ancient greece & ancient rome essay

Comparing and Contrasting Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome

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Both Greece and ancient Roman Empire had climates similar enough latitudinally for both to grow wine and olives. However, their terrains were quite different. The ancient Greek city-states were separated from each other by hilly countryside and all were near the water. Rome was inland, on one side of the  Tiber River , but the Italic tribes (in the boot-shaped peninsula that is now Italy) did not have the natural hilly borders to keep them out of Rome.

In Italy, around Naples,  Mt. Vesuvius  produced fertile land by blanketing the soil with tephra which aged into rich soil. There were also two nearby mountain ranges to the north (Alps) and east (Apennine).

Below, six elements to consider when looking at ancient Greece vs ancient Rome and the Greeks vs Romans in general.

Greek art is considered superior to the "merely" imitative or decorative Roman art; indeed much art we think of as Greek is actually a Roman copy of a Greek original. It is often pointed out that the goal of the classical Greek sculptors was to produce an ideal art form, whereas the goal of Roman artists was to produce realistic portraits, often for decoration. This is an obvious oversimplification.

Not all Roman art imitated the Greek forms, and not all Greek art looks terribly realistic or impractical. Much Greek art adorned utilitarian objects, just as Roman art adorned the living spaces. Greek art is divided into the Mycenaean, geometric, archaic, and Hellenistic periods, in addition to its peak in the Classical period. During the Hellenistic period , there was demand for copies of earlier art, and so it too can be described as imitative.

We typically associate sculptures like the Venus de Milo  with Greece, and mosaics and frescoes (wall paintings) with Ancient Rome. Of course, the masters of both cultures worked on various mediums beyond these. Greek pottery, for instance, was a popular import in Italy.

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The economy of ancient cultures, including both Greek and Roman, was based on agriculture. Greeks ideally lived on small self-sufficient wheat-producing farms, but bad agricultural practices made many households incapable of feeding themselves. Big estates took over, producing wine and olive oil, which were also the chief exports of the Romans—not too surprisingly, given their shared geographical conditions and the popularity of these two necessities.

The Romans, who imported their wheat and annexed provinces that could provide them with this all-important staple, also farmed, but they also engaged in trade. (It is thought that the Greeks considered trade degrading.) As Rome developed into an urban center, writers compared the simplicity/boorishness/moral high ground of the country's pastoral/farming life with the politically charged, trade-based life of a city-center dweller. 

Manufacturing was also an urban occupation. Both Greece and Rome worked mines. While Greece also had enslaved people, the economy of Rome was dependent on labor of enslaved people from the expansion until the late Empire . Both cultures had coinage. Rome debased its currency to fund the Empire.

Social Class

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The social classes of ancient Greece and ancient Rome changed over time, but the basic divisions of early Athens and Rome consisted of free and freedmen, enslaved people, foreigners, and women. Only some of these groups were counted as citizens.

• Enslaved people

Role of Women

In Athens, according to the literature of stereotypes, women were valued for abstaining from gossip, for managing the household and, most of all, for producing legitimate children. The aristocratic woman was secluded in the women's quarter and had to be accompanied in public places. She could own, but not sell her property. The Athenian woman was subject to her father, and even after marriage, he could ask for her return.

The Athenian woman was not a citizen. The Roman woman was legally subject to the paterfamilias , whether the dominant male in her household of birth or the household of her husband. She could own and dispose of property and go about as she wished. From epigraphy, we read that a Roman woman was valued for piety, modesty, maintenance of harmony, and being a one-man woman. The Roman woman could be a Roman citizen.

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The father of the family was dominant and could decide whether or not to keep a newborn child. The paterfamilias was the Roman head of the household. Adult sons with families of their own were still subject to their own father if he was the paterfamilias . In the Greek family household (both oikos) , the situation was more what we consider the nuclear family. Sons could legally challenge the competence of their fathers.

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Originally, kings ruled Athens; then an oligarchy (rule by the few), and then democracy (voting by the citizens). City-states joined together to form leagues that came into conflict, weakening Greece and leading to its conquest by the Macedonian kings and later, the Roman Empire.

Kings also originally governed Rome. Then Rome, observing what was happening elsewhere in the world, eliminated them. It established a mixed Republican form of government, combining elements of democracy, oligarchy, and monarchy, In time, rule by one returned to Rome, but in a new, initially constitutionally-sanctioned form that we know as Roman emperors. The Roman Empire split apart and, in the West, eventually reverted to small kingdoms. 

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Comparison of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome

It is a well-known fact that ancient Greece and Rome laid the foundation for contemporary western civilization, having developed the fundamental ideas and concepts of philosophy and political rule. Nevertheless, both countries had explicit differences in cultural characteristics regarding social life, religion, life values, architecture, and economics. Thus, this paper aims at comparing and contrasting ancient Greece and ancient Rome in terms of the principles of government, art, economy, and religion.

Initially, most of the cities of ancient Greece, including Athens, were ruled by kings and oligarchies. However, in time, this ruling order was altered to democracy, which lasted to Greece’s conquest by Rome (Gill, 2020). This form of government is associated with the power of people that have voting right during elections of strategists and making a decision. It should be indicated that only adult male representatives of the nation had voting rights and the right to be elected. In contrast, the early history of Rome is marked by the epoch of the first Roman kings, which was replaced by a specific republican form of government that combined oligarchy, democracy, and monarchy altogether (Gill, 2020). In particular, the Republican period was determined by the political and, sometimes, military struggle between aristocrats represented by patricians and plebeians, that is, small landowners. It should be specified that the formers were eligible to enter the Senate that elects consuls, while the latter have their officials, namely, tribunes (Vaneza, 2019). Lately, with the arrival of Julius Caesar, the monarchy changed the republican form of government, lasting until the fall of the Roman Empire.

The economy of most ancient cultures, including both Greece and Rome, was based on agriculture. Ancient Greeks ran small self-sufficient farms, mainly producing wheat, wine, and olive oil (Gill, 2020). Moreover, since ancient Greece had direct access to the Mediterranean Sea, it actively took part in that overseas trade, exporting, along with olive oil and wine, and pottery, luxury, to Mediterranean countries, such as Rome Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Carthage. Besides, Greece’s international trade was promoted by its nets of colonies and outposts that, ultimately, became independent countries. Regarding Rome, its distinctive feature in business was the import of wheat, despite having its developed agriculture, luxury, silver, ivory from Greece, Africa, and the Middle East (Vaneza, 2019). Both countries also have highly-developed urban craft industries, manufacturing glass, cloth, pottery, metalwork, and ships (Gill, 2020). Finally, slave labor contributed to the economic growth of ancient Greece and Rome.

Greek art is regarded as superior in those times since most states, including Rome, if not copied, then imitated Greek samples of artwork. Greeks keenly valued the ideal of beauty, reflecting this idea on sculptures, architecture, and pictures (Vaneza, 2019). The purpose of the classical Greek sculptors was to make a perfect art form, while Roman artists aimed to create realistic portraits that symbolized glory and power, primarily for decoration (Gill, 2020). Besides, Greeks had established the fundamental concepts of math, geometry, medicine, and astrology, and ancient Rome considerably contributed to these achievements, notably to math and geometry.

Religion played a huge role for the Greeks since no country in the world had such gods that were so related to man. Overall, there were twelve gods endowed with all human weaknesses, and they often condescended to poor humanity and took part in its fate. The myth was the cornerstone of Greek civilization, creating a holistic image of the world in which everything had its meaning, place, and explanation. The Romans paid high significance to the worship of their gods, among which were Jupiter, Mars, Minerva, and Juno. It also should be added that the Romans were keenly interested in the faiths of other nations and permitted related followers to perform their rituals in all points of the vast Roman Empire.

Gill, N.S. (2020). Comparing and contrasting ancient Greece and ancient Rome. ThoughtCo . Web.

Vaneza, M. (2019). Ancient Rome and ancient Greece. Connections Academy . Web.

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Home — Essay Samples — Business — Comparative Analysis — Compare and Contrast Analysis of Roman and Greek Culture

Compare and Contrast Analysis of Roman and Greek Culture

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Words: 1228 |

Published: Dec 3, 2020

Words: 1228 | Pages: 3 | 7 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, art and architecture, literature and philosophy, politics and social structures, works cited, ancient greek art, ancient roman art, ancient greek literature and philosophy, ancient roman literature and philosophy, ancient greek politics and social structures, ancient roman politics and social structures.

• Boardman, J. (1996). The Greeks Overseas: Their Early Colonies and Trade. Thames & Hudson.
• Cartledge, P. (2016). Ancient Greece: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
• Cartledge, P. (2018). Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece. Pan Macmillan.
• Grant, M. (2007). History of Rome. Faber & Faber.
• Jones, A. H. M. (1964). The Later Roman Empire 284–602: A Social, Economic, and Administrative Survey. JHU Press.
• Kleiner, F. S. (2010). A history of Roman art. Cengage Learning.
• Krentz, P. (2010). The Battle of Marathon. Yale University Press.
• Lendon, J. E. (2013). Song of Wrath: The Peloponnesian War Begins. Basic Books.
• McInerney, J. (2008). A Companion to Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean. John Wiley & Sons.
• Walbank, F. W. (1984). The Hellenistic World. Harvard University Press.

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The post-Mycenaean period and Lefkandi

• The Olympic Games
• Overseas projects
• The beginnings of the polis
• The sources
• Bacchiadae and Eupatridae
• Symposia and gymnasia
• Formal relationships
• The Lelantine War
• The decline of the aristocracy
• Changes in warfare
• The early tyrannies
• The distinctiveness of Sparta
• The helot factor
• The Peloponnesian League
• The distinctiveness of Athens
• The Peisistratid tyranny
• The reforms of Cleisthenes
• Intermarriage between the great houses
• Poetry and art
• International influences
• The Ionian revolt
• Economic factors
• Political factors
• Athenian support of Ionia
• Sparta’s foreign relations
• The role of Cleomenes
• The Battle of Marathon
• The appointment of archons
• The system of ostracism
• Greek preparations for war
• Greek alliances
• Thermopylae
• The fortification of Athens
• The ambition of Pausanias
• Paying tribute to Athens
• Strains on Greek unity
• Cimon’s actions
• Athens’s moves against other Greeks
• Athens’s moves northward
• Sparta’s responses
• Legal reforms
• Political reforms
• The rejection of Cimon
• Friction between Athens and Corinth
• The subjugation of Aegina
• The scale of Athenian ambition
• Sparta’s resistance
• Peace with Persia
• Economic sources of resentment
• Political and legal sources of resentment
• The Euboean revolt
• Greek communities in Italy and Sicily
• Sparta’s role
• Continuing strife
• Mytilene and Plataea
• Speculation and unease
• Spartan calls for peace
• Cleon’s influence
• Spartan recovery
• Entanglement with Persia
• Harsh treatment of Melos
• The Sicilian disaster
• The second phase of the war, 413–404
• The effect of the Persian Wars on philosophy
• The rise of democracy
• Hippocrates and the fluidity of genres
• Greek tragedy
• The liturgy system
• Military technology
• Dionysius I of Syracuse
• The Corinthian War
• The King’s Peace
• Spartan adventures
• The Second Athenian Confederacy
• Theban expansion
• Athens and Thebes
• The rise of Macedon
• Macedonian supremacy in Greece
• Alexander and the Greeks
• Alexander in Egypt
• To the Persian Gates
• The conquest of Bactria and the Indus valley
• The final phase
• Historical writings
• Architecture and sculpture
• Social and commercial exchanges
• Organized settlements

Is ancient Greece a country?

Was ancient greece a democracy, why is ancient greece important.

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• What did Plato do?

ancient Greek civilization

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No, ancient Greece was a civilization. The Greeks had cultural traits, a religion , and a language in common, though they spoke many dialects. The basic political unit was the city-state . Conflict between city-states was common, but they were capable of banding together against a common enemy, as they did during the Persian Wars (492–449 BCE). Powerful city-states such as Athens and Sparta exerted influence beyond their borders but never controlled the entire Greek-speaking world.

Where was ancient Greece located?

Ancient Greek civilization was concentrated in what is today Greece and along the western coast of Turkey . However, ancient Greek colonists established cities all around the Mediterranean and along the coast of the Black Sea .

Each ancient Greek city-state had its own government. Common forms of government included tyranny and oligarchy . In 507 BCE, under the leadership of  Cleisthenes , the citizens of Athens began to develop a system of popular rule that they called democracy , which would last nearly two centuries. In their governing body, the Assembly ( Ecclesia ), all adult male citizens, perhaps 10 to 15 percent of the total population, were eligible to vote.

When did ancient Greece start and end?

Ancient Greek civilization flourished from the period following  Mycenaean  civilization, which ended about 1200 BCE, to the death of  Alexander the Great , in 323 BCE. By that time, Greek cultural influence had spread around the Mediterranean and, through Alexander the Great’s campaign of conquest, as far afield as India.

The political, philosophical, artistic, and scientific achievements of ancient Greek civilization formed a legacy with unparalleled influence on Western civilization. Greek political ideas have influenced modern forms of government, Greek pottery and sculpture have inspired artists for millennia, and Greek epic, lyric, and dramatic poetry is still read around the world.

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ancient Greek civilization , the period following Mycenaean civilization, which ended about 1200 bce , to the death of Alexander the Great , in 323 bce . It was a period of political, philosophical, artistic, and scientific achievements that formed a legacy with unparalleled influence. The larger historical period spanning from the output of ancient Greek author Homer in the 8th century bce to the decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th century ce is known as " Classical antiquity ," encompassing Greco-Roman culture , playing a major role in the Mediterranean sphere of influence and in the creation of Western civilization, and shaping areas as diverse as law , architecture , art , language , poetry , rhetoric , politics, and philosophy .

The early Archaic period

The period between the catastrophic end of the Mycenaean civilization and about 900 bce is often called a Dark Age . It was a time about which Greeks of the Classical age had confused and actually false notions. Thucydides , the great ancient historian of the 5th century bce , wrote a sketch of Greek history from the Trojan War to his own day, in which he notoriously fails, in the appropriate chapter, to signal any kind of dramatic rupture. (He does, however, speak of Greece “settling down gradually” and colonizing Italy , Sicily , and what is now western Turkey . This surely implies that Greece was settling down after something.) Thucydides does indeed display sound knowledge of the series of migrations by which Greece was resettled in the post-Mycenaean period. The most famous of these was the “ Dorian invasion ,” which the Greeks called, or connected with, the legendary “return of the descendants of Heracles .” Although much about that invasion is problematic—it left little or no archaeological trace at the point in time where tradition puts it—the problems are of no concern here. Important for the understanding of the Archaic and Classical periods, however, is the powerful belief in Dorianism as a linguistic and religious concept. Thucydides casually but significantly mentions soldiers speaking the “Doric dialect” in a narrative about ordinary military matters in the year 426. That is a surprisingly abstract way of looking at the subdivisions of the Greeks, because it would have been more natural for a 5th-century Greek to identify soldiers by home cities. Equally important to the understanding of this period is the hostility to Dorians , usually on the part of Ionians , another linguistic and religious subgroup, whose most-famous city was Athens . So extreme was this hostility that Dorians were prohibited from entering Ionian sanctuaries; extant today is a 5th-century example of such a prohibition, an inscription from the island of Paros .

Phenomena such as the tension between Dorians and Ionians that have their origins in the Dark Age are a reminder that Greek civilization did not emerge either unannounced or uncontaminated by what had gone before. The Dark Age itself is beyond the scope of this article. One is bound to notice, however, that archaeological finds tend to call into question the whole concept of a Dark Age by showing that certain features of Greek civilization once thought not to antedate about 800 bce can actually be pushed back by as much as two centuries. One example, chosen for its relevance to the emergence of the Greek city-state , or polis , will suffice . In 1981 archaeology pulled back the curtain on the “darkest” phase of all, the Protogeometric Period ( c. 1075–900 bce ), which takes its name from the geometric shapes painted on pottery . A grave, rich by the standards of any period, was uncovered at a site called Lefkandi on Euboea , the island along the eastern flank of Attica (the territory controlled by Athens). The grave, which dates to about 1000 bce , contains the (probably cremated) remains of a man and a woman. The large bronze vessel in which the man’s ashes were deposited came from Cyprus , and the gold items buried with the woman are splendid and sophisticated in their workmanship. Remains of horses were found as well; the animals had been buried with their snaffle bits. The grave was within a large collapsed house, whose form anticipates that of the Greek temples two centuries later. Previously it had been thought that those temples were one of the first manifestations of the “monumentalizing” associated with the beginnings of the city-state. Thus, that find and those made in a set of nearby cemeteries in the years before 1980 attesting further contacts between Egypt and Cyprus between 1000 and 800 bce are important evidence. They show that one corner of one island of Greece, at least, was neither impoverished nor isolated in a period usually thought to have been both. The difficulty is to know just how exceptional Lefkandi was, but in any view it has revised former ideas about what was and what was not possible at the beginning of the 1st millennium bce .

From the Stone Age to Roman domination: The history of Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is one of the most famous civilisations in all of European history. For almost 1000 years, it was a major cultural force in the Mediterranean region, and its legacy can be seen in the art, literature, philosophy, and politics of the modern world.

In this article, we will look at the key events in the history of ancient Greece.

Greece is a country in south-eastern Europe, known in Greek as Hellas . The English name 'Greece' comes from the Latin word 'Graecia', which means 'the land of the Greeks'. 

The ancient Greece culture spread over a large area that including parts of the mainland of present-day Greece, as well as the Peloponnese peninsula.

Greece also includes an archipelago of islands, since t he Mediterranean Sea surrounded ancient Greece on three sides.

As a result, the regions considered to be part of the Greek world included many islands, including Crete, Rhodes, and Cyprus.

The climate in ancient Greece was varied depending on the location. For example, it was typically hot and dry in the southern areas, while the northern areas were cooler and wetter.

In particular, Greece's landscape was typically made up of mountains, woods, and cultivated fields.

Although around 80 percent of the country is made up of mountains and a  limited number of rivers cut through this rocky terrain.

Due to these factors, much of the land was not particularly suited for large scale agriculture to support city populations.

As a result, conflict between different city-states for control of natural resources was a common part of ancient Greek life.

What were the earliest Greek civilisations?

In the early Neolithic Age, the first farming societies began to develop in Greece in around 6000 BC.

These societies appear to have consisted of migrants from the region of Anatolia.

Such early civilisations were small, and they only grew enough crops for their own immediate needs. 

However, it was the Minoans that were the first great civilisation in Greece. They lived on the island of Crete, and they flourished from around 2000-1450 BC.

It is often referred to as the Minoan civilisation because it was named after the mythical King Minos who was said to have ruled over Crete. 

The Minoans became well-known for their artistry, especially in pottery and sculpture.

They also developed a mysterious and complex system of writing called Linear A, which has not yet been deciphered.

Eventually, the Minoan civilisation declined due to a range of factors, including a volcanic eruption on the island of Thera (Santorini).

This triggered a tsunami which caused by the eruption, which appears to have played an equally important role in causing widespread destruction across many Minoan settlements.

Then, in around 1400 BC, the next early Greek culture, known as the Mycenaean civilisation, began to develop in mainland Greece.

The Mycenaeans were influenced by the earlier Minoans, and they also developed a similar system of writing, called Linear B.

Unlike Linear A, this script has been successfully deciphered and has been shown to be an early form of the Greek language.

The Mycenaeans were a warlike people, and they are known for their magnificent palaces and fortifications.

However, just like the Minoans, the Mycenaean civilisation collapsed. This time, it seems that it was caused by economic decline, drought, and invasion.

The Greek Dark Age

Around 1100 BC, it is thought that the Dorian people invaded mainland Greece from the north.

They conquered the Mycenaean civilisation and ushered in a new period in Greek history, known as the Dark Ages.

It is called this because very little is known about what happened during this time and, as such, we are 'left in the dark' about important details.

It is thought that there was a significant decline in population and a decrease in trade due to collapse of the Mycenaean civilization.

However, archaeological evidence shows that progress was still being made during this time, including Greeks beginning to colonize small parts of Asia Minor.

Around 800 BC, the first signs of widespread recovery began to appear. At Delphi, in central Greece, a shrine dedicated to the god Apollo was built, and quickly became the most famous religious site in ancient Greece.

Known as the Delphic Oracle, it became a popular place for Greeks to seek advice from the god about their future and their day-to-day concerns. 

The Archaic Period

The Archaic Period is the name given to the time period in Greece from around 800 to 480 BC.

It was during this time that the Greeks began to establish much more substantial colonies around the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts.

The Greeks also started to develop their own form of government, art, and literature.

Some of the most famous pieces of Greek literature from this period are the Iliad and the  Odyssey , both written by the poet Homer.

During the Archaic Period, political systems also began to change. Previously, monarchies had been the most common form of government across the Greek world.

However, during this time, city-states began to develop ideas that favoured a republican-style system which allowed more people to be involved in political life.

The most famous city-state was Athens , which developed the first version of democracy.

The Classical Period

This was followed by the Classical Period, which lasted from around 480 to 323 BC. This is often referred to as the 'golden age' of ancient Greece.

The Greeks continued to expand their empire and their influence spread throughout Europe and Asia.

Greek art, literature, and culture was at its peak during this period. 

Most importantly, it saw the rise of Athens following the Persian defeat in 480 BC at the end of the Persian Wars .

The defeat brought about a period of peace and prosperity, and culture grew due to improved finances and stability.

The city-state of Athens, which possessed a powerful navy, was able to demand and enforce tributes from other city-states.

As a result, Athens established the Delian League in 478 BC, a defensive alliance whose stated goal was to hinder future Persian invasions.

However, Sparta  became worried about the Athenians and established its own organization for protection against their rivals: the Peloponnesian League (named after the Peloponnese region where Sparta and the other cities were located).

The city-states that sided with Sparta began to see Athens as a threat to peaceful cooperation between the Greeks.

These two groups eventually clashed in the Peloponnesian War , which lasted from 431 to 404 BC.

This conflict was fought between Athens and Sparta, with each side invading the other's territories and allies.

Ultimately, the war resulted in the defeat of Athens and the end of its empire. 

Despite losing the war, Athens remained an important center of culture and philosophy.

In contrast, Sparta became the dominant military power in Greece, but it was short-lived.

In 371 BC, Thebes defeated Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra and ended its reign.

Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Period

After the rise of Thebes, there were a number of wars between different city-states in Greece.

These wars led to the rise of Macedon, a powerful state in the north of Greece.

Macedon was ruled by Alexander the Great's father, Philip II .  In 338 BC, Philip II conquered almost all of the city-states in Greece and established the League of Corinth.

This made Macedonia the most powerful state in Greece. However, Philip then died, and his son took the throne.

Then, in 334 BC, Alexander the Great , invaded Persia. This was a massive empire that included present-day Turkey, Iran, and Egypt.

Alexander conquered all of these territories and established the largest empire in the world at that time, reaching as far east as India.

The rapid spread of Alexander's kingdom also facilitated the spread of Greek culture throughout the eastern Mediterranean world.

After Alexander's death in 323 BC, his empire was divided up between his generals.

As a consequence, Ancient Greece entered a period of decline during the Hellenistic Period.

The Hellenistic Period is the name given to the time from around 323 to 31 BC.

For almost 300 years, competing Greek kingdoms exhausted themselves trying to defeat each other.

The Roman Period

Ancient Greece finally came to an end around 146 BC when the Roman Empire conquered most of the region.

The key moment occurred in 31 BC, when the Roman emperor Augustus defeated the last Greek kingdom: Egypt, ruled by Cleopatra.

This effectively ended Greek independence as Rome became the dominant power in the Mediterranean.

Ultimately, Greece was made a province of Rome until the Roman Empire also fell over 400 years later.

While ancient Greece technically came to an end with the Roman conquest, Greek culture continued to influence the world for many centuries afterwards.

In fact, the Romans adopted much of Greek culture and spread it throughout their own empire.

And even today, we can still see the influence of ancient Greece in our own culture.

From art and architecture to literature and philosophy, the legacy of ancient Greece continues to live on.

Further reading

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Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome

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Curtis Dozier , Vassar College. [email protected]

Table of Contents

This volume collects revised versions of papers given in 2006 at a University of Cincinnati symposium entitled “Constructing ‘Literacy’ among the Greeks and Romans.” The collection’s title is clearly meant to evoke William Harris’ Ancient Literacy , now twenty years old; the plural “literacies” may be felt to indicate an attempt to move beyond that book’s conclusions. But there is little continuity between the two books; Harris himself admitted that a colleague “gently explained that he was not even asking the truly interesting questions” 1 and it is to those questions that the contributors to this volume turn, often without any reference to Harris’ work at all. Thus we find essays that “ponder the cultural and social significances of literacy and literate behavior” (334). This line of inquiry will be familiar to those who have read editor William Johnson’s earlier article “Toward a Sociology of Reading in Classical Antiquity,” 2 and in its examination of the status of written texts within ancient culture and the connections between “reading events” and broader sociological concerns, this collection places itself much more in the tradition of Eric Havelock than that of Harris. But in keeping with contemporary scholarly tendencies, generalizing theories such as Havelock’s are for the most part eschewed, and instead we find “an intense interest in particulars” (9). The result is a series of essays of disparate subject-matter and scope, but this is not a bad thing: the collection is successful in its promise to offer “food for thought of many types,” considering questions such as “how reading communities fashion themselves” and “what ‘book’ and ‘reading’ signify in antiquity” (4).

A few readers, expecting new discussion of rates of literacy or new insight into the dawn of literacy in Greece, will be disappointed, but a more serious fear is that other readers, expecting the same and perhaps feeling that they have heard as much as they want to about a sometimes technical subject, will decide not to explore this wide-ranging collection, which contains many fascinating contributions. I should note that the volume’s subtitle, “The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome,” somewhat distorts the focus of the volume: only one paper (Thomas) treats Classical Greece; all the others are concerned with Roman culture or, in a few cases, Greek culture under the Roman empire. Shirley Werner’s extensive bibliographical essay and David Olson’s epilogue, which I will discuss first, will be of interest to all readers, and I would recommend the contributions of Parker and Habinek to all Latinists. Parker argues against widely held orthodoxies and Habinek poses fundamental questions about the status of texts in Roman culture. I discuss these two papers in some detail after Olson’s and then turn more briefly to the other essays, many of which are excellent but are, in my estimation, of more specialized interest than those I highlight first.

David Olson’s epilogue is the only paper that, to my mind, fulfills the editors’ hope that the contributions will introduce classicists to “important advances in the way that literacy is viewed in other disciplines” (3). Olson, of the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, was the Cincinnati conference’s keynote speaker, and is the author of a study of “how the very structure of knowledge was altered” by the proliferation and interpretation of printed documents in the early modern period. 3 His essay for the present volume examines the relationship of speech to writing and along the way provides a very useful survey of contemporary debates about the relationship between literacy and cultural progress. The contributions of classicists such as Havelock and Powell are described and assessed but much of Olson’s discussion draws on work in philosophy, cognitive science, and linguistics that will be less familiar to professional classicists. Olson’s central claim is that the relationship between writing and speech is analogous to the relationship of quotation to direct speech, in that a quotation divorces a speaker’s meaning from textual meaning. Quotations, and by extension texts, are, he memorably says, “more a corpse than a corpus,” in need of “reanimation” by a reader. This is a much more subtle claim than that writing either is or is not an extension of speech; writing is a “subclass of speech, specifically that of quotation” that nevertheless “calls for a distinctive mode of interpretation” (401). Olson’s own research is concerned with the cognitive processes required by this mode of interpretation, and his reports of empirical research on the cognitive side of literacy provide some of the most stimulating material in the collection. For example, preliterate children and illiterate adults, when asked to say /fish/ without the /f/, are unable to produce /ish/, presumably because being able to analyze words into constituent sounds is a result of learning how to write. The essay provides a fascinating glimpse of just how significant the development of literacy may be for a society and his ample references and bibliography will entice many to reading outside our chosen field.

Holt Parker (“Books and Reading Latin Poetry”) attacks—the only word for his rhetorical technique—some widely-held views about the ancient reception of Latin poetry, and as such is worthy of the attention, if not necessarily the agreement, of all Latinists. His primary target is the idea, enshrined for Anglophone classicists by E.J. Kenney 4 and Kenneth Quinn 5 and propagated by many successors, that Latin poetic texts were intended only for a poet’s circle of friends and that this audience’s primary experience of these texts was at recitations and convivia . He argues even more strenuously against the often repeated idea that Roman poetry was intended to be heard and read out loud, often by specially trained lectores . Parker’s view is that any performance of poetry, including that by a lector, was “preparatory, ancillary, or supplementary to private reading,” which was, he argues, widespread among those who could read, though he never addresses the issue of whether hyper-literate men like Cicero, Atticus, Pliny, and Gellius can be taken as representative of Roman practices. Parker takes special pains to show just how many times the poets indicate that they intend their works to be read as opposed to heard, and nowhere is it more clear that Parker is probably right that, in our recent zeal to show all the ways that Roman reading is different from modern reading, we are in danger of obscuring the ways in which it is similar. Along the way Parker amasses and discusses many references to reading events in Rome, whether at recitationes , at convivia , or (his primary interest) in private, and a reader unfamiliar with the kinds of evidence we have for Roman encounters with poetry will find much of interest. In his attempts to refute other scholars Parker is often polemical and occasionally nasty. Not everyone will find this rhetorical mode appealing, and while he has gathered so many statements of views he rejects that he cannot be accused of setting up a straw man, he sometimes seems to me to take the arguments of others further than those scholars themselves might have done. The essay’s occasional repetitiveness is balanced by the corresponding virtues of straightforwardness and clarity.

Thomas Habinek’s “Situating Literacy at Rome,” is the second essay that I believe is worth special consideration for its suggestive analysis of fundamental questions, and the author’s exemplary (and characteristic) awareness of relevant theoretical approaches to the study of culture. The essay begins with an examination of the changing use of writing in Rome over time, illustrated with a chart listing the evidence for non-literary writing at different periods: gravestones, dedications, boundary stones, and the like. The data is suggestive but its persuasiveness is weakened by Habinek’s own comparison with a similar chart for Greek materials: 6 whereas the Greek chart gives absolute numbers of objects, Habinek’s Roman chart lists each type as a percentage of total objects which, one suspects, may be meant to conceal the very small and hence potentially insignificant amount of evidence available. 7 Habinek’s argument that the changing ideological concerns of writers—sometimes about property lines, sometimes about class—can be detected in the changing numbers of written objects shows how apparently mundane objects such as boundary stones can provide real insight into Roman society, but in this particular case the argument is hard to follow because Habinek does not say explicitly enough which objects indicate which ideological concerns.

The essay’s second section describes how writing confers status on its user. The argument is explicitly based on Habinek’s conclusions in The World of Roman Song 8 and these few pages (121-24) may serve as an introduction to some of the key ideas of that complex book, in which he argued that, in Roman culture, the elite male derived his authority from a mastery of specialized forms of oral expression. This article attempts to describe the role of writing in that culture, and he asserts that writing confers status as an extension of the privileged mastery of oral expression. To claim, as Habinek does, that writing derives its status-conferring power from the fact that Rome was primarily an oral culture is a very subtle argument and not all will be persuaded, but this section certainly lives up to the highest aspirations of the volume to force a reconsideration of our attitudes toward the cultural significance of texts.

Habinek’s third and most challenging section examines various forms of specialized writing—acrostics, palindromes, and figure writing—in an attempt to understand Roman attitudes toward writing itself. For Habinek, such texts raise a set of challenging questions about how writing can be self-conscious of the processes of perception that communication depends on and the degree to which these highly constrained compositions can complicate those processes. He approaches these questions through the categories of symbolic and embodied practices, and his discussion of this dichotomy, worth reading even for its own sake, is suggestive but I am not sure I am convinced that an analysis of literary documents, however “bizarre” (135) by traditional standards, can give us access to anything other than symbolic practices. His strongest example for an embodied practice is a set of gaming boards, also discussed by Woolf in this volume but with somewhat different conclusions. Here the inscribed texts must be understood as part of the embodied practice of gaming, but throughout the essay the relationship between the two is not made explicit enough. Nevertheless Habinek is to be praised for, and emulated in, his efforts to explore something as fundamental as the Roman concept of the nature of writing itself.

I turn now to briefer descriptions of the remaining papers in the volume.

Rosalind Thomas (“Writing, Reading, Public and Private “Literacies”) examines non-elite literacy such as that required for banking, commerce, and, in particular, participation in democratic institutions. Much of her chapter is a useful survey of the types of documents that are attested for or survive from these spheres, with attention paid to the degrees of literacy they imply. She is especially interested in “Name Literacy” (the ability only to write one’s name) and “List Literacy” (the ability to recognize a name or other data in a list). Thomas reminds us that levels and uses of literacy can change, even over short periods of time, and argues that as time went by more and more literacy was required of those who wanted to participate in civic institutions, though she does not make a judgment on whether the requirements of civic engagement drive or respond to levels of literacy among the citizenry.

Greg Woolf (“Literacy or Literacies in Rome?”) argues that in Rome the requirements of literacy in private life, especially those for the management of aristocratic households, indicate that Roman literacy was, as he puts it, “joined up,” that is, that there was “no fragmentation of writing practices, no specialized literacies” (61). This conclusion is appealing but the role of literate slaves in Roman households merits further analysis: Woolf makes the excellent observation that “slavery provides the key institutional and cultural context” to literacy since it was slaves who educated children and kept accounts (52), but literacy being the province of slaves seems to me to indicate a fragmentation of literacies, if not along the lines of function, then along those of status. A second claim is that the administrative use of documents was responsive to, not ahead of, the domestic use of writing. Woolf makes these points through an examination of the broad range of non-literary texts discovered in Britain, a region which he argues, because of its poverty and political irrelevance, represents a baseline level of literacy for the rest of the empire.

Barbara Burrell (“Reading, Hearing, and Looking at Ephesos”) intends to describe the “reading experiences” of viewers of monuments and their texts, many of them bilingual, in Ephesus. She focuses on the plaza where the famous Library of Celsus eventually stood, and provides a thorough discussion of the relevant buildings along with excellent three-dimensional diagrams of the different building phases. But the essay does not live up to the expectations it sets: Burrell gets bogged down in the problems of identifying and dating the buildings, a promise to employ “reception theory” goes unfulfilled, and bilingualism’s complex relationship to literacy is treated only superficially (“code switching” is invoked without discussion of its relevance to her argument). Her ultimate conclusion, that this plaza shows how Greek and Roman influences worked together to present a “burgeoning Helleno-Roman cultural ideal” is unsurprising and does not really speak to the subject of this collection.

Simon Goldhill (“The Anecdote: Exploring the Boundaries between Oral and Literate Performance in the Second Sophistic”) argues that much of imperial literature, for example, Philostratus’ Lives of the Sophists , served as handbooks of anecdotes that were read in order to be retold—that is, circulated orally—at symposia and in other less formal exchanges where cultural attainments were performed. Thus these works straddle the boundary between the oral and the literate. This essay is, I sense, just the sort of contribution the editors hoped for, in that it takes two traditionally opposed categories and demonstrates their interdependence, even in a highly literate and book-centered age.

Florence Dupont (“The Corrupted Boy and the Crowned Poet”) argues that Roman poets regarded preservation in libraries, rather than a wide readership, as the key to their immortality, since the fragility of papyrus meant that reading would lead to the destruction of texts. This argument has a certain perversity to it—she all but says that Roman poets would have preferred that no one read their works, and she explicitly says, more than once, that a book is valuable only as an object, not for what it contains. (“The value of the text plays no role.” (144); “[Books] owe nothing to the value of the writings that they contain” (162)). Not surprisingly her discussion is marred by contempt for Latin literature (“No Roman poet composes while possessed by the Muses,” as if the opposite is true of Greek poets just because they say they do (153) 9 ), and her case is built out of what strike me as old-fashioned ways of thinking: that Roman poetry is nothing more than Greek poetry in a different language (” litterae latinae are, so to speak, litterae graecae in Latin” (144)), that Roman literary culture is transplanted more or less intact from Alexandria (and, incidentally, that Hellenistic poetry existed “only for the scientists at the museum, and no one else” (146)), and that a meaningful distinction can be drawn between “true” poems—those that are a transcript of what was said at a real event—and “fictive” poems (of which all Latin poetry serves as her example). 10 Most objectionable, at least in the context of this collection, is her assumption that all writing is nothing more than imitation of speech, and that a sharp distinction can be drawn between the oral and the written, because these are two of the very assumptions that the other contributors of this volume, for example Habinek and Goldhill, are working so hard to question and revise.

Joseph Farrell (“The Impermanent Text in Catullus and Other Roman Poets”), in his discussion of the materiality of texts as a theme in Catullus, provides a much more satisfying discussion of much of the same material that Dupont addresses. One of the strengths of the article is its illumination of further dimensions of familiar aspects of canonical texts: for example, Farrell reads Catullus’ description of his libellus not just as a statement of his stylistic ideals but as an acknowledgement of his reliance on written texts. Catullus’ ambivalence toward textual materiality is explored: Farrell invokes, like Dupont, the fragility of papyrus, as well as the loss of authorial control that committing poems to books implies, and claims that this ambivalence differentiates Roman from Callimachean poetics. The last section of the essay, in which Farrell examines some examples of Roman poets describing themselves as singers, is, as his own rhetoric shows, more speculative but lays out foundations for interesting further work.

George Houston (“Papyrological Evidence for Book Collections and Libraries in the Roman Empire”) compares the standard account of book collections, derived from anecdotes about libraries in literary sources and from the extensive study of the collection of Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, to what we find in two other types of papyrological evidence: lists of books that appear to represent collections and groups of fragments that, because they were found together, are taken to have been discarded together, and as such to represent collections. He uses these data, conveniently summarized in charts, to explore the organizing principles and sizes of collections, how long manuscripts were kept, and how different collections show different “personalities.” The result of this careful collation is indeed a more diverse picture of particular collections, even if his conclusions are a little underwhelming; again and again he notes that his discoveries mostly conform to what we already thought we knew about ancient libraries. Nevertheless, since extrapolation from literary evidence is necessary in all areas of Classical scholarship, such confirmation is always welcome and reassuring. 11

Peter White’s “Bookshops in the Literary Culture of Rome” surveys the evidence for bookshops in Rome, and the chapter provides an accessible introduction to the subject, but in his discussion White does not always make it clear when he is presenting a new interpretation or repeating orthodoxy. White then argues that bookshops supported a unique “mode of engagement with texts,” by which he means a kind of hyperliteracy, whereby expert customers make judgments about the authenticity and quality of texts. Because these judgments depend on specialized knowledge, there is often a competitive element to such conversations. White collects a few examples of grammatici engaging in these exchanges and suggests that it was in bookshops that these men, otherwise limited to teaching children, built their reputations with adult Roman readers.

Kristina Milnor (“Literary Literacy in Roman Pompeii: The Case of Vergil’s Aeneid “) considers quotations from the Aeneid in Pompeian wall inscriptions. She argues that writers of graffiti were not always, if ever, primarily interested in textual meaning; graffiti should be seen as “acts” rather than as “texts.” So for example the frequently inscribed words arma virumque “are literally meaningless except as a reminder of Vergil’s text.” Much of her paper is dedicated to showing the interesting tendency of such graffiti to call attention to their written-ness (through use of the verb scribere , for instance). She also points out that many of these graffiti, which often feature imperatives, vocatives, and second-person verbs, emphasize moments of communication. This is a very acute and suggestive observation but Milnor, citing the need to avoid totalizing theories, shies away from drawing conclusions from this tendency, even though her discussion of the theme of communication in graffiti seems like the foundation for just such a theory. A handy appendix that lists and describes the sixty-seven quotations from Vergil on Pompeian walls follows the essay.

William Johnson (“Constructing Elite Reading Communities in the High Empire”) examines a few episodes from Gellius’ Noctes Atticae in order to observe some characteristic features of the “reading culture” of that time, in particular the presence of groups of people at the reading events Gellius describes, the ease with which participants move between conversation and reading, the intense interest in abstruse topics, and the competitive nature of the exchanges. It is this last aspect that particularly interests Johnson, for it is through this competition that the group constructs (a key word for Johnson) itself. He ends his piece with a list of several ways that literature functions in this process of construction: for example, as an “exclusionary device,” as a “social mechanism” that establishes a hierarchy, and as an “ideological statement” by which a particular version of Romanness is approved and displayed. The paper, the shortest in the collection, reads at times more like a prospectus of Johnson’s research interests than a self-contained argument, but it nevertheless provides many fascinating suggestions and whets our appetite for his forthcoming monograph on these and related subjects. 12

The last paper before Olson’s epilogue is an extensive and polyglot bibliography, compiled by Shirley Werner, covering work on literacy that has appeared since 1989, the year that Harris’ Ancient Literacy was published. A topical index augments this bibliography, grouping references under headings such as “Alphabet,” “Books,” “Bilingualism,” and “Libraries,” as well as more specialized topics such as “Ostraka” and “Linear B.” The accompanying bibliographical essay identifies the most significant points of debate and important work in various areas of inquiry. Many works cited come from outside the field of Classics, and her inclusion of a section on studies of literacy in non-Classical societies is particularly welcome. Anyone wishing to address questions in these areas will find Werner’s discussion and bibliography a useful starting point.

The production of this volume is in keeping with the high standards of OUP, and many of the chapters include attractive figures, drawings, photographs, and diagrams. The editors are to be commended for providing an extensive general index and index locorum . I noticed only one misprint (“Caecilius Epiropa” for “Epirota” at 203n59 and in the index). A further quibble is that the list of abbreviations at the beginning of the volume is incomplete. 13 My only real desideratum, which I realize is perhaps too much to wish for, is that the contributions showed some evidence of the fruitful exchange that must have marked the symposium at which they were originally presented. Thomas describes different types of literacy in Greece; Woolf argues that in Rome these distinctions did not exist. Habinek asserts the primacy of the oral in Roman culture, Parker rejects the category. Dupont and Farrell treat substantially the same material from very different viewpoints. The medievalist Paul Saegner’s argument that silent reading requires word division, which conference organizer William Johnson has argued convincingly against, is cited by Thomas with something like approval. 14 I would imagine that these points of divergence provoked discussion between speakers, but in only a few cases do the contributors refer to each other’s work, and they never address these points of potential disagreement that I have sketched out. 15 Cross references between papers are rare. 16 It is a shame that, while the scholars represented here have given us fascinating essays, whatever exchanges took place between them in Cincinnati seem fated, like so many reading events, to be known only to their participants.

1 . W. Harris, Ancient Literacy (Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1989), ix.

2 . W. Johnson, “Toward a Sociology of Reading in Classical Antiquity.” AJPh 121 (2000): 593-627.

3 . D. Olson, The World on Paper (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), xvii.

4 . E. J. Kenney, “Books and Readers in the Roman World.” in E. J. Kenney, ed., The Cambridge History of Classical Literature, vol. two (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), 3-50.

5 . K. Quinn, “The Poet and his Audience in the Augustan Age,” ANRW II.30.1: 75-180.

6 . Habinek reproduces the findings for Greece of S. Stoddart and J. Whitley, “The Social Context of Literacy in Archaic Greece and Etruria,” Antiquity 62 (1988): 761-72.

7 . There may also be some error in tabulation, since the percentages of the fourth column do not add up to 100.

8 . T. Habinek, The World of Roman Song (Baltimore, Johns Hopkins: 2005). Reviewed at BMCR 2006.04.34 .

9 . In any case many of the passages discussed by Farrell in this volume show Roman poets invoking muses.

10 . Dupont rarely indicates her sources for her account of literary history (her bibliography contains only nine items). For a refreshing examination of some traditional scholarly biases against Roman literature and culture see D. Feeney, Literature and Religion at Rome (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) esp.12-70. Many of the other contributors to this collection show much more care in addressing the complex relationship of Rome and Greece; see, for example,120n22 (Habinek) and 165n2 (Farrell, who also makes the case, as noted, that there is a difference between Roman and Callimachean poetics). Parker points out that “The lumping together of Greece and Rome is symptomatic of an unnuanced approach” (187n4).

11 . I am reminded of Morgan’s discussion of how Quintilian’s description of educational practice conforms to what schooltext papyri show actually happened in class in T. Morgan, Literate Education in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds , (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), reviewed at BMCR 1999.05.22 .

12 . In Johnson’s bibliography this forthcoming work is called Readers and Reading Culture among the Greeks and Romans: A Study of Elite Reading Communities in the High Empire .

13 . Missing are two papyrological publications referred to by Houston: MP3 for Mertens-Pack Online and PSI for Pubblicazioni della Società italiana per la recerca dei papyri greci e latini in Egitto .

14 . W. Johnson, op. cit (n2) 598.

15 . Editor Holt Parker is the only contributor to make reference to a response to his paper (Farrell’s, 191n14). Farrell and Houston seem to have discussed their contributions but this may have been in the context of Houston’s visit to the University of Pennsylvania for which he thanks Farrell in his acknowledgments.

16 . 192n20, 217n130, 260n76, 293n16.

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Classics in Progress: Essays on Ancient Greece and Rome

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The study of Greco-Roman civilisation is as exciting and innovative today as it has ever been. This intriguing collection by contemporary classicists reveals new discoveries, new interpretations and new ways of exploring the experiences of the ancient world. Through one and a half millennia of literature, politics, philosophy, law, religion and art, the classical world formed the origin of western culture and thought. This book emphasises the many ways in which it continues to engage with contemporary life. Offering a wide variety of authorial style, the chapters range in subject matter from contemporary poets' exploitation of Greek and Latin authors, via newly discovered literary texts and art works, to modern arguments about ancient democracy and slavery, and close readings of the great poets and philosophers of antiquity. This book reflects the current rejuvenation of classical studies.

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313 Ancient History Topics to Research & Write About

In an ancient history essay or research paper, an adequately chosen topic is critical. A clear and relevant idea is just a starting point for time-consuming writing. You have to do a sufficient analysis together with thoughtful writing to bring history alive.

Our team has a solution for you!

If you are looking for ancient history topics to research and write about, you are in the right place. This article contains a list of interesting and controversial essay topics on ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, as well as early world and Indian title ideas. There are also ancient history essay examples added to inspire you even more.

🔝 Top 10 Ancient History Essay Topics

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• Ancient history and classical antiquity: the difference
• Ancient history: the main source texts
• Early Iron Age: the key achievements
• Religion and philosophy in ancient Greece
• Science and technology in ancient Rome
• Ancient Chinese technology
• Music in ancient Greece and Rome: the comparison
• The major Mesopotamian civilizations
• The Nok culture and its history
• The Americas: pre-Columbian era
• William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” According to Wyke, the play explores the dramatic structure of Julius Caesar’s ambition to take to the throne of the Roman Empire.
• Mesopotamian and Ancient Greek Civilizations Comparison Socially, the two civilizations were very different; the Greeks were known for their strong sense of democracy, while the Mesopotamians were ruled by kings and queens. The ancient Mesopotamian and Greek civilizations were two of […]
• Ancient Greek Mythical Characters The story of Icarus and Daedalus is told in a Roman source, Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”; the Isle of Crete was blocked by the order of King Minos, but Daedalus wanted to return to his home, Athens.
• Mesopotamia and Egyptian Civilizations Comparison The social structures of Mesopotamia and Egypt were similar in the fact that they both had broad social class systems with many tiers of power.
• Cleopatra and Her Influence on the Ptolemaic Dynasty C and he left the will that he allowed Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII, her younger brother, to rule the kingdom and Cleopatra was directed to wed her brother and deputy ruler because of the Egyptians’ […]
• The Enuma Elish (Babylonian Genesis) and Genesis: A Comparison In fact, leading researchers across the globe are of the opinion that the New Testament was written on the basis of the Enuma Elis.
• Personality of Julius Caesar and His Effect on Rome Caesar’s role in the play is not immense, though he dominates the play, even after his demise in the third act of the play.
• Comparison of Sumerian and Egyptian Civilization The most important similarity, which also explains the prosperity of the Sumerians and Egyptians, is the territory and environment. Some similarities can be traced to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians and the Sumerians.
• Mathematics in Ancient Greek Architecture One of the pillars of the art of architecture has been mathematics, and the development of this science in Ancient Greece enabled Ancient Greek architects to create beautiful buildings.
• Julius Caesar an Iconic Roman This was highly unexpected, as Caesar, a declared dictator, had the support of all the people of Rome, and his death resulted in administrative imbalances.
• The Architecture of Ancient Greece Found in Los Angeles This paper is aimed at presenting an exploration of the reinterpretations of the stylistics period of the Ancient Greek epitomized in the architecture of the ancient Greece.
• The Ancient Mayan Civilization The political-social organization of the Maya was hierarchical with a king, nobles and priests on top and the common people and slaves on the bottom.
• The River Nile and Its Contribution to Ancient Egyptian Civilization The source of the river remained a mystery to the early inhabitants of ancient Egypt for a considerable amount of time.
• Polytheism of Ancient Greek and Babylonians Compared Turning on to the cult and political organization the gods do participate in the political and governance structures of the societies.
• Mesopotamia vs. Mexica (Aztec) Civilizations The society was located in the Valley of Mexico, and its capital was Tenochtitlan, now the site of modern Mexico City. The Mexica religion was a major part of their culture and played a significant […]
• The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Ancient Egyptian Culture The Epic of Gilgamesh and the culture of the ancient Egypt have their own similarities and differences based on the historical events that took place in this cultures and the religious beliefs of the two […]
• The Eloquent Peasant Story and Ancient Egyptian Law The characters in the story are the peasant Khun-Anup, the vassal of the high steward, Nemtynakht, the high steward Rensi, and King Nebkaure.
• The Role of Poets and the Place of Poetry in Ancient Greece The Muse is the giver of gifts and in this case it is the gift to create words that are melodious to the ear but at the same time the power to move the hearts […]
• The Concept of Deduction in Ancient Greek and Egyptian Mathematics The work of the famous and great Ancient Greek mathematicians has played a vital role in permeating every aspect, section, and part of life, especially from the sector of sending the rockets into space, accounting, […]
• Ancient Egypt: Geography and Environment Thus, the country’s main river occupies a central place in the peculiarities of the culture and development of Egypt. Being a transit region, Egypt also managed to absorb the influence of other areas and enrich […]
• Suffering in the Ancient, Roman and Greek Periods It can be noted that in all cases suffering was seen as evil in some quarters of the ancient world as is seen today.
• Ashoka Pillars: The Mystery of the Ancient Civilization One of the most incredible creations of the ancient civilizations, the Ashoka Pillar is the reminiscence of the bygone times and the most incredible specimen of the ancient art.
• Ancient Greek Philosophers: A Critical Evaluation of Their Impact on Modern Thought However, according to the article, it is imperative to note that neither reason nor the quest for evidence started with the ancient Greeks, but the pre-Socratic philosophers endeavored to identify a single underlying standard that […]
• Religion: Sumerian and Genesis Creation Account The Sumerians and Christians believed that the gods first started with energy through the creation of light and then followed this up with form as seen through creation of the planets, then that form was […]
• History: Ancient Greek Olympics Hence, the myth concerning the emergence of the Olympic Games involves Zeus. The Olympic Games owed their integrity and significance to religion.
• Urbanization Process in Mesopotamia History of the involvement of the cities in the world has different reasons that lead to the development and establishment of the towns.
• Act 1 Scene III of “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” Analysis The third scene is full of phrases and descriptions appealing to the reader. Short phrases deliver messages to the reader about the true essence of Cassius, Casca, and Cicero.
• The Sumerian Achievements in Modern Times The Sumerians were able to designate the limits of their country precisely. In the early Sumerians, they sought the assistance of spiritual healers to exorcise the demons they believed were causing people’s illnesses.
• Ancient Egypt’s Geographical Features and Development Thanks to the flooding of the river, the Egyptians received irrigation of the land, and it was also used for fishing and hunting. The specific situation of the country was the key to the highest […]
• Ancient Egypt vs. Ancient Greece In this paper, the researcher seeks to investigate the extent to which Ancient Egypt became Greek and the extent to which it remained the same during and after the rule by Ancient Greece.
• Civilization in Ancient Egypt The civilization of ancient Egypt happened at the same time Mesopotamian civilization was taking place in other areas in the nations of the Akkadians, Babylonians and the Sumerians. Indeed, religion in ancient Egypt led to […]
• Why Ancient Egypt’s Old and Middle Kingdoms Collapsed? The fact that the construction of the famous Egyptian pyramids began approximately at that time shows the capabilities of the civilization.
• Comparison Between Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece’s Burial Rituals On the other hand, the burial rituals of the ancient Greeks in the period of 750BCE and 700BCE were affected by the age of geometry.
• Julius Caesar and Rome Julius also lost support from the Senate because he was perceived as a leader of the masses rather than the aristocrats. To some extent, Caesar was a statesman because he cared about the needs of […]
• The Impact of Ancient Greek Civilization and Architecture on Modern Culture The connection between ancient Greek architecture and modern culture in the United States is evident because of the presence of similar constructions and continuous use of terms that originated from that civilization.
• Ancient Greek Culture, Philosophy and Science A few early Greek philosophers of the 6th century BCE began forming theories about the natural formations of the cosmos that went beyond the commonly held beliefs of the divine beings in the sky2.
• An Agrarian Pyramid of the Hittite Kingdom However, the king did not control all aspects of the kingdom: some branches were controlled by the elites, for example, the Chief of the Scribes.
• Western Civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome,Greece The history of Mesopotamia traces back to the emergence of the urban centers in the Middle East in the 4th millennium.
• Persian vs. Greek Cultures & Political Structures One argument suggests that after surrendering to the Spartans, Greece lost most of its political and military power, primarily accumulated in Athens.
• History of Ancient Greek It was the accuracy and correctness of the prediction that daunted astronomers for years to come. This event hailed a new set of astronomers who tried to figure out the means to predict such future […]
• Agamemnon as a Leader – Ancient History This was just before they sailed to Troy for battle where Agamemnon’s insults resulted to them being disciplined as the winds died so that they were unable to navigate, until Agamemnon made a sacrifice to […]
• Concepts of the Rise and Fall of the Babylonian and Egyptian Empires In addition, effects of the war, capturing of Babylonia’s cities, and destruction of the Babylon’s walls by the Syrians made the situation worse for Babylonia, hence leading to its downfall.
• Persian Music: Improvisation and Composition. Welcome to Dariush Eghbali’s Enchanted World In the case with Dariush Eghbali’s concert, the settings work exactly the way they should, introducing the audience to the world of the Persian music and making them dive into the unknown style.
• BBC Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth The presenter of this video talks about the importance of theater culture to the people of ancient Athens. In the days of the ancient Greeks, the people of Athens learned the latest news from theatrical […]
• Persuasion, Manipulation, Survival, Success at Work in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” Since the beginning of the play edited by Roma Gill, Brutus is presented as a character who is very close to Caesar and is a “great friend” of his.
• Religion and Society in Ancient Egypt The king sought to control the flow of resources which were collected from the provinces and peasants and channeled upward. The class division was strongly present in the mythology of Ancient Egypt and was accepted […]
• Civilization in Mesopotamia and Egypt The people of Mesopotamia used calendars in order to determine when the floods could occur along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The Egyptians had a lot of developments in the field of architecture and art […]
• Ancient History of Mesopotamia and Egypt Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian rulers employed art as one of the methods to reinforce their ideology and remain in the cultural memory.
• Homa Capital Columns’ at Ancient Persian Persepolis City Alexander the great later raided the city and demolished the palace of Xerxes to symbolize the end of the PanHellenic revenge war.
• Art History: Female Figures in Ancient Greek Sculpture The development of female figures in ancient Greek sculpture was noticeable during those times; each period added something new; the influence of other countries and their cultures was reflected in almost each piece of work, […]
• Art History: Art and Medicine of the Ancient Egypt According to the Egyptian historian Manetho, Imhotep was the first architect who invented the technique of building with the use of a dressed stone. In ancient Egypt, the falcon represented the god Horus who was […]
• Male Dominance in Sumerian Civilization The Civilization in Sumer was the first in the world starting from the early Bronze Age. The women here had the authority over the religious group and were held in high esteem.
• Political Impacts of Julius Caesar This enables Lepidus to see the leadership potential in Caesar and makes his wish to work with him in the government.
• Cleopatra’s Life, From Her Ascension to the Throne to Solemn Death The bond between Antony and Cleopatra continued to strengthen and resulted in the return of most of Egypt’s empires that had been conquered by the Romans.
• The Ancient Greek Play Antigone by Sophocle In the play, it is evident that pride is used by people to create laws that challenge the divine law from gods.
• Comparing and Contrasting the Confucius Ideas With Ancient Greek Thinkers As far as the body and the soul interacted, Plato also commented on the things that the soul could be influenced by the work or the actions of the body.
• Cats in Ancient Egyptian Culture: Religious, Social, and Cultural Significance The Egyptians faced lions, panthers, and jungle cats in the woods. In Ancient Egypt, cats were an embodiment of the sun god.
• Captive’s Statuettes of Ancient Egypt In particular, they were used in the rituals of protection of the land and the king, which were conducted in temples to eliminate the enemies of the king of Egypt.
• The Ancient Greek Society: Role of Religion In the cultural sense, the phrase ‘ancient Greece’ refers to the way of life of the ancient Greek people as depicted in their mode of worship, language, governance, entertainment and their understanding of the physical […]
• Persian Letters by Montesquieu I chose the 24th letter from the collection to demonstrate the peculiarities of the author’s style that contributed significantly to the book’s unfading success.
• Ancient History of Babylon and Mohenjo-Daro Cities The importance of water for Babylonian infrastructure, thus, became leading, influencing the lives of peasants through the necessity of irrigation and the lives of city-dwellers through the integration of water canals into the city’s infrastructure.
• Greek City-States – Ancient History Using the case of the early Greek poleis, this paper shows that commercialisation and changing attitudes about leadership have changed the nature of states.
• Deduction in Ancient Greece and Egypt Mathematics and the use of formulas have played an important role in the development of the modern world. The Golden Ratio concept was used in this part of the world.
• The Story of the Tower of Babylon The questions of interest regarding the Tower of Babylon are: Which language did the people speak before the Tower of Babylon?
• Ancient Greek Civilization: Culture and Arts To begin with, the earliest period of Greek history was the Bronze, and it is characterized by the usage and production of essential tools and the formation of two civilizations, which further contributed to the […]
• Visual Arts: Ancient Art of the Greeks Ancient art plays a significant role in helping the individuals of the current generation explain the civilizations of the ancient past. Fresco painted the Bull-leaping fresco from Knossos art to depict the civilizations of the […]
• Ancient Egyptian and Greece Literature The history of literature began in the Bronze Age with the invention of writing in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. In Egypt, hieroglyphs and the similarity of drawings were used for writing.
• Rulers From Different Cultures: Cleopatra and Wu Zetian The main difference was the family background of Cleopatra and Wu Zhao. The second cultural divergence was the governments of the two countries in which Cleopatra and Wu Zhao ruled.
• Queen Elizabeth I and Cleopatra as Female Leaders She led her country with a lot of zeal and determination to give the best and rectify the shortcomings of her predecessors.
• Stylistic Features: Ancient Middle East and Roman There are several peculiarities of design indicating that the contemporary dress can be viewed as the adaption of the ancient stola. In Ancient Rome, this type of clothing was used to conceal the sexuality of […]
• The Roman Villa Role in the Ancient History As the family is rich, the floor mosaics should be an integral part of the villa demonstrating the wealth of the family.
• Cleopatra’ and Caesar’ Relationship It must be noted though that based off historical accounts the relationship between Cleopatra and Julius Caesar was bound to fail even before it started due to the volatile combination of their personalities and the […]
• Why Julius Caesar Was Assassinated There is clear indication that Caesar wanted to be called a king and this was the biggest mistake that he made.
• Do Antony and Cleopatra Transcend the East-West Divide in Their Relationship? This piece of work gives a critical analysis of the play, Antony and Cleopatra, with much emphasis given to the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra. From the play, it is palpable that the relationship between […]
• Scientific Approach to Magic in Ancient Greece 2 The dual attitude towards magic in Ancient Greece is deeply rooted in those people’s focus on knowledge and the use of the scientific method that was born during that period.
• Astronomy: Ancient History of Science At the very center was the sphere of Earth; around it, the shell of water, then the shell of air, and finally the shell of fire.
• Family Structure and Women Status in Ancient Egypt The family structure was also changed in an attempt to match with the wishes of the pharaohs. Many people in this country believed that the practice was important and helped to support the integrity of […]
• Alexander the Great’s Conquest of Persian Empire The death of Alexander the Great shook the empire, beginning the process of the division and undoing of his legacy as many of the conquered regions saw opportunities to relinquish the Hellenistic rule.
• Ancient India and Greece Sculptures Comparison As far as the key differences between the Ancient Indian and the Ancient Greek sculptures are concerned, the concept of aesthetics deserves to be mentioned.
• Cleopatra – The Queen of Egypt The queen wanted the assistance of Caesar, and thus she found a way of going to the Regal citadel to speak to Caesar and request for her cause for action.
• City States in Ancient Greece and Renaissance Italy Similarities According to Spencer the invasion by the Dorians was one reason that strengthened the growth of the city states. In Italy, the city-states authority belonged to rich and the gentries.
• Music in the Ancient Greece The history of music in ancient Greece dates back to the 6th century BCE when the first music lessons were introduced in the learning institutions. The ‘clappers’ were the other category of music instruments that […]
• Ancient Greek History: Athens The works of these historians give an opportunity to state that in spite of the fighting and dying in wars, the Athenians contributed to the good of their polis.
• Pride in Ancient Greek This paper discusses the character and behavior of two Heroes in the Iliad with the aim of explaining the Geeks’ concept of pride.
• The Ancient Roman Aqueducts and Their Structure This work focuses on the principles of building aqueducts, the materials utilized in the process, the key uses, and the specifics of the repair.
• The Democracies of Ancient Greece and the Roman Republic Any democracy which, at least formally, is based on the power of the majority, equality of citizens, protection of their rights and freedoms, a system of separation of powers, and electability of authorities implies a […]
• Ancient Egyptians’ Origins and Ethnicity For the longest time in the period from the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, the Caucasian theory of the origin of the ancient Egyptians dominated.
• Herbal Medicine and Remedies in Ancient Egypt Additionally, the water lily, a plant belonging to the genus Nymphaea, was utilized for religious purposes and as a kind of medicine in ancient Egypt. 2005 The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt.
• Culture of Ancient Greece in The Odyssey by Homer The Odyssey is one of the oldest and most well-known epics in the world. This can be attributed to Homer’s ability to describe the culture and life of the people of the ancient era with […]
• Sumerian and Mayan Cultural Similarities As for the meaning of such similarities, both cultures honored the origin and holiness of humans, the earth, and all other sacred objects.
• Tigris and Euphrates’ Significance for Mesopotamia Now, Mesopotamia is understood mainly as a valley in the lower reaches of these rivers, and lands are added to it east of the Tigris and west of the Euphrates.
• Ethnic Minorities in Ancient Egypt The main topic of the article is the study of the characteristics of various ethnic groups and social organizations in the Ancient Egyptian civilization.
• Ancient Greek vs. Roman Sculpture in the Late Classical Period The left-hand drops her clothes onto the jar of water, the head is turned to the left, and the right hand is extended in front of the pudenda.
• How “African” Was Ancient Egypt? Some argue that the Ancient Egyptians must have been Black Africans, while others state that cannot be true, at least in terms of physical appearance, Combined with the peculiarity of Egyptian culture, from this emerges […]
• The Ancient Greek Culture Impact on Western Civilization The most significant public structures in the city were gathered around the temple in the city’s center, which served as the power headquarters.
• The Standard Babylonian Poem of the Righteous Sufferer The poem is preserved in a copy from the Applurian Library of King Ashurbanipal, where it was transcribed from the original in the library of the Nippur temple.
• Art of Ancient Greece: The Diadoumenos Statue The marble statue of the Diadoumenos depicts an athlete with a victory armband and is a reconstruction of the original based on Roman marble spears. Polykleitos’ sculpture is a typical example of the classical period […]
• Ancient History of Greek Civilization In ancient Greece, the body was the material means of constructing and transmitting social values; the body’s visual representation exemplified the moral codes of the time.
• Culture and Society Through the Babylonian Sufferer The Poem is a kind of reflection of alienation from the divine, drawing attention to injustice and the problem of morality. First and foremost, the Poem is seen as one of the beginnings of the […]
• Greece History: Ancient History Points Moreover, Herodotos’ text depicts the extinction of Cretans, which corresponds to the archeological data, although they mention the eruption as the main factor for the demise of Minoans.
• The Art of Ancient Greece: The Marble Head of Athena The art of Ancient Greece played an essential role in the development of the culture and art of humankind. In Greece, the first principles of democracy in history were formed within the framework of a […]
• Democracy in Ancient Greece and Today From the lecture, I discovered that the word democracy partly originates from the word demes which means the small division of the bigger sections that Athens was divided into during the ancient time.
• Ancient Egyptians’ Ethics of War The initial religion of ancient Egypt was to realize the Gods in the form of birds and beasts. With the beginning of agriculture, the Egyptians became more dependent on nature, so they started to revere […]
• Venus de Milo, Sculpture of Ancient Greece Art The statue also depicts the story of the Judgment of Paris. The findspot of the figure of the goddess is still unknown, and it cannot be said where exactly it was found.
• Mastaba of Mereruka in Ancient Egypt The Matsaba of Mereruka is a great example of the Old Kingdom tomb and its purpose of ensuring a prosperous afterlife for the buried one. The first mention of the king of the afterlife was […]
• Ancient Egyptian Tomb of Mereruka at Saqqara The tomb of Mereruka at Saqqara is one of the most famous monuments, which is the tomb of the non-royal person.
• The Gallic War and Julius Caesar’s Life One notable difference between Caesar’s and Plutarch’s descriptions of the siege of Alesia is how the authors list the numbers of the Gauls.
• The Role of Kingship in Ancient Egypt Moreover, the king was considered the incarnation of the god Horus and “the central figure in the world view of the ancient Egyptians”.
• The Ancient Greek Tragedy “Antigone” The theme raised by Sophocles in the play is the theme of duty and family, which is still relevant to this day.
• Roles in Diplomacy: Cleopatra and Hatshepsut The reemergence of Nubia and the Kushites, which were the allies of Hyksos, was a major threat to the survival of the kingdom and Hatshepsut was expected to take a strong action to salvage the […]
• Art History: The Prehistoric Aegean, Ancient Greece The relationship between curvilinear forms in Minoan art and the primary role of nature is that nature provided the curvilinear shapes and forms that formed the basis for the artwork.
• Art Before History, the Ancient Near East, Egypt Under the Pharaohs 5 million years ago and was marked by the development and use of chipped stone tools Mesolithic- This is a cultural period between the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras that began around 10,000 years ago and […]
• The Mindset and Ancient Greek Philosophy Metaphysics studies the nature of reality, the structure of the world, the origin of man, God, truth, matter, mind, the connection between mind, body, and free will, and the correlation between events.
• Ancient Greek History: The Most Important Events of the Period Ancient Greece was home for most of the famous personalities of the ancient world. The introduction of Olympic Games was one of the most significant events in Ancient Greek History.
• The Values of the Babylonian Society: Hammurabi’s Laws Five and Twenty-One In this paper, Hammurabi’s laws number five and twenty-one will be evaluated as the guidelines that secured the ideas of justice and property protection, which were of particular significance to the Babylonians.
• Assyrian Prophecy and Book of Isaiah 45 Comparison Thus, the theme of each of the passages is the prophecy of the gods for the chosen kings. The conceptualization of the gods lies in their confidence, perseverance, and selflessness.
• Women in Ancient Greek and Roman Art The ancient Greek and Roman art, both textual and visual, are a rich source of information on the social history of women in these cultures.
• The Ancient Greek and Republican Roman Architects The ancient Greek and Roman architects sought to express cultural and aesthetic perspectives guided by the adoration of classical qualities such as maturity, moderation, order, balance, and harmony.
• Art Tendencies in Europe and the Persian Empire This research paper focuses on the works of art that represent tendencies peculiar to Europe and the Persian Empire between the second half of the seventeenth century and the mid-eighteenth century.
• Aegean Art: The Minoan Stone Vase Overall, the evaluation of parameters of the stone vase along with its cultural significance suggests that Minoan culture is the synthesis of values promoted by the Minoan Cretan civilization that are wealth accumulation and facilitation […]
• Ancient Greek Mythology: Deities of the Universe Hades is the eldest son of Kronos and Rhea, the god and the guardian of the Underworld, the realm of the dead.
• Black Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt That was the home to the earliest culture of the black people in Africa. It is claimed in the article that the first rulers of Egypt were black.
• Democracy Emergence in Ancient Greece and Why Plato Was Opposed to It The result of this war was the defeat of Athens by Sparta at the end of the fifth century which led to the overthrow of many democratic regimes.
• The Impact of Geography on Agriculture: Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia Due to the fact that the river overrode the Ethiopian lowland, the inclined gradient of the River Nile sent the water torrent which overflowed the river banks resulting in over flooding of the river.
• The Role of Women in Ancient Egypt Right to the property for married women and their right to private inheritance and inheritance of the community property belonging to the husband was an essential nature of the status of women in Ancient Egyptian […]
• The Hetaerae Women of Ancient Greece In the Greek society, the hetaerae women consisted of women who were liberal and commanded great influence in the society. The hetaerae women were noble in one aspect of the other.
• Oedipus the King and Ancient Greek Culture Oedipus consults the servant who was sent to abandon him as a child and it is revealed that he was the child of Laius and Jocasta.
• “Cleopatra” by Michael Grant Life of Cleopatra is still one of the most captivating subjects in a world’s history. In the introduction to Cleopatra the author designates the main thesis of his work.
• Ancient Civilization of Rome and Athens The city of Rome and the city of Athens had great influence and authority over their neighbors and allies. The city of Athens had great influence throughout the Aegean and the influence lasted for about […]
• Americas, Egypt, and Mesopotamia Between 3500-500 BCE Bentley and Ziegler examine the world as a whole and focus on the development and formation of the world’s major societies, ‘traditions’, and also interactions and connections that have always been established among societies, ‘encounters’.”Traditions […]
• Origin of the Olympics in the Ancient Greek Society It exhaustively explains the importance of the Olympic Games to the Greek society in the ancient times and the significance they played in shaping the locals lives.
• Roman History: Why Julius Caesar Was Assassinated Julius Caesar was both a politician and a strong leader for the Romans, who were responsible for the changes in the history of the Greco-Roman. Caesar’s behavior in the temple was observed to be a […]
• Western Civilization: Ancient Greek Theater However, the modern theater has become more commercialized and has become a potential arena of political, social, and cultural discourses, increasingly involving the masses.”Theatre, which had been dominated by the Church for centuries, and then […]
• Sumer and Akkadian Cities, Towns and Villages, 3,500 – 2,000 BC Table 1.shows the number of cities in Mesopotamia with a population of more than 10,000 and the table covers the years between 3600 BC to 2000 BC.
• The Culture of Ancient Egypt To the advantage of Egyptians in the ancient times, the floods carried with them silt, fertile soils, and minerals which when the flood receded lift rich thick mud that the people grew crops during October […]
• Democracy and Dictatorship in Ancient Greece and Today Recalling the speech of Thucydides, democracy is when the power is in the hands of not a minority but of the whole people when all are equal before the law when political life is free […]
• Ancient Civilization of Rome Through innovation, town planning was very important in Rome, the roman in the city plans considered factors like the climate, purpose of the town, and the environment.
• Minoan Civilization and Its Collapse in 1450 BC There was a strong influence of the Minoan palace culture that was greatly affected by the earthquakes that took place in that area most of the time, and therefore it became hard as the palaces […]
• The Changes of the Ancient Greeks’ Conceptions of Heroism Through the Times According to the primary task of the essay, it is necessary to say, that the characters of Iliad, Odysseus, and the conclusions by Socrates belong to various epochs of Greek history.
• The Culture of Ancient Greece The Archaic period and the Classical periods are separated by the Persian Wars and the reign of Alexander the Great is taken as separating the Classical from the Hellenistic periods.
• The Ancient Near East: Civilization of Mesopotamia and Great Flood The Great Flood in Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh both depict the flood, the boat, the God of gods, and persons responsible for preserving humanity.
• Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead It is a critical and ending part of the journey in the afterlife when the individual would arrive at the Hall of Maat and the purity of their soul is judged before entering the Kingdom […]
• “Cleopatra” Movie by Joseph L. Mankiewicz The movie spans the last years of Egypt before it became a Roman province, with the political intrigue around it and the emotional intrigue that Cleopatra stirred with her wit, beauty, and ambition.
• Ancient Egypt in “Gardner’s Art Through the Ages” by Kleiner The part of the first chapter of “Gardner’s Art Through the Ages” dwells upon the history of Ancient Egypt from the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt to the period of the New Kingdom.
• Architectural Marvels of Ancient Mesopotamia Also, it will be possible to illustrate the distribution of wealth with the help of decorative elements. In addition, it will be critical to depict citizens’ attitudes to nature with the help of architectural and […]
• Ancient Egypt’s Socioeconomic & Cultural Relations From this perspective, the research of ancient Egypt society as one of the earliest civilizations can help to acquire the idea of how it impacted the further evolution of our views on social, economic, and […]
• The Indus Valley Civilization’s Development For example, both the region of the Indus Valley and the area near such bodies of water as the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers can be considered as cradles of early civilization.
• Ancient History: Polybius on the Roman Republic As Polybius states himself, he is so interested in the Roman Government because he wants to explain to his readers how “almost the whole world fell under the rule of one power, that of Rome”.
• Ancient Egyptian Culture: Religion, Art, Sports The Great Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx of Giza, the Karnak Temple Complex, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, and the Temples of Luxor are among the most famous constructions in the world.
• History of Mesopotamia and Egypt The central characteristics of the Egyptian state and religion were anchored on the monarchy. In a nutshell, the Egyptian myth demonstrated the wouldeath’ of the older creation and the advent of the new creation.
• Ancient Greek Sports: Boxing, Wrestling, Running So, one can conclude that the cruelty of a blow increased, and for this reason, ancient gloves can be regarded to be offensive weapons.
• Ancient History: Periclean Athens and Augustan Rome What building was connected to Augustus’ house on the Palatine through a series of ramps? Octavia is believed to be the first Roman woman who was depicted on Roman coinage.
• The Immortals Army of Persian Empire The caravan was in charge of food supplies, which was unusual for the army, and of alongside attendants and concubines responsible for the well-being of the Persian Immortals before and after battles.
• Ancient Anasazi and Their Civilization Nevertheless, remains of farmsteads and hamlets point to the active involvement of the Anasazi in construction and agriculture and trade with neighboring communities.
• Ancient Roman Myth and Historical Facts Indeed, compared to the Greeks, who composed legends about the creation of the cosmos and the gods, the central place in Roman mythology is given to Rome itself and its heroic people and the specific […]
• Cleopatra: Heartless Oppressor or Conscientious Goddess Caesar was embroiled in a civil war against the Roman general, Pompey, who had fled to Egypt with the hope of garnering support from Cleopatra’s brother and Pharaoh at the time, namely, Ptolemy-XIII, whereby the […]
• Islamic Art of Armor: Persian Hauberk of Mail In order to understand this piece of art better, one needs to consider the history of Islamic philosophy and the mindset of people of the time.
• Public Speaking in Ancient Greece and Roman Empire With this in mind, investigation of some main peculiarities of the development of art of public speaking public can help to understand its peculiarities better.
• Julius Caesar’s and Czar Nicholas II’s Leadership He had to overcome numerous difficulties during his life that have led him to the path of becoming a leader. He had to face the first revolution in the history of Russia and has changed […]
• Etruscan-Padan Pottery Archaeometric Study by Maritan Textural features of the samples are discussed with the help of the description that focuses on inclusions and voids. Chemical quantitative analysis and its findings are in the focus of the author’s attention A petrographic […]
• The River Nile’s Importance to the Ancient Egyptians This work is an analysis of Abdul’s assignment on the importance of the River Nile to the Ancient Egyptians. This work analyses Abdul’s task in terms of the satisfaction of the demands of literacy and […]
• Ancient Greek Temples Architecture This temple was built using the Ionic order and formed the Seven Wonders of the World. Another known and oldest temple that used this order is the Apollo Bassae constructed in 420 BC.
• The Great Leap Forward: Societies in Early Mesopotamia Chavalas presents the notion that one of the drawbacks behind the hunter and gatherer stage that existed prior to the development of complex and stratified societies was the lack of sufficient concentrations of native populations.
• The Persian Empires’ Rise and Fall One of the reasons why the Persian empires rose was due to some of the leadership skills attributed to the leaders.
• Ancient Greece Heroes: The Iliad and The Knight’s Tale It is rather tempting to see the later work as a reflection of the ancient Greek story, but Chaucer’s work is rather a re-evaluation of the old story.
• The “Epic of Gilgamesh” and Mesopotamia
• Ancient Greek Philosophy: Socrates and Plato Comparison
• Ancient Greek Art and Sculpture
• Mummification in Ancient Egypt
• The Philosophy of Ancient Greece
• Ancient History: the Great Pyramid of Giza
• Cleopatra: The Last Queen of Egypt
• Chimera of Arezzo: A Conventional Example of Etruscan Art
• Ancient Societies in Mesopotamia and Ancient Societies in Africa
• Ancient Greek Civilization History
• Infanticide in Ancient Greece
• Ancient Greek Democracy That Still Makes People Strive for Perfection
• Julius Caesar’ Desire for Power
• The Kings of Ancient Egypt
• Religion in Ancient Rome, the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire
• Transformation of the Ancient Greece Art
• Ancient Art of Rome and Greece
• Welcome to Ancient Egypt: When Legends Were Born
• Concepts of Ancient Greek Culture
• Ancient Mediterranean Civilization
• The Evolution of the Division of Labor Theory Starting From Ancient Greek Economists to the Present
• Race in Ancient Egypt
• The Story of Gilgamesh in Sumerian Versions
• Mythology’s Role in the Ancient Greece – God Poseidon
• Gods and Humans: Myths of Ancient Rome and Greece
• Ancient Egypt History
• What is the role of archaeology in historical research?
• Greek Mythology: what are its key figures?
• How were Egyptian pyramids built?
• The Pompeii eruption: how did it happen?
• Ancient Greek art: what is its influence on the world’s culture?
• What were the causes and effects of the Trojan war?
• Spartan warrior culture: how was it organized?
• Socrates: why is he the key figure of Western philosophy?
• What were the origins of the Colosseum?
• What were the causes of the Battle of Marathon?

📜 Ancient History Essay: How to Write

You might be wondering which events of the past are considered ancient history. Usually, this term refers to the circumstances from the beginning of writing human history to the beginning of post-classical history.

Be mindful that people can also apply it to the discipline itself!

Historians estimate the span of recorded history to be around 5000 years. It begins with the Sumerian script and ends with the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

There are three main ways to examine ancient history:

• Through primary sources
• Through archaeological discoveries
• Through secondary sources

We divided this list periodically and regionally. In our opinion, it is by far the easiest way to present ancient history topics for essay writing.

• Intellectual Achievements of Ancient Philosophers
• The concept of time in Presocratics
• The religious and social function of Greek Mythology. This essay strives to understand the function of mythology in Ancient Greece. Consider it both from the religious but also from a social function. Surprisingly, these functions cannot be fully isolated from one another. Just as religion explains society, society, at the same time, shapes the religion.

• The role of poets in Ancient Greece
• The primary emphasis of Spartan Education
• Three stages in burial rituals in Ancient Greece
• Causes of the Trojan War. In this research paper, comment on the roots o the Trojan War as recorded in myths. Consider other historical documents as well. An excellent source for anyone who is writing an essay about the Trojan War would be Homer and his works. Check Iliad out if you haven’t done it yet.
• Agamemnon as a leader of Greece . This historical figure made a significant impact on Greece and the ancient world in general. In the essay, you should write about his military achievements. Elaborate on his reforms and his policy, both foreign and domestic.
• History of Greek Alphabet
• Homer’s influence on the history of Greece
• The origin of the Olympic games. Most of us get excited about the Olympic Games. In this research topic, students can learn more about the way this sport event originated. What sports were included from the very beginning? Who was able to participate?
• Plato and Aristotle political philosophy
• Divine Support during the Greco-Persian Wars
• Plato’s Allegory of the Cave . This essay is a bit more challenging but great for someone who wants to understand Plato on a much deeper level. Talk about what the philosopher meant when he spoke about the Cave. Why was he so concerned with the nature of human perception? What was the main message there for us?
• Slavery in Ancient Greece. As in many other societies of the ancient world, slavery was a widely accepted practice. Some of the most famous philosophers, such as Aristotle, thought that slavery was natural. In this essay, students can discuss how slavery became an acceptable practice in ancient Greece. How did the owners treat their slaves? What jobs did the slaves do?

• The main features of Ancient Greek Architecture
• Roman influence on the development of Ancient Greek Art
• Basic principles and notions of Euclid geometry
• Ancient Greek Drama
• Ancient Roman Emperors: the best and the worst
• Gender relationships in Ancient Rome . Expose the gender roles in Ancient Rome by examining the mythology and position in the family. Look for the representations in art, literature, and poetry. These sources will reveal the true position that men and women held in Ancient Roman society.
• Law and Justice in Ancient Rome
• Slavery in Ancient Rome
• Constitutional System in Ancient Rome
• Trade and Economy in Ancient Rome
• The architecture of Ancient Rome . A great essay topic to consider. First of all, we can still see some of its remainings today and appreciate it for its beauty. Second of all, it allows us to understand the power that Rome had. Talk about the most famous Roman architecture and implemented styles. What are the innovations used by Roman architects?
• Agricultural deities in Ancient Rome
• Clothing in Ancient Rome
• Ancient Roman Diet
• Languages in Ancient Rome: Classical and Vulgar . You cannot claim to understand a culture without understanding its language. Look at this linguistic division. Consider what it tells us about the social structure of Roman society.
• Epicurean philosophy and how it influenced the Roman way of thinking

• Entertainment and sports in Ancient Rome . Romans engaged in a variety of different sports, including racing, boxing, jumping, wrestling, etc. The theater was significant as well. You can also talk about board games that were popular in Ancient Rome.
• Julius Ceasar and the Rise of the Roman Empire
• Dictatorship and Democracy in Ancient Rome
• Early Latin Literature
• Constitutional reforms of Julius Ceasar
• Architecture, art, and technology in the Old Kingdom
• Egyptian Pyramids and the construction techniques . One of the most mysterious structures ever. Egyptian Pyramids intrigued generations and generations of people. In this essay, you can talk about the history of the pyramids in Egypt. Elaborate on the techniques that were used to build them.
• The purpose of the pyramids in Giza
• History of the Great Sphinx
• Tutankhamun’s Tomb
• Ancient Egyptian beliefs about life and death . You cannot talk about Ancient Egypt without touching upon their belief system about life and death. Students can talk about how the idea of immortality influenced their beliefs. How did Ancient Egyptians get into the afterlife? What did they have to do?
• Mummification process in Ancient Egypt . Mummification was an integral part of ancient Egyptian religion. They saw this step to be essential to living well in the afterlife. Comment on the way the mummification process took place in Egypt, starting from “the most perfect” method. Mention a technique used to avoid major expenses.
• Ancient Egypt in the Bible. Ancient Egypt is one of the most commonly mentioned locations in the Bible. The Egyptians play critical roles in the Bible accounts. Does the Bible give an accurate description of Ancient Egypt?
• The importance of the Nile river
• The place of religion in Egyptian Civilization
• Innovation during the Reign of Hatshepsut
• Who were pharaohs?
• The formal writing system in Ancient Egypt
• Entertainment in Ancient Egypt . Learning about what people of the past did for fun is enjoyable, isn’t it? For instance, Ancient Egyptians liked to go swimming, rowing, dancing, fishing, and hunting. You can write about one, or about several activities that Egyptians did. Just pick and see what you can find!

• Burial Ceremonies in Ancient Egypt
• Arts and Music in Ancient Egypt
• Gender role of women in Ancient Egypt
• Clothing and makeup in Ancient Egypt: why were cleanliness and appearance so important?
• The significance of the Silk Road for Ancient China
• Why was the Great Wall built?
• What was the purpose of the Forbidden City? Explain what the Forbidden City was built for. Why was it was this way? You can talk about how its symbolic meaning changed over the centuries. What did it mean then and signifies now?
• The Terracotta Army as a symbol of life and power
• The Battle of the Red Cliffs: the causes and the outcomes
• History of science and technology in Ancient China . Ancient China is famous for its inventions. It held leading positions in the world in many fields. Of course, you can examine the four primary inventions—papermaking, printing, gunpowder, and the compass. There are other less known inventions such as bronze, acupuncture, a toothbrush, and paper money.
• The key accomplishments of the Han Dynasty in Ancient China
• Three Major Religions in Ancient China
• Literature and Philosophy in Ancient China
• The teachings of Confucius

• The Sumerians and Mesopotamia
• How did the Sumer Language develop and die?
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon the Great. One of the Seven Wonders of the World. No one knows if they existed for real, but they were included in the list. You can simply try to answer a question: what is so special about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?
• Science and Technology in Mesopotamian Civilization
• Gender roles in Ancient Mesopotamia . Just like many other nations in the ancient world, ancient Mesopotamia was a patriarchal society. Men were the heads of the household. The gender roles were clearly defined. Talk about what women were allowed to do in Ancient Mesopotamia. What were they not allowed to do, and why?
• Ancient Mesopotamian Religion and Philosophy
• Akkadian Empire: the rise and the fall
• A written history of Ancient Israelites . Consider archeological excavations, the Hebrew Bible, and other ancient scrolls. Ancient Israelites have a long and exciting story to talk about. Write about it if you agree with this statement.
• The Pre-Islamic Middle East
• The consequences of the Persian-Greek Wars

It is tough to identify one single ancient historical figure to write about. First of all, there were a lot of them. Furthermore, this period of history is very long.

The abundance of influential rulers, artists, writers, and religious leaders is incredible. Even a very determined person can get confused. However, there is no need to worry because we are here to help.

These 15 historical figures can be a great focus of your next essay writing:

• Cleopatra . One of the most captivating women that ever lived. She was beautiful, smart, and extremely powerful. The last queen of Egypt is worth writing about.
• Julius Ceasar . A powerful ruler, a philosopher, a writer. Julius Ceasar is played a critical role in the events that led to the rise of the Roman Empire.
• Tutankhamun . His reign is not as significant as his tomb. You can still talk about his short reign and the cause of his death. You can also elaborate on the recent DNA and genographic research. Conducted as an attempt to understand the story of Tut, the latest findings are quite intriguing.
• Alexander the Great . He was believed to be a descendent of God. Alexander was a military genius, an incredible warrior, an influential leader. What accomplishments made him earn the title “great”?

• Aristotle . Many consider him to be one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He made notable contributions to logic, criticism, biology, and many other topics.
• Plato. Known as the Father of Western political philosophy, Plato is never underrated. His most remarkable contributions include the theory of forms. There, Plato looked for solutions to universal problems.
• Augustine of Hippo. We all heard of him as Saint Augustine, or Augustinus, or the doctor of the Church. Why was he considered one of the best theologians of Western Christianity? For more information about his life and personality, read the autobiographical book The Confessions .
• Jesus Christ . There are a lot of debates happening regarding the nature of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, historians do not doubt that he existed. He was the most famous person that has ever lived. Besides, he is the central figure of the Christian religion.
• Caligula. Almost all the accounts of this Roman Emperor agree that he was cruel and vicious. However, he was a noble and moderate ruler in the first years of his reign. Some historians believe that Caligula was mentally ill.
• Cicero . Cicero was a Roma orator, lawyer, and philosopher. He believed in the existence of an ideal form of government. You can talk about his political or philosophical views and accomplishments.
• Confucius. In the essay about Confucius, talk about what he believed in and the religion that he started. Confucianism rests upon the belief that human beings are teachable, perfectible, and ultimately kind. The Golden Rule of Confucius that he taught all his followers to apply can become a great topic to discuss.
• Constantine the Great . This Roman Emperor can rightfully claim his title. For starters, he made Christianity into the religion of the state. That’s just one of the many things students can write about.

• Euclid . He was the father of geometry. What did he discover? What were his major works and accomplishments? Students all over the world still apply the principles that this great mathematician once discovered.
• Hammurabi . Much can be said about this Babylonian king. However, the most significant accomplishment of Hammurabi is the Code that he developed.
• Homer . Homer and his works had an immense effect on Western Culture. Nevertheless, we know very little about Homer himself. Some people even believe that Homer did not exist.

By definition, a good historical analysis is to be analytical. It means that it should go beyond simple description and narration. So, strive to do that.

The focus of historical analysis is on interpretation and building connections between events. Plus, it depends on the goals of your research paper. Sometimes you will concentrate on understanding how and why certain things happened. Other times, you will be looking into the way a specific event was recorded. You may even take a more historiographical approach. It all depends on the type of assignment you’ve received.

To be able to produce an excellent historical analysis, follow these steps:

• Read your assignment carefully and understand what you have to do;
• Ask the right questions;
• Collect the sources: both primary and secondary;
• Read them. Examine them. Understand them;
• Build your arguments based on the sources;
• Keep looking for some additional relevant information;
• Strive to be original and creative.

Additionally, make sure you use a proper style. Don’t be afraid to ask your reader rhetorical questions. Bring up citations from various sources and seek opportunities to open up a discussion.

Engage your readers to think. For that, don’t choose an obscure history topic. Stay focused on the issues and historical events that are truly important and influential.

Here are some ancient history topics for historical analysis:

• An impact of Genghis Khan on the ancient world
• How did Mongol rule in Russia differ from the one in China?
• A juxtaposition of the Sumerian and Mayan civilization
• Did the Trojan Horse exist?
• The historical significance of Carthage, and why is it unknown?

We hope you enjoyed this blog post. Do not hesitate to share ancient history topics with your peers. Take this as a learning opportunity, and good luck!

🔗 References

• Research Paper Topics about Ancient and Classical History: Online Research Library Questia
• Ancient History Topics: Thames & Hudson
• Points About Ancient Greek History: N.S. Gill for ThoughtCo
• Ancient and Medieval History: Infobase
• Ideas about Ancient world: TED Talk, Ideas Worth Spreading
• Writing: Joshua L. Mark for Ancient History Encyclopedia
• A Brief Guide to Writing the History Paper: Harward College Writing Center
• Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students by Patrick Rael, Bowdoin College
• Writing about History: Elspeth H. Brown, Department of History, for Writing Advice, University of Toronto
• Useful Links: History Department, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, Boston College
• Dynasties Research Topics
• Celtic Civilization Ideas
• Ancient Egypt Questions
• Byzantine Empire Essay Ideas
• Ancient Greece Paper Topics
• Western Civilization Topics
• Aztec Paper Topics
• Roman Empire Ideas
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 21). 313 Ancient History Topics to Research & Write About. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/ancient-history-essay-topics/

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IvyPanda . 2024. "313 Ancient History Topics to Research & Write About." February 21, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/ancient-history-essay-topics/.

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "313 Ancient History Topics to Research & Write About." February 21, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/ancient-history-essay-topics/.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

Architecture in ancient greece.

Marble column from the Temple of Artemis at Sardis

Marble akroterion of the grave monument of Timotheos and Nikon

Lion felling a bull, from a marble pediment

Terracotta architectural tile

Colette Hemingway Independent Scholar

October 2003

Ancient Greek architects strove for the precision and excellence of workmanship that are the hallmarks of Greek art in general. The formulas they invented as early as the sixth century B.C. have influenced the architecture of the past two millennia. The two principal orders in Archaic and Classical Greek architecture are the Doric and the Ionic. In the first, the Doric order, the columns are fluted and have no base. The capitals are composed of two parts consisting of a flat slab, the abacus, and a cushionlike slab known as the echinus. On the capital rests the entablature, which is made up of three parts: the architrave, the frieze, and the cornice. The architrave is typically undecorated except for a narrow band to which are attached pegs, known as guttae. On the frieze are alternating series of triglyphs (three bars) and metopes, stone slabs frequently decorated with relief sculpture. The pediment, the triangular space enclosed by the gables at either end of the building, was often adorned with sculpture, early on in relief and later in the round. Among the best-preserved examples of Archaic Doric architecture are the temple of Apollo at Corinth, built in the second quarter of the sixth century B.C., and the temple of Aphaia at Aegina, built around 500–480 B.C. To the latter belong at least three different groups of pedimental sculpture exemplary of stylistic development between the end of the sixth and beginning of the fifth century B.C. in Attica.

In the Ionic order of architecture, bases support the columns, which have more vertical flutes than those of the Doric order. Ionic capitals have two volutes that rest atop a band of palm-leaf ornaments. The abacus is narrow, and the entablature, unlike that of the Doric order, usually consists of three simple horizontal bands. The most important feature of the Ionic order is the frieze, which is usually carved with relief sculpture arranged in a continuous pattern around the building.

In general, the Doric order occurs more frequently on the Greek mainland and at sites on the Italian peninsula, where there were many Greek colonies. The Ionic order was more popular among Greeks in Asia Minor and in the Greek islands. A third order of Greek architecture, known as the Corinthian, first developed in the late Classical period, but was more common in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Corinthian capitals have a bell-shaped echinus decorated with acanthus leaves, spirals, and palmettes. There is also a pair of small volutes at each corner; thus, the capital provides the same view from all sides.

The architectural order governed not only the column, but also the relationships among all the components of architecture. As a result, every piece of a Greek building is integral to its overall structure; a fragment of molding often can be used to reconstruct an entire building. Although the ancient Greeks erected buildings of many types, the Greek temple best exemplifies the aims and methods of Greek architecture. The temple typically incorporated an oblong plan, and one or more rows of columns surrounding all four sides. The vertical structure of the temple conformed to an order, a fixed arrangement of forms unified by principles of symmetry and harmony. There was usually a pronaos (front porch) and an opisthodomos (back porch). The upper elements of the temple were usually made of mud brick and timber, and the platform of the building was of cut masonry. Columns were carved of local stone, usually limestone or tufa; in much earlier temples, columns would have been made of wood. Marble was used in many temples, such as the Parthenon in Athens, which is decorated with Pentelic marble and marble from the Cycladic island of Paros. The interior of the Greek temple characteristically consisted of a cella, the inner shrine in which stood the cult statue, and sometimes one or two antechambers, in which were stored the treasury with votive offerings.

The quarrying and transport of marble and limestone were costly and labor-intensive, and often constituted the primary cost of erecting a temple. For example, the wealth Athens accumulated after the Persian Wars enabled Perikles to embark on his extensive building program, which included the Parthenon (447–432 B.C.) and other monuments on the Athenian Akropolis. Typically, a Greek civic or religious body engaged the architect, who participated in every aspect of construction. He usually chose the stone, oversaw its extraction, and supervised the craftsmen who roughly shaped each piece in the quarry. At the building site, expert carvers gave the blocks their final form, and workmen hoisted each one into place. The tight fit of the stones was enough to hold them in place without the use of mortar; metal clamps embedded in the stone reinforced the structure against earthquakes. A variety of skilled labor collaborated in the raising of a temple. Workmen were hired to construct the wooden scaffolding needed for hoisting stone blocks and sculpture, and to make the ceramic tiles for the roofs. Metalworkers were employed to make the metal fittings used for reinforcing the stone blocks and to fashion the necessary bronze accoutrements for sculpted scenes on the frieze, metopes, and pediments. Sculptors from the Greek mainland and abroad carved freestanding and relief sculpture for the eaves of the temple building. Painters were engaged to decorate sculptural and architectural elements with painted details.

Hemingway, Colette. “Architecture in Ancient Greece.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grarc/hd_grarc.htm (October 2003)

Further Reading

Avery, Catherine B., ed. The New Century Handbook of Greek Art and Architecture . New York: Appleton–Century–Crofts, 1972.

Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary . 3d ed., rev. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Lawrence, A. W. Greek Architecture . 4th ed., rev. by R. A. Tomlinson. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1983.

Pedley, John Griffiths, Greek Art and Archaeology . 2d ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998.

Pomeroy, Sarah B., et al. Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History . New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Robertson, Martin. A History of Greek Art . 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975.

Additional Essays by Colette Hemingway

• Hemingway, Colette. “ Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition .” (April 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Greek Hydriai (Water Jars) and Their Artistic Decoration .” (July 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Hellenistic Jewelry .” (April 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Intellectual Pursuits of the Hellenistic Age .” (April 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Mycenaean Civilization .” (October 2003)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Retrospective Styles in Greek and Roman Sculpture .” (July 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Africans in Ancient Greek Art .” (January 2008)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Ancient Greek Colonization and Trade and their Influence on Greek Art .” (July 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Greek Gods and Religious Practices .” (October 2003)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Art of Classical Greece (ca. 480–323 B.C.) .” (January 2008)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Labors of Herakles .” (January 2008)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Athletics in Ancient Greece .” (October 2002)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Rise of Macedon and the Conquests of Alexander the Great .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Technique of Bronze Statuary in Ancient Greece .” (October 2003)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Women in Classical Greece .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Cyprus—Island of Copper .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Music in Ancient Greece .” (October 2001)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) and Art .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Etruscan Art .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Prehistoric Cypriot Art and Culture .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Sardis .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Medicine in Classical Antiquity .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Southern Italian Vase Painting .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Theater in Ancient Greece .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Kithara in Ancient Greece .” (October 2002)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Minoan Crete .” (October 2002)

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• Sculpture in the Round

Traces of Ancient Rome in the Modern World

The ideas and culture of ancient Rome influence the art, architecture, science, technology, literature, language, and law of today.

Anthropology, Archaeology, Social Studies, World History

Pont du Gard Aqueduct

This is the Roman aqueduct of Pont du Gard, which crosses the Gard River, located in France. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Robert Harding Picture Library

Ancient Rome had a large influence on the modern world. Though it has been thousands of years since the Roman Empire flourished , we can still see evidence of it in our art, architecture , technology , literature , language, and law. From bridges and stadiums to books and the words we hear every day, the ancient Romans have left their mark on our world.

Art and Architecture

Ancient Romans have had a tremendous impact on art and architecture . We can find traces of Roman influence in forms and structures throughout the development of Western culture.

Although the Romans were heavily influenced by ancient Greece, they were able to make improvements to certain borrowed Greek designs and inventions . For example, they continued the use of columns, but the form became more decorative and less structural in Roman buildings. Ancient Romans created curved roofs and large-scale arches , which were able to support more weight than the post-and-beam construction the Greeks used. These arches served as the foundation for the massive bridges and aqueducts the Romans created. The game-loving ancients also built large amphitheaters, including the Colosseum. The sports stadiums we see today, with their oval shapes and tiered seating, derive from the basic idea the Romans developed.

The arches of the Colosseum are made out of cement, a remarkably strong building material the Romans made with what they had at hand: volcanic ash and volcanic rock. Modern scientists believe that the use of this ash is the reason that structures like the Colosseum still stand today. Roman underwater structures proved to be even sturdier. Seawater reacting with the volcanic ash created crystals that filled in the cracks in the concrete. To make a concrete this durable, modern builders must reinforce it with steel. So today, scientists study Roman concrete, hoping to match the success of the ancient master builders.

Sculptural art of the period has proven to be fairly durable, too. Romans made their statues out of marble, fashioning monuments to great human achievements and achievers. You can still see thousands of Roman artifacts today in museums all over the world.

Technology and Science

Ancient Romans pioneered advances in many areas of science and technology , establishing tools and methods that have ultimately shaped the way the world does certain things.

The Romans were extremely adept engineers. They understood the laws of physics well enough to develop aqueducts and better ways to aid water flow. They harnessed water as energy for powering mines and mills. They also built an expansive road network , a great achievement at the time. Their roads were built by laying gravel and then paving with rock slabs. The Roman road system was so large, it was said that “all roads lead to Rome.”

Along with large-scale engineering projects, the Romans also developed tools and methods for use in agriculture. The Romans became successful farmers due to their knowledge of climate, soil, and other planting-related subjects. They developed or refined ways to effectively plant crops and to irrigate and drain fields. Their techniques are still used by modern farmers, such as crop rotation , pruning, grafting , seed selection, and manuring. The Romans also used mills to process their grains from farming, which improved their efficiency and employed many people.

Literature and Language

Much of the literature of the world has been greatly influenced by the literature of the ancient Romans. During what is considered the “Golden Age of Roman Poetry,” poets such as Virgil, Horace, and Ovid produced works that have had an everlasting impact. Ovid’s Metamorphoses , for example, inspired authors such as Chaucer, Milton, Dante, and Shakespeare. Shakespeare, in particular, was fascinated by the ancient Romans, who served as the inspiration for some of his plays, including Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra .

While Roman literature had a deep impact on the rest of the world, it is important to note the impact that the Roman language has had on the Western world. Ancient Romans spoke Latin, which spread throughout the world with the increase of Roman political power. Latin became the basis for a group of languages referred to as the “Romance languages.” These include French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Catalan. Many Latin root words are also the foundation for many English words. The English alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. Along with that, a lot of Latin is still used in the present-day justice system.

The use of Latin words is not the only way the ancient Romans have influenced the Western justice system. Although the Roman justice system was extremely harsh in its punishments, it did serve as a rough outline of how court proceedings happen today. For example, there was a preliminary hearing, much like there is today, where the magistrate decided whether or not there was actually a case. If there were grounds for a case, a prominent Roman citizen would try the case, and witnesses and evidence would be presented. Roman laws and their court system have served as the foundation for many countries’ justice systems, such as the United States and much of Europe.

The ancient Romans helped lay the groundwork for many aspects of the modern world. It is no surprise that a once-booming empire was able to impact the world in so many ways and leave a lasting legacy behind.

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Last Updated

February 9, 2024

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