Democracy: Did you mean...?

Pottery ostrakon identifying Themistocles, 480-460 BCE. These were used in Athens to vote a particular citizen to be exiled from the polis. (Museum of the Ancient Agora, Athens)

Bust of Pisistratus, Roman plaster cast of original 5th-century Greek marble statue. While there is dispute about the exact figure depicted by this bust, its likeness has been attributed to Pisistratus (c. 600-527 BCE), the populist tyrant...

Marble statue group depicting the Athenian tyrant-slayers Harmodius and Aristogeiton. These statues are Roman copies of 5th Century BCE Greek originals. (National Archaeological Museum of Naples)

The podium (bema) where ancient Athenian politicians spoke to the assembly. 5th century BCE.

In the late 6th century BCE, the small city-state of Rome overthrew the shackles of monarchy and created a republican government that, in theory if not always in practice, represented the wishes of its citizens. From this basis the city would...

The Persian Wars refers to the conflict between Greece and Persia in the 5th century BCE which involved two invasions by the latter in 490 and 480 BCE. Several of the most famous and significant battles in history were fought during the Wars...

Sparta was one of the most important city-states in ancient Greece and was famous for its military prowess. The professional and well-trained Spartan hoplites with their distinctive red cloaks and long hair were probably the best and most...

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933. He gained power by making popular promises like improving Germany's economy and status in Europe, but when he took these policies too far, he was responsible more than anything...

The Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919, was an agreement between the victors of the First World War (1914-18) which redivided parts of Europe and imposed reparations, armament limitations, and total blame for the war on Germany, one...

The Edo period refers to the years from 1603 until 1868 when the Tokugawa family ruled Japan. The era is named after the city of Edo, modern-day Tokyo, where the Tokugawa shogunate had its government. It is also sometimes referred to as the...