Warka vase: Did you mean...?

In ancient Greece, dance had a significant presence in everyday life. The Greeks not only danced on many different occasions, but they also recognized several non-performative activities such as ball-playing or rhythmic physical exercise...

Used for the storage and shipment of grains, wine, and other goods, as well as in the all-male Greek drinking party, known as the symposium, ancient Greek vases were decorated with a variety of subjects ranging from scenes of everyday life...

For whom have I labored? For whom have I journeyed? For whom have I suffered? I have gained absolutely nothing for myself, I have only profited the snake, the ground lion! The Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI This is how the Epic of Gilgamesh...

The word "plastic" comes from the Greek verb plasso, meaning, "I model," and describes vases made via molding, which allowed artisans to reproduce complex human, animal, or plant shapes. Potters added handles and mouths to molded clay parts...

Christine Kondoleon, PhD., MFA/Boston, discusses what we can learn from narrative scenes (here, images of the battle of Troy) painted on a krater from 5th century BCE. This is a great video clip to share with students in the classroom.

The greatest Olympic runner of all was Leonidas of Rhodes who won all three running events at each of the four successive Olympiads between 164 and 152 BCE. Women competed in foot races at Olympia, but these were not part of the Olympic Games...

Uruk was one of the most important cities (at one time, the most important) in ancient Mesopotamia. According to the Sumerian King List, it was founded by King Enmerkar circa 5000/4500 BCE. Uruk is best known as the birthplace of writing...

Meleager (Greek: Meleagros) is a hero from Greek mythology who famously led an expedition to kill the Calydonian boar which was terrorizing the kingdom of Oeneus in Aetolia in central-western Greece. Appearing in Homer's Iliad and the later...

Ishtar (Inanna in Sumerian sources) is a primary Mesopotamian goddess closely associated with love and war. This powerful Mesopotamian goddess is the first known deity for which we have written evidence. While largely unknown in the modern...

Mesopotamian religion was informed by the belief that humans were co-workers with the gods in maintaining the order created at the beginning of time and so religious expression was integral to daily life in ancient Mesopotamia in how they...