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Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was located on the western coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and built in the 6th century BCE. Such was its tremendous size, double the dimensions of other Greek temples including the Parthenon, that it...
Definition
Ishtar Gate
The Ishtar Gate was constructed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II circa 575 BCE. It was the eighth gate of the city of Babylon (in present-day Iraq) and was the main entrance into the city. The Ishtar Gate was part of Nebuchadnezzar's...
Definition
Ptolemaic Dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty was a Macedonian royal family that ruled Ptolemaic Egypt from 323 to 30 BCE. It was founded by Ptolemy I, a general and successor of Alexander the Great. They built Alexandria, including the Lighthouse of Alexandria...
Definition
Lighthouse of Alexandria
The Lighthouse of Alexandria was built on the island of Pharos outside the harbour of Alexandria, Egypt c. 300 - 280 BCE, during the reigns of Ptolemy I and II. With a height of over 100 metres (330 ft), the lighthouse was so impressive that...
Definition
Colossus of Rhodes
The Colossus of Rhodes was a gigantic 33-metre-high bronze statue of the sun god Helios which stood by the harbour of that city from c. 280 BCE. Rhodes was then one of the most important trading ports in the ancient Mediterranean and the...
Definition
Zealots
The Zealots were a group of Jews who began to emerge as a religious/political movement around the beginning of the 1st century CE. They strongly opposed Roman rule and turned on everyone, including other Jews, who cooperated with Rome. A...
Definition
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (Bodrum, Turkey), was a massive tomb built for Mausolus, the ruler of Caria, c. 350 BCE. The marble structure was so immense and decorated with such an array of striking sculptures that it made it onto the list...
Definition
Cynane
Cynane (l. c. 357- 323 BCE, pronounced `Keenahnay') was the daughter of the Illyrian Princess Audata and King Philip II of Macedon, making her the half-sister of Alexander the Great (l.356-323 BCE). Following the Illyrian tradition of women...
Definition
Cato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato (95-46 BCE), better known as Cato the Younger or Cato of Utica, was an influential politician of the Roman Republic. As the great-grandson of Cato the Elder and a dedicated student of Stoicism, he believed in traditional...
Definition
Masada
Masada (“fortress” in Hebrew) is a mountain complex in Israel in the Judean desert that overlooks the Dead Sea. It is famous for the last stand of the Zealots (and Sicarii) in the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-73 CE). Masada is a UNESCO...