Definitions

The Romans assimilated earlier Greek science for their own purposes, evaluating and then accepting or rejecting that which was most useful, much as they did in other fields such as warfare, art, and theatre. This assimilation of Greek thought...

In the Vedas, the apsaras are water nymphs, often married to the gandharvas. By the time the Puranas and the two epics were composed, the apsaras and gandharvas had become performing artists to the gods; the apsaras are singers, dancers...

Saguntum (modern Sagunto), located near Valencia in Spain, was an Iberian, and then Roman, settlement. The town's most dramatic moment in history came in the late 3rd century BCE when it was attacked by Hannibal, an act which famously sparked...

Glanum, located near St-Rémy-de-Provence in southern France, was a Greek and then Roman town which prospered due to its location on trading routes between Italy and the Rhodanus (Rhone River). The town benefitted from a large building project...

Empuries (also Emporiae or Emporion) was a Greek and then Roman colony on the northeastern coast of Spain. Thriving as a local and Mediterranean trading centre, it prospered from the 6th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. Several times the...

An amphora (Greek: amphoreus) is a jar with two vertical handles used in antiquity for the storage and transportation of foodstuffs such as wine and olive oil. The name derives from the Greek amphi-phoreus meaning 'carried on both sides'...

The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic, composed some time in the 5th century BCE, about the exile and then return of Rama, prince of Ayodhya. It was composed in Sanskrit by the sage Valmiki, who taught it to Rama's sons, the twins Lava and...

The Kauravas are the 100 sons of the King of Hastinapur, Dhritarashtra, and his wife Gandhari who played a significant role in the legendary Indian epic, the Mahabharata. Hastinapur is assumed to be the current modern state of Haryana, and...

The Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic where the main story revolves around two branches of a family - the Pandavas and Kauravas - who, in the Kurukshetra War, battle for the throne of Hastinapura. Interwoven into this narrative are several...

When Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE, he left behind an empire devoid of leadership. Without a named successor or heir, the old commanders simply divided the kingdom among themselves. For the next three decades, they fought a lengthy...