Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece, the birthplace of democracy, was the source of some of the greatest literature, architecture, science and philosophy in Western civilization, and home to beautiful historical sites like the Acropolis and the Cretan palace of Knossos.

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Everyone knows how the Trojan War ended: with a bunch of guys piling out of a giant horse. But the events of the war itself have been debated extensively, and the actual truth is still largely unknown. All we have to go on is myth.

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History.com Ancient Greece Collage

Illustration by Eduardo Ramón Trejo. Photos from Getty Images.

Featured Overview

Everyone knows how the Trojan War ended: with a bunch of guys piling out of a giant horse. But the events of the war itself have been debated extensively, and the actual truth is still largely unknown. All we have to go on is myth.

1:36m watch

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Ancient Greece scene. Antic vase with silhouettes of mythology characters and gods, Vector legendary Greek people mythological pattern old culture with woman and man in toga with lyre and amphora.

Greek mythology, and its ancient stories of gods, goddesses, heroes and monsters, is one of the oldest and most influential groups of legends in human civilization.

In Plato's 'Republic,' the ancient Greek philosopher lays out five different forms of government, ranging from ideal to oppressive.

Athens developed a system in which every free Athenian man had a vote in the Assembly.

Macedonian Army developed by Philip II

Here's how Alexander, one of history's most iconic military leaders, grew the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia and conquered the Persian Empire.

10 Amazing Ancient Olympic Facts

10 Amazing Ancient Olympic Facts

From naked athletes to foot-only races, these are 10 surprising facts you didn’t know about the ancient Olympics.

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Ancient Greece
A model of the Cosmos gearing of the Antikythera Mechanism.

The 2,100-year-old Antikythera Mechanism was pulled from a shipwreck and shocked researchers with its sophisticated astronomical and timekeeping capabilities.

While the Ancient Greeks and Romans are celebrated for their contributions to science, philosophy and architecture, they also left behind something more sinister: thousands of "curse tablets."

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Odysseus on his ship, challenging Cyclops.

In Homer’s epic poem, the Greek warrior encounters cyclops, sorcerers and cannibals on his 10-year journey home from war.

In Plato's 'Republic,' the ancient Greek philosopher lays out five different forms of government, ranging from ideal to oppressive.

Alexander the Great

Ancient historians describe Alexander offering prize money to those men who climbed towering cliff faces in the fastest time.

Greek civilization, bronze statue of child running

Like the Olympic Games, the Heraia race was held every four years, likely as part of a prenuptial initiation ritual.

Why did Alexander the Great fail in India? Learn more in this exclusive clip from Ancient Empires.

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Alexander the Great lays the foundation for Egypt in this exclusive scene from Ancient Empires.

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The future of Macedon is at stake. See more in this clip from Season 1, Episode 1, "Alexander the Great."

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Isthmus of Corinth

Thousands of years before modern railroads appeared, the Diolkos stone road featured a section of grooved tracks and spanned across the Isthmus of Corinth.

Macedonian Army developed by Philip II

Here's how Alexander, one of history's most iconic military leaders, grew the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia and conquered the Persian Empire.

A black-and-white engraving of a man stretched out on the bed of a torture device

Some instruments of torture, like the rack, were real. Others were likely made up to help perpetuate the myth of the medieval 'Dark Ages.'

Herma of Hermes, 1st century. Ancient Greek objects.

These eight objects played a role in the daily lives of people living in the cradle of Western civilization nearly 3,000 years ago.

Colosseum in Rome, Italy.

Ancient Greek and Roman stadiums were built to impress—and their designs are seen in many college football stadiums today.

Athena presides over the voting for the award of the arms of Achilles, c. 490 BC. Found in the collection of the Art History Museum, Vienne. Artist Duris (Douris), (Vase painter) (ca. 505-465 BC). (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

In Athens and Rome, voting could entail shouting contests, secret stone ballots and an election system with built-in bias for the wealthy.

Ancient Greek Sports. Three nude athletes are depicted competing in a foot-race on an ancient Greek amphora. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Ancient Greek athletes competed in individual sports that placed physical prowess on display.

Tailgating 1940s style in Chicago, ca. 1944Tailgating 1940s style in Chicago, ca. 1944 (Photo by Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis via Getty Images)

The ritual grew as ownership of automobiles and then mass production of portable grills and plastic coolers soared.

Athens developed a system in which every free Athenian man had a vote in the Assembly.

From naked athletes to foot-only races, these are 10 surprising facts you didn’t know about the ancient Olympics.

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Everyone makes mistakes, but the people on this list made epic blunders that will never be forgotten. From Prohibition to the Trojan Horse, check out eight of the worst decisions in history.

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Did Alexander the Great Order His Father’s Murder?

Philip II of Macedon's bodyguard—and former lover—wielded the knife. But 21-year-old Alexander, heir to the powerful king, quickly fell under suspicion.

How Ancient Sparta's Harsh Military System Trained Boys Into Fierce Warriors

The Greek city-state imposed brutal training and contests that began at age 7.

Battle of Issus between Alexander the Great and Darius and the Perisan Empire

Alexander used both military and political cunning to finally unseat the Persian superpower.

This icon of classical architecture perched atop the Acropolis has dominated the Athens skyline for 2,500 years.

The Death of Alexander the Great

“His death may be the most famous case of pseudothanatos, or false diagnosis of death, ever recorded.”

Temples and monuments built in ancient Greece were so commanding, their ruins remain impressive thousands of years later.

HISTORY: Ancient Greek Democracy

Democracy in ancient Greece, introduced by the Athenian leader Cleisthenes, established voting rights for citizens, a supervising council and a jury system.

Extraordinary strength of Milo of Croton, engraving from "Le Rollin de la jeunesse ou Morceaux choisis des Histoires Ancienne et Romaine," 1816.

Milo of Croton reportedly ate 20 pounds of meat and drank 18 pints of wine a day to maintain his muscular physique.

The Tholos of Athena at Delphi, her temple within the sanctuary, 4th century B.C.

Delphi was an ancient religious sanctuary dedicated to the Greek god Apollo. Said to be the center of the world, the site was also home to the Oracle of Delphi.

Ancient Greek city of Mycenae as it was during the Heroic Age

Mycenae is the site of an ancient city in Peloponnese, Greece. The center of a Bronze Age civilization, Mycenae also featured prominently in Greek mythology.

macedonia

Macedonia is a historic region that spans northern Greece and the Balkan Peninsula and was once the center of a sprawling empire under Alexander the Great.

Bezoars are small stones which form in the stomachs or intestines of certain animals, this one from a goat, which were used as a remedy against many diseases. (Credit: SSPL/Getty Images)

Symbols, amulets and other talismans from around the globe.

HISTORY: The Parthenon

The Parthenon is a marble temple built atop the Acropolis in Athens during the classical age of ancient Greece. Its Elgin Marbles are now housed in the British Museum.

Ephesus, an ancient port city in modern-day Turkey, was once an important trading center in the Mediterranean region and home of the famed Temple of Artemis.

HISTORY: Acropolis

The Acropolis of Athens, Greece, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has been home to kings, religious festivals and temples like the Parthenon since the Bronze Age.

Everyone knows how the Trojan War ended: with a bunch of guys piling out of a giant horse. But the events of the war itself have been debated extensively, and the actual truth is still largely unknown. All we have to go on is myth.

1:36m watch

Get an overview of the ancient leaders who oversaw the expansion and growth of civilizations around the world.

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Terra Cotta Army

Archaeologists working on the famed Terra Cotta Army in China believe their lifelike appearance could have been modeled on ancient Greek sculptures.

These pioneering writers authored some of the earliest works of history.

A musical instrument is among diverse artifacts displayed together with six funerary mummy bundles belonging to the Wari Culture dug by archaeologists at a pre-Inca complex modernly known as the Cajamarquilla archeological center on the western outskirts of Lima

Music is likely as old as humanity. But when was the first song recorded in history?

Aerial view of the archaeological site at Selinunte.  (Credit: Folco Quilici/Folco Quilici © Fratelli Alinari/Alinari Archives/Alinari via Getty Images)

Much like at Pompeii, archaeologists uncovering the ancient Greek city of Selinunte have found a once-thriving metropolis frozen in time.

venus de milo, ancient greece

One of the most famous examples of ancient Greek sculpture, the Venus de Milo is immediately recognizable by its missing arms and popularly believed to represent Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, who was known to the Romans as Venus. The artwork was discovered in 1820 on the Aegean island of Melos (also […]

Greek “Alala” and “Eleleu”

From medieval knights to Japanese kamikaze pilots, soldiers throughout history have yelled out intimidating and inspiring rallying cries.

Voting

The term democracy, which means “rule by the people,” was coined by the Greeks of ancient Athens to describe their city-state’s system of self-rule, which reached its golden age around 430 B.C. under the skilled orator and politician Pericles. It is probable that the Athenians were not the first group of people to adopt such […]

Marathon runners

It has to do with ancient Greek mythology, the Olympics and the British royal family.

Battle of Issus between Alexander the Great and Darius and the Perisan Empire

It's not always possible to separate fact and fiction about the famed ancient Macedonian ruler, but here are eight great takeaways from Alexander’s life.

Homer, the Greek epic poet who is credited with the 'Iliad' and the 'Odyssey', circa 850 BC.

From Britain’s most beloved outlaw to the founder of Sparta, find out more about six historical figures whose existence remains up for debate.

The Hanging Gardens of Ancient Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

An Oxford researcher says she has found evidence of the elusive Hanging Gardens of Babylon—300 miles from Babylon.

From fitness tests for infants to state-sponsored hazing, find out why these ancient Greek warriors had a rough go of it.

UNSPECIFIED - : Ancient Olympic Games: the relay race. Runners had to keep alight the flame and hand it to their fellows.This 1922 reconstruction shows runner protecting flame with shield. Chromolithograph. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Although shrouded in myth, the ancient Olympics were surprisingly similar to the modern Olympic Games.

Greek archaeologists report that budget cuts have placed the country’s cultural heritage at risk.

The Wrath Of AchillesThe Wrath of Achilles. Found in the Collection of École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The warrior Achilles is one of the great heroes of Greek mythology. According to legend, Achilles was extraordinarily strong, courageous and loyal, but he had one vulnerability–his “Achilles heel.” Homer’s epic poem the Iliad tells the story of his adventures during the last year of the Trojan War.

Marble statue of Hercules and the Erymanthian boar, 2nd century

Hercules was a hero of Greek and Roman mythology. He succeeds at completing 12 labors of incredible difficulty, securing his eternal immortality with the gods.

Athena presides over the voting for the award of the arms of Achilles, c. 490 BC. Found in the collection of the Art History Museum, Vienne. Artist Duris (Douris), (Vase painter) (ca. 505-465 BC). (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

Ancient Greek art flourished around 450 B.C., when Athenian general Pericles used public money to support the city-state’s artists and thinkers. Pericles paid artisans to build temples and other public buildings in the city of Athens.

The Parthenon...GREECE - CIRCA 2003: The Parthenon, Acropolis of Athens (Unesco World Heritage List, 1987), Greece. Greek civilisation, 5th century BC. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Ancient Greece, the birthplace of democracy, was the source of some of the greatest literature, architecture, science and philosophy in Western civilization, and home to stunning historical sites like the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

A statue of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus was a Greek writer credited with being the first historian. Sometime around 425 B.C., he published The Histories, an inquiry into the Greco-Persian Wars.

The Hellenistic period lasted from 323 B.C. until 31 B.C. Alexander the Great built an empire that stretched from Greece all the way to India, and his campaign changed the world: It spread Greek ideas and culture from the Eastern Mediterranean to Asia.

People visit the archaeological site of Elefsina (Eleusis) on December 13, 2022, which will become European Capital of Culture 2023. - For some 12 centuries, the historic city situated some 18 kilometres (11 miles) northwest of Athens was home to the sanctuary of Eleusis, one of the most important religious centres of both ancient Greece and Rome.

Classical Greece, a period between the Persian Wars and the death of Alexander the Great, was marked by conflict as well as political and cultural achievements.

Engraving After The Trojan Horse by Henri Paul MotteTHE TROJAN HORSE. AFTER A PAINTING BY HENRI MOTTE, CORCORAN GALLERY, WASHINGTON D.C.

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

Leonidas at Thermopylae' (1814). Leonidas (dc480 BC) king of Sparta from 491 BC. Held pass at Thermopylae for 3 days with 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians against the Persian army. Leonidas and his followers all died. Jacques Louis David (1748-1825) French ...UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1754: Leonidas at Thermopylae' (1814). Leonidas (dc480 BC) king of Sparta from 491 BC. Held pass at Thermopylae for 3 days with 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians against the Persian army. Leonidas and his followers all died. Jacques Louis David (1748-1825) French painter. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Leonidas (c. 530-480 B.C.) was a king of the city-state of Sparta from about 490 B.C. until his death at the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persian army in 480 B.C. Although Leonidas lost the battle, his death at Thermopylae was seen as a heroic sacrifice because he sent most of his army away when he realized that the Persians had outmaneuvered him. Three hundred of his fellow Spartans stayed with him to fight to the end and die.

Ancient Greece scene. Antic vase with silhouettes of mythology characters and gods, Vector legendary Greek people mythological pattern old culture with woman and man in toga with lyre and amphora.

Greek mythology, and its ancient stories of gods, goddesses, heroes and monsters, is one of the oldest and most influential groups of legends in human civilization.

King Leonidas, Sparta

Sparta was a military city-state in ancient Greece that achieved regional power after Spartan warriors won the Peloponnesian War against the rival city of Athens.

Austria, Vienna, Statue of Thucydides the Greek philosopher in front of Parliament building. (Photo by: Eye Ubiquitous/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

One of the greatest ancient historians, Thucydides (c.460 B.C.–c.400 B.C.) chronicled nearly 30 years of war and tension between Athens and Sparta. His “History of the Peloponnesian War” was a defining text of the historical genre. Unlike his near-contemporary Herodotus, Thucydides’ topic was his own time.

Socrates is one of the most exemplary and strangest of Greek philosophers who helped pave the way for other prominent thinkers including Plato and Aristotle.

Detail, Raphael's Vatican fresco 'School of Athens' featuring Plato and Aristotle

The Athenian philosopher Plato (c.428-347 B.C.) is one of the most important figures of the Ancient Greek world and the entire history of Western thought. In his written dialogues he conveyed and expanded on the ideas and techniques of his teacher Socrates.

Pericles (c. 495-429 BC.) was a prominent and influential Greek statesman, orator and general of Athens during the Golden Age. From Hutchinson's History of the Nations, published 1915.

Pericles was a 5th century B.C. Athenian general and statesman who raised the grand structures of the Acropolis and turned his city's alliances into an empire.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great was an ancient Macedonian ruler and one of history’s greatest military minds who before his death established a powerful, immense empire.

Aristotle

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was a Greek philosopher who made significant and lasting contributions to nearly every aspect of human knowledge, from logic to biology to ethics and aesthetics.

Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was fought for nearly a half-century between Athens and Sparta, ancient Greece’s leading city-states.

HISTORY: The Battle of Marathon

The Battle of Marathon in northeastern Attica is one of history's earliest recorded battles. The fighting in 490 B.C. marked the first blows of the Greco-Persian War. The victory of “the Marathon men” captured the collective imagination of the Greeks, with the tale of the messenger running 25 miles to Athens to deliver the news fueling the creation of the modern marathon.