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Zoroastrianism is the oldest monotheistic religion. Followers believe in one God, Ahura Mazda, and an evil spirit, Ahriman. The goal of this religion is to follow the path of Asha and to be judged as a good person upon death.
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Created around the late 9th century, the Greek alphabet is the earliest known alphabet with distinct vowels and consonants. It consisted of 24 letters each with their own upper and lowercase forms. There were many local variants, but by the end of the 4th century BC the Euclidean alphabet had become the standard. -
Sparta rose out of the Greek dark ages and reached its personal golden age by 500 BCE. The Spartans had a warrior lifestyle, and started training at 7 years old. Spartans also used slaves called Helots.
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The Phalanx was used all the way back in 25th century BCE by Sumerians, but wasn't adopted into Greek battle techniques until 7th century BCE. The Phalanx was a group of soldiers who interlocked shields and were armed with long spears. These rows of soldiers were usually several ranks deep. -
The ancient Olympic games were a series of athletic competitions. Those who competed were representatives of Greek city states. They were held at a religious sanctuary in Olympia, which was built in honor of Zues. -
Not much is known about Homer. He could be a person, or a collection of people and ideas. the Iliad is set during the Trojan war and tells the story of Achilles. The Odyssey is a sequel and tells of Odysseus and his travels back from the war. -
The Persian Empire started as nomadic tribes who raised animals on the Iranian plateau. The leader of one of the tribes (Cyrus the Great) started to defeat nearby Kingdoms and united these tribes under one rule. Cyrus the Great was a devout Zoroastrian.
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Conquered by Cyrus the Great, this was the end of the Babylonian Empire and the rise of the Persian Empire. The Babylonian empires downfall started after the death of Nebuchadnezzar II. Cyrus took advantage of the Babylonians who resented there king and quite easily took control of the empire.
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Darius I became king of the Persian Empire after overthrowing the previous monarch. He was the third king of the empire and ruled the empire at its territorial peak. -
The Persian war had many things leading up to it, but it officially started when King Darius sent and envoy to call for Greeks submission to Persian rule, and the Greeks replied by executing the envoy. Darius responded by sending 600 ships and 25,000 men to attack the Cyclades and Euboea
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The first battle of the war was on the plain of Marathon. 90,000 Persian troops went up against 15,000 Greeks. Though stronger in numbers, the Persians and their light arrows were no match for the bronze armor of the Greeks and their disciplined battle techniques.
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Rebuilt by Darius I, the Royal Road stretched 1,677 miles from Susa to Sardis. Relay points were set up about a day's horse ride apart from each other along the entire road, so a message that would usually take 3 months on foot would be relayed in only 7 to 9 days. -
A golden age is usually a time of peace, and is when cultural activities are at their peak. During this age, Athens was a major contributor to art and intellect. Athenians were big on poetry and drama and enjoyed many theater events.
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The Persians ultimately lost the war, but they weren't dealt a death blow. There aren't any written records of the Persian view of the conflict, but the Persian Empire continued to thrive for another 100 years -
The Peloponnesian War was between Athens and Sparta, the two largest city states in Greece. It started when Athens violated their peace treaty when allying with Corcyra, and Sparta accused Athens of aggression and threatened war. Athens tried to end the dispute diplomatically, but when a Spartan ally attacked an Athenian ally, the war officially began. -
The end of the Peloponnesian War came when the Athenian Navy was destroyed at Aegospotami by the Spartan Fleet. The war was the most casualties in a war that Greece had ever seen.
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When Athens got crushed at the final battle of the Peloponnesian war, this also marked the end of their Golden age. After this was a time of hardships and struggle for Athenians because many families lost fathers and sons in the war.
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Alexander the Great was a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. During his reign, he led extensive military campaigns throughout Asia. He was undefeated in battle and led to the end of the Persian Empire. -
The Persian Empire started to decline after an invasion of Greece failed. The Empire finally fell after being invaded by armies of Alexander the Great. -
Ancient Greece started to decline after Alexander the Greats death. This period is called Hellenistic Greece. Ancient Greece finally came to an end when defeated at the Battle of Corinth. From this point on Greece was ruled by Rome.