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Philoctetes
The play Philoctetes was written by one of the greatest of the Greek tragedy playwrights, Sophocles, in 409 BCE. Philoctetes is one of his surviving plays whose exact production date can be determined and is set in the final year of the Trojan...
Definition
Side
Side (pronounced see-day) was a city on the southern coast of Cilicia (modern-day Turkey) first settled in the 7th century BCE by immigrants from Cyme, an Aeolian municipality to the north near the kingdom of Lydia. Its name means 'pomegranate'...
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Roman Warfare in the Age of Pyrrhus
The Roman army fought many conflicts throughout its long history, though perhaps none so indelible as the Pyrrhic War from 280 to 275 BCE. This war between Rome and a league of Greek colonies in southern Italy led by the city of Tarentum...
Definition
Thales of Miletus
Thales of Miletus (l. c. 585 BCE) is regarded as the first Western philosopher and mathematician. He was born and lived in Miletus, a Greek colony in Ionia (modern Turkey) referenced as the birthplace of Greek Philosophy because of his high...
Definition
Parthian Culture
Stretching between China and India in the east to the Mediterranean in the west, Parthia ruled over one of the widest expanses of empire in its time and Parthian culture flourished for 500 years (247 BCE to 224 CE). While known for their...
Definition
Hellenistic Astrology
Hellenistic astrology encompassed various forms of divination in Greece and the Mediterranean, all linked to the observation of astronomical phenomena. Hellenistic astrology was based on the belief that the stars and planets could either...
Definition
Tympanon
The tympanon (tympanum in Latin) was the most popular frame-drum in ancient Greek music, producing a loud rumbling sound not far from the sound of the orchestral timpani drums today. This percussion instrument was played mainly by women on...
Definition
Battle of Marathon
The Battle on the plain of Marathon in September 490 BCE between Greeks and the invading forces of Persian king Darius I (r. 522-486 BCE) was a victory that would go down in folklore as the moment the Greek city-states showed the world their...
Definition
The Goths
The Goths were a Germanic tribe who are frequently referenced for their part in the fall of the Roman Empire and their subsequent rise to power in the region of northern Europe, initially in Italy. Prior to their contact with Rome they must...
Definition
Naukratis
Naukratis (also spelled Naucratis, and known as Nokraji to the ancient Egyptians) was a city in Lower Egypt, located in the Canopic (or western) branch of the Nile delta, which became a powerful trading port between the Egyptians and the...