caused the end of the Roman Republic ensued. Caesar's great grandnephew, Caesar Augustus, became the first Roman emperor after defeating Caesar's assassins.

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How the Roman Republic became the Roman Empire

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The Roman Religion was polytheistic, with many gods, some borrowed from Greek Religion and others from foreign cults. The Imperial Cult regarded the emperors as gods. The first emperor, Caesar Augustus, was deified by the Roman senate, and many emperors that succeeded him were given the same honor. The Romans did not force their religion on the places they conquered, but that didn't mean they were tolerant at first of other religions like Christianity and Judaism. Eventually, Christianity took over.

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The Romans did use coins, but also heavily relied on trade. In the 1st and 2nd centuries CE sea, river, and land transportation all became more used. The Port Vendres II wreck in the 40s CE was a good example of a Roman trade ship. The ship was wrecked in the Mediterranean, off the Spanish-French border. It contained olive oil, wine, fish sauce, fine pottery, glass, and tin, copper, and lead ingots. The cargo inside was taken from at least 11 merchants.

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De Materia Medica, written by Pedanius Dioscorides, was an important medical book that help paved the way for modern pharmacopeias. In this book, many herbal remedies are mentioned, including poppy juice, which contains morphine. The benefits of wearing certain stones is also described. This book was an important reference, and Galen, a well known Roman medical scholar, got many ideas it.

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The Great Fire may or may not have been started by emperor Nero, who many thought had started it to make room for his personal villa. The rumor says that Nero sat as the city burned, playing his lyre. The fire burned for 10 days, destroying about 75% of the city. After, Nero put the blame on Christians, which led to the beginning of the persecution of Christians in Rome.

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The Colosseum remains today in Italy as a significant landmark. It was used for many events such as gladiator fights, performances, executions, and more. It held around 50,000 spectators. Around the world today, architecture uses the Roman arch.

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GREECE: 300 CE - Oldest Written Record of Homer's Epics

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GREECE: 300 CE - Oldest Written Record of Homer's Epics

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The oldest written record of Homer's The Odyssey and The Iliad was found.

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Earliest Known Written Record of Homer's Odyssey Found in Greece

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The Greek Ministry of Culture reports archaeologists have found the oldest written record of Homer's Odyssey. Considered to be one of the all-time greatest works of literature, the engraved clay slab contains 13 verses from the 12,109-line poem, with preliminary estimates dating it to Roman times, likely before the third century.

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476 CE - Fall of the Western Roman Empire

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476 CE - Fall of the Western Roman Empire

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Although historians can agree that 476 was the end of the Roman Empire, the cause is disputed. Some believe that the spread of Christianity was their downfall. Another cause was the invasions of barbarians from the north and west. They also had economic troubles due to constant war and overspending, and relied too much on slavery. The Eastern Empire became more powerful as well, after the split of the Roman Empire into the West and East.

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Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation, 2020.

https://www.ancient.eu/.

"Ancient Rome." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 10 Sep. 2020. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/ancient-Rome/106272.

Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/.

Biography. A&E Television Networks, 2020. https://www.biography.com/.

Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia, 2020. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page.

History. A&E Television Networks, 2020. https://www.history.com/.

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Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome