So the Athenian Demos was the local village, the population generally, and the assembly of citizens that governed the state. What are demos in democracy? The word ‘democracy’ has its origins in the Greek language. It combines two shorter words: ‘demos’ meaning whole citizen living within a particular city-state andRead More →
A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is a covered location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek gymnasium. … “Gym” is also slang for “fitness centre”, which is often an area for indoor recreation. A gym may be open air as well. What is the purposeRead More →
Mummies in Egypt There were no restrictions on who could be mummified. Any Egyptian who could afford to pay for the expensive process of preserving their bodies for the afterlife was allowed to mummify themselves. Egyptians believed in life after death, and that death was just a transition from oneRead More →
Thus, the tyrants of the Archaic age of ancient Greece (c. 900–500 bce)—Cypselus, Cleisthenes, Peisistratus, and Polycrates—were popular, presiding as they did over an era of prosperity and expansion. How did the tyrants strengthen their popularity? A form of government in which a few wealthy people hold power over theRead More →
The ‘Roman’ forearm handshake Instead of exchanging handgrips, the two clasp each others’ forearms, just below the elbow. It seems more martial and physical, something fitting with the audience’s expectations of a very physical and martial society like Rome. Who was the first person to shake hands? One of theRead More →
The gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt were an integral part of the people’s everyday lives. It is not surprising then that there were over 2,000 deities in the Egyptian pantheon. Which form of ancient Egypt represents deities? The chief form in which gods were represented was human, and manyRead More →
The Helots, whose name means “captives,” were fellow Greeks, originally from Laconia and Messenia, who had been conquered by the Spartans and turned into slaves. How many ephors were there in Sparta? EPHORS AND ELDERS. The five ephors are the highest authority in Sparta after the two kings. They areRead More →
The originally Near Eastern motif of two goats flanking a tree of life also occurs on a celebrated Euboean geometric krater found on Cyprus (74.51. 965), which is on view in the early Greek galleries (The Belfer Court). When was the oinochoe made? Terracotta oinochoe (jug) mid-4th century B.C. WhatRead More →
Why are obelisks everywhere? It was the Ancient Egyptians who used obelisks (called tekhenu), and they built to celebrate the sun god Ra, who was contained within the obelisk. They took obelisks from Egypt and placed them in their capital cities and gave others as gifts, such as to NewRead More →
Wealthy Romans usually ate bread made of the best quality wheat flour (fine flour) whereas poorer Romans ate bread made of bran only (bran is the hard outer layers of grain). There was also bread made from groat grain, rye, acorn and millet. Did Romans have flour? The first typeRead More →