Battle of Gaugamela (October 1, 331 BCE): decisive battle in the war between Macedonia and the Achaemenid Empire, fought in northern Iraq. The outcome was influenced by a celestial omen that announced the imminent downfall of the Persian king Darius III Codomannus and the succession by Alexander the Great.
Category: Ancient Greek (Greece)
Ancient Greek History Civilization
Herodotus of Halicarnassus
The Greek researcher and storyteller Herodotus of Halicarnassus(fifth century BCE) was the world’s first historian. In The Histories, he describes the expansion of the Achaemenid empire under its kingsCyrus the Great, Cambyses and Darius I the Great, culminating in kingXerxes’ expedition in 480 BCE against the Greeks, which met with disaster in the naval engagement… Continue reading Herodotus of Halicarnassus
Zeus, God of Ancient Greece the Sky
Zeus, Ruler of Mount Olympus, Known by Many Names, Lord of the Sky, Rain-God, Cloud-Gatherer, And Zeus of the Thunderbolt. The Mighty Zeus, the Greek god known also as the Roman god Jupiter or Jove. Zeus, Greek god of the sky was also the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus and all the other Greek gods… Continue reading Zeus, God of Ancient Greece the Sky
Bronze head of a goddess, probably Aphrodite
Bronze head of a goddess, probably Aphrodite © The Trustees of the British Museum 00034682001 Hellenistic Greek, 1st century BC Found at the ancient city of Satala, modern Sadak, north-eastern Turkey In about 1872 a man digging his field on the site of ancient Satala struck with his pick-axe against this head. A bronze hand… Continue reading Bronze head of a goddess, probably Aphrodite
The Maccabaean Revolt
Antiochus IV, ruling his empire including Jerusalem from Syria, wrongly assumed that the worship of Yahweh among the Jews could be transformed into the worship of the universal god, Zeus, as easily as such transformations had been made in his dominions farther east — where Jews worshiped Yahweh under the name of Zeus Sabazions. He… Continue reading The Maccabaean Revolt
Septuagint & Greek translation of the Torah
Perhaps because most literate Jews could no longer read Hebrew, Jewish scribes in Alexandria were put to work translating into Greek the Five Books of Moses. The finished product became known as the Septuagint. Demonstrating their conviction that the Septuagint was the final word on Jewish history, the high priests in charge of the work… Continue reading Septuagint & Greek translation of the Torah