Festivals: Did you mean...?

The term "Athenian Calendar" (also called the "Attic Calendar") has become somewhat of a misnomer, since Ancient Athenians never really used just one method to reckon the passage of time. Athenians, especially from the 3rd...

The Julio-Claudians were the first dynasty to rule the Roman Empire. After the death of the dictator-for-life Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, his adopted son Octavian - later to become known as Augustus (r. 27 BCE -...

This text is part of an article series on the Delian League. The second phase of the Delian League's operations begins with the Hellenic victory over Mede forces at Eurymedon...

In the ancient Greek world, religion was personal, direct, and present in all areas of life. With formal rituals which included animal sacrifices and libations, myths to explain the origins of mankind and give the gods a...

Music (or mousike) was an integral part of life in the ancient Greek world, and the term covered not only music but also dance, lyrics, and the performance of poetry. A wide range of instruments was used to perform music which...

A'Aru (The Field of Reeds) was the Egyptian afterlife, an idealized vision of one's life on earth (also known as Sekhet-A'Aru and translated as The Field of Rushes). Death was not the end of life but a transition to another...

Nephthys was one of the original five gods of ancient Egypt born of the union of Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) after the creation of the world. She was the fourth born after Osiris, Isis, and Set and was the older sister of Horus (usually...

The French Republican calendar, also known as the French Revolutionary calendar, was created during the French Revolution (1789-1799) in an attempt to build a new society separate from the vestiges of the Ancien Régime...

Halloween is among the oldest traditions in the world as it touches on an essential element of the human condition: the relationship between the living and the dead. The observance evolved from ancient rituals marking the...

Aztec society was hierarchical and divided into clearly defined classes. The nobility dominated the key positions in the military, state administration, judiciary, and priesthood. While traders could become extremely wealthy and...