Ancient Greece

Aeschylus

525 BCE

Aeschylus was born around 525 B.C.. He wrote play about the Persian wars and more than 80 plays, but only 7 are known today. Aeschylus wrote a famous trilogy called The Oresteia. He sponsored the famous Pericles, which bought him a bit of fame.

Sophocles

495 BCE

Sophocles wrote the famous play ¨Oedipus the King.¨ His greatest rival was Aeschylus, even though Sophocles was 30 years younger. He was leading roles in plays about the victory at Salamis.

Socrates

469 BCE

Socrates grew up during the Golden Age of Athens. You can only imagine how much influence he got. He was the of the first philosophers to study ethics. Instead of teaching in an classroom, Socrates went to the market place to philosophize with others. He did not get paid, and also claimed not to be wise. All of this, Socrates did not write down himself, his student Plato did! He died by being put in jail, and a little while later was forced to drink hemlock, a kind of poison, and died doing so.

Hipocrates

460 BCE

Hipocrates is sometimes called the father of medicine. He founded the Hicopcratic oath, which has been said by doctors for 2,500 years now. Hipocrates was to learn that weather, drinking water, and location, can change your health.

Alexander the Great

356 BCE

Alexander the Great was only 20 years old when he was starting being king. He had very loyal troops, and he was a student of Aristotle. Alexander wanted to conquer Persia for his dad, who, too, had the same dream as him. He would have won if he didn't divide his army 35,000. Alexander did, though, conquer the coast of the Mediterranean sea, Asia Minor, Egypt, and attempted at India.

The Hellenistic Period

Period: 323 BCE to 30 BCE

The Hellenistic Period was after the death of Alexander the Great. Culture spread to the places he had conquered. Because Alexander did not clarify his next leader, the Greeks needed a different plan. They got five generals to rule, which there was a lot of quarreling between them. The people in Greece built theaters, gymnasiums, and schools. Money, philosophy, art, and architecture also developed more during this time.

The Library of Alexadria

288 BCE

The Library of Alexandria was located in Egypt, and in 100 B.C., the library had 70,000 scrolls. It was a big learning center for centuries, but was destroyed after a series of invasions, robberies, and fires.

Aristophanes

445

Aristophanes was the town clown. He made fun of people like Pericles, Euripides, and Socrates.

Euripides

485

Euripides was one of the most popular playwrights with the audiences, but did not get as many awards as the others. Though, he produced 80-90 plays.

The Greek Olympics

776

The Greek Olympics was originally a festival for Zeus. Men were the only ones who could participate in this, probably because everyone was naked. If a Greek won the Greek Olympics, he would get a leaf crown, sometimes immortalization, and honor. Only men and unmarried women could watch the Greek Olympics.