Dionysus: Greek God of Wine and Fertility

Dionysus Greek god of fertility

Dionysus is one of the most popular ancient Greek gods both today and in ancient times. We associate him with wine, theater, and “the bacchanalia,” aka rich Roman orgies. In academic circles, the role he played in Greek mythology was complex and sometimes contradictory, but his followers played crucial roles in the evolution of Ancient …

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Ancient Greece Timeline: Pre-Mycenaean to the Roman Conquest

Ancient Greece Timeline: Pre-Mycenaean to the Roman Conquest 1

Flourishing more than 3,000 years ago (c. 1,000 BC to c. 300 BC), ancient Greece, thanks to its many contributions to human culture, was one of the most successful ancient civilizations in history. And it remains a model civilization even today. However, the history of ancient Greece is not entirely rosy. While committed to intellectual …

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Adonis: The Greek God of Beauty and Desire

Adonis

The name “Adonis” has long been associated with the idea of beauty and with Classical myth. His legend, however, starts long before our present conceptions of the ancient world. Phoenicia, a land roughly equivalent to modern-day Lebanon, was a farming community. Its people lived by the seasonal calendar, feeding themselves with the result of difficult …

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41 Greek Gods and Goddesses: Family Tree and Fun Facts

Greek Gods and Goddesses

Far away on Mount Olympus lives the… Well, the Olympians — the twelve most important Greek deities.  In ancient Greece, the 12 Olympian gods and goddesses and the rest of their family were an important part of daily Greek culture. Each god and goddess ruled certain realms and also played their part in mythology; fascinating …

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The Battle of Marathon: The Greco-Persian Wars Advance on Athens

Battle of Marathon

On a sweltering summer day, the nine elected magisterial archons of Athens waited breathlessly for news, surrounded by a restless crowd of citizens. Their army, along with a small number of allies, had engaged with a larger force of Persians in the small bay of Marathon — desperately hoping that the claustrophobic landscape would prevent …

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