Designed for scholars, students, and the general reader, this compilation of essays shows how Classical civilizations have shaped human endeavors from art to government, mathematics to medicine, drama to urban planning, legal theory to popular culture.
Represents the first comprehensive reference work encompassing the world and artistry of Homer, the historical and cultural background of the Iliad and the Odyssey, Homeric scholarship, and Homeric reception from antiquity to the present.
Ceremonies in honour of the Greek deities Demeter, goddess of corn, and her daughter Persephone, queen of the underworld, celebrated in the precincts of the temple of Demeter at Eleusis, in the territory of Athens.
Held in honor of Zeus in the city of Olympia for four days every fourth summer, the Olympic games were the oldest and most prestigious of four great ancient Greek athletic festivals.
The Acropolis of Athens was a ceremonial site beginning in the Neolithic Period. The area was adorned during the time of Cimon and Pericles with some of the world's greatest architectural and sculptural monuments.
Ancient country, roughly equivalent to the modern region of Macedonia. In the history of Greek culture Macedon had its single significance in producing the conquerors and armies who created the Hellenistic empires and civilizations.
Temple sacred to Athena, on the acropolis at Athens. Built under Pericles between 447 B.C. and 432 B.C., it is the culminating masterpiece of Greek architecture.
Term originating in ancient Greece to designate a government where the people share in directing the activities of the state, as distinct from governments controlled by a single class, select group, or autocrat.
[Gr.,=to reflect], philosophic position holding that the possibility of knowledge is limited either because of the limitations of the mind or because of the inaccessibility of its object.
School of philosophy which taught that only by putting aside passion, unjust thoughts, and indulgence and by performing duty with the right disposition can people attain true freedom and rule as lords over their own lives.
War fought 431-404 BC between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies, involving most of the Greek world from Asia Minor to Sicily and from Byzantium (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) to Crete.
The mythical Trojan War probably reflected a real war (c.1200 B.C.) between the invading Greeks and the people of Troas, possibly over control of trade through the Dardanelles.
Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor. He is famous for his work in geometry (on the circle, sphere, cylinder, and parabola), physics, mechanics, and hydrostatics.
Philosopher; particularly made his mark in the application of his theories of the universe to everyday morality and the simple goal of living a good life.
Greek philosopher; defined philosophy as the art of making life happy and strictly subordinated metaphysics to ethics, naming pleasure as the highest and only good.
Greek mathematician (fl. 300 B.C.) whose works, and the style in which they were presented, formed the basis for all mathematical thought and expression for the following 2,000 years (although they were not entirely without fault).
Greek tragic dramatist, ranking with Aeschylus and Sophocles. Born in Attica, he lived in Athens most of his life, though he spent much time on Salamis.
Called the Father of History. ?485-?425 BC, Greek historian, famous for his History dealing with the causes and events of the wars between the Greeks and the Persians (490-479).
Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, founder of the Pythagorean school, best known for two teachings: the transmigration of souls and the theory that numbers constitute the true nature of things.
Greek philosopher of Athens. Famous for his view of philosophy as a pursuit proper and necessary to all intelligent men, he is one of the great examples of a man who lived by his principles even though they ultimately cost him his life.
Greek historian, b. Athens. He was one of the well-to-do young disciples of Socrates before leaving Athens to join the Greek force (the Ten Thousand) that was in the service of Cyrus the Younger of Persia.
The Classical Tradition
The Homer Encyclopedia
Greek philosopher. Plato's teachings have been among the most influential in the history of Western civilization.