Questions tagged [classical-greece]

Classical Greece commonly refers the period of Ancient Greece that follows the Archaic period and lasted from the 5th through the 4th centuries BC. It was succeeded by the Hellenistic period, that started after Alexander the Great's death in 323 BC.

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How significant was poetry as mnemonic device in technical / philosophical / scientific texts in classical Rome and Greece? [closed]

This starts because I remembered that he works of one of the classical Greek philosophers was lost, but what was kept was an adaptation of the work into poetic form. This is highly unlikely in the ...
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Ancient Greek term rendered incorrectly as numbers and Latin letters, "01KCDÇ". What is it?

In a book I am reading, I've spotted an error and would like to know how to correct it: In the Athenian 01KCDÇ, for example, the family was based on a system of individual members which moved out, ...
sdgdshgfdnj's user avatar
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Why are the buildings built in classical style in the first half of the 19th century in Russia so frequently yellow-and-white - coloured?

So many buildings built in neo-classical style in cr. 1800-1850 in Russian empire are yellow (always the same shade of yellow) with white columns. There are some exceptions, e.g. grey or blue of beige ...
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Was Pericles the only famous loss from the plague in Athens?

Reading about the Plague of Athens in The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, I was struck by this question. The plague killed an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 people in a city full of famous people, but ...
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What is the difference between galli and metragyrtai?

I have occasionally heard of the galli, castrated priests of Kybele in Rome. Now, I noticed that Greek Lexika also refer to another type of said Godess’s priest, namely a metragyrtes (ΜΗΤΡΑΓΥΡΤΗΣ). ...
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Where is it recorded that Spartan common meals were followed by a recounting of noble deeds?

I'm having trouble finding a particular historical reference. In On Manly Courage: A Study of Plato's Laches, on page 57, the author implies that Spartan common meals were followed by the recounting ...
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Were the ancient Greeks very poor compared to the ancient Persians?

Today, one way modern scholars determine civilization is by it's material prosperity and consumption levels. To be prosperous is for the man of today a good thing and we consider poverty in a nation ...
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Did people 'go to the beach' for pleasure during classical antiquity?

Swimming in the sea was necessary for many in ancient Rome or Greece, but did they do it for recreation? Re: I have seen a picture of a Roman pool created from the sea made for relaxation and ...
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Where can I find the earliest surviving versions of Herodotus's Histories?

I'm looking for information re: the earliest versions of Herodotus's Histories. The two versions used on the Wikipedia page for Herodotus's Histories both trace back to Godley's translation. Godley's ...
mikeoly123's user avatar
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What (primary) sources are there on the life of female slaves in Classical Greece, more specifically Athens?

Since there was often a difference in what jobs male and female slaves were respectively made to work in (and there even being one exclusive to women, being a wet nurse), I was wondering whether, for ...
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In Antiquity, were Persian arrows considered superior to their Greek counterparts?

In Xenophon's Anabasis I ran into the following part: The Persian bows are also large, and consequently the Cretans could make good use of all the arrows that fell into their hands; in fact, ...
The Sardaukar Knight's user avatar
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Can Alexander III of Macedon's success be attributed to good logistics management?

A friend of mine who majored in Classical History at Berkeley mentioned that we focus too much on Alexander's battles which are interesting studies in set pieces but not enough on how skilled he was ...
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Was (Mahanian) "control of the seas" an Athenian goal in the age of the trireme?

I recently read Nic Fields' 'Ancient Greek Warship: 500-322 BC'. In it, he makes the claim: Control of the seas in the modern sense was impossible for a trireme navy, and sea power, therefore, had ...
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What percent of Sparta's population were citizens in various centuries?

I've found sources saying that Sparta's population was about 3% citizens, but obviously that number fluxed over time, and given that at one point the Spartan Empire was about 80% helots, it makes me ...
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Were there any wars in ancient Greece where religion played a major part?

I know that the Greeks had a god of war and many other deities associated with warfare in some respect. I also know that the Greeks would consult the oracles for advice prior to their military ...
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What triggered the movement from the late archaic to the early classical/severe era? [closed]

Most art historians say the movement resulted from the Persian Wars. I've also read that the rejection of Persian ideals and culture triggered the movement into the classical style art. Does anyone ...
jamesMadiway's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
578 views

What was the average weather during the times of the Ancient Greeks?

That's the question. Was it rather warm over the entire country, in the middle, or unbelievably cold?
Greek's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Athenian tribute lists

Who were the Athenian tributes in the 434/433 and 430/29 periods?
Brasidas's user avatar
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6 votes
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Which figure is this a statue of?

In Ocean's 12, towards the end of the movie in the famous scene where Night Fox is dodging the laser field to steal the (fake) coronation egg at the museum, we see this statue in the foreground. My ...
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Were Greek columns hollow?

I remember learning in elementary school that at some point in their history, the Greeks were building hollow columns to support their building, because they thought that hollow columns would provide ...
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Why did Alexander found or rename a number of places after himself?

According to Wikipedia, Alexander founded or renamed each of the following places after himself: Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria Arachosia, Afghanistan; now called Kandahar (a contraction of ...
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Was the Athenian generals' trial after Arginusae a political one?

In 406BC, the Athenian fleet reported a great victory against the Spartans', near the Arginusae Islands. After the battle, allegedly because of a storm, the generals failed to rescue their comrades at ...
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28 votes
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Was there an assassination attempt against Xerxes in the battle of Thermopylae?

I watched Frank Miller's 300 last night with my girlfriend, and after the movie ended she mentioned the assassination attempt against Xerxes would have been a great plot element for the movie and that ...
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3 answers
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How could Plato know 9,000 year old stories about Atlantis? [closed]

Atlantis "island of Atlas" is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC. (Seleucid Empire 323-360 BC) According to Plato, Atlantis was a naval ...
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