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It seems apparent that the Ancient Greeks were very fond of the number twelve. Upon multiple occassions, primarily during myths and religious tales, the number twelve has been used in relation to gods, animals, etc. The Twelve Olympians were the most important deities of Greek religion and owned their name because they lived – supposedly […]
Read More The Twelve OlympiansAs god of the sun, music, health, knowledge, agriculture and much more, Apollo was an ideal mix of the perfect Ancient Greek morals, intellect and physical appearance. He appears with the same name in both Greek and Roman religion.
Read More Apollo, Greece’s Most Loved GodTarentum, recognised as the strongest capital of Magna Graecia in the South, was founded by Palanthus of Sparta in 706 BC. Featuring an excellent harbour, it was a huge commercial centre and connected Rome and Etruria to Greece.
Read More Why was Tarentum so important?The twin boys, Castor and Pollux, are often associated with Roman pagan religion. Merchants and sailors would pray or make sacrifices to them to ensure a safe voyage.
Read More Castor and Pollux – Mythology and ReligionOne of the best known stories of the Macedonian King Alexander’s reign, is the tale of the striking of the Gordian knot, a tightly twisted and bound bundle of rope connected to a wagon. Not only is it a nice story, it is also a possibly example of Alexander’s mentality and attitude towards solving problems, […]
Read More Alexander and the Gordian Knot – A Violent SolutionWith no defeats in his campaign, Alexander was prepared to turn his army and march to Babylon, where he hoped he could take over the city and be crowned King of the Persian Empire. But before he could do so, Darius III sent a letter asking for his wife and children to be given back. […]
Read More An Outstanding Victory – Battle of Gaugamela, 331BCIt was necessary that Alexander and his army eliminate all Persian naval threats in the Aegean and Levant before continuing inland on their campaign. If the Persian leaders realised that Greece was only defended by 13,000 men, there would be a large risk of invasion. Tyre, on the Levantine coast, was expertly defended, well garrisoned […]
Read More How did Alexander the Great overcome Tyre?With Memnon of Rhodes’ forces destroyed at the first major battle of the Persian invasion by the Macedonians, Alexander led his blood-thirsty army – which had little need for any recovery time – along Anatolia’s Aegean Coast, bribing, frightening and besieging the ports into submission. Consequently, he had diminished Persian naval dominance around the Greek […]
Read More First Defeat of Darius – Battle of Issus, 333BCAfter crossing the Hellespont from homeland Greece to Asia Minor – the Western half of the mighty Persian Empire – with an army of approximately forty-thousand men, Alexander gathered his men and headed for the Aegean coast and Persian naval bases. It was extremely important that he captured or took out these coastal cities otherwise […]
Read More First Clash – Battle at the Granicus, 334 BCUpon inheriting his father, Philip II’s, armies, Alexander aided the unification of the petty Greek states that had for so long warred against each other to fight a common enemy – Persia – and led his men, as a general, into an invasion of Asia. Not only was Alexander titled “great” by modern historians, but […]
Read More Why was Alexander “the Great”?1. Did the Romans really control a quarter of the world? No, they didn’t. They conquered the majority of Europe, a slice along the North of Africa and mostly dominated the east. This map shows the extent of the Roman Empire in the year 117AD, at around the height of its landmass and power. It […]
Read More Five (More) Commonly Asked History QuestionsArchaeological excavations around the Ancient Greek city of Pylos have never yielded such stunning historical rewards.
Read More Endless Treasures Found In Greek “Griffin” Warrior TombThe war between the domains of Sparta and Athens are well known. After a 30 year piece following the initial Peloponnesian War, Athens, an Empire at the height of its culture, size and moral, allied with Corcyra, an important land for Sparta. This “act of aggression” eventually triggered the war, where the two greatest empires […]
Read More The Great Peloponnesian War [Research]More than a mile deep under the Black Sea off the Coast of Bulgaria lies a huge fleet of 67 ships from Ancient, Medieval and Tudor times – one of which dates to 400 BC. It has been named the oldest shipwreck in the world. Credit: Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project
Read More Ancient Greek Trading Vessel Is “Oldest Shipwreck In The World”
The Augustus 