Summary Of The Cimmerians

Herodotus’s The Histories uses the culture of different peoples as a category of historical explanation in order to explain the entire story behind the conflict between the Greeks and the Persians, though his conception and account of culture has been a topic of debate for many decades. Herodotus’ method when exploring the culture of other peoples is to compare them to the known culture, his own culture, of Greece. Through the comparison of ‘the other’ to Greece, Herodotus not only explains the culture and traditions of other countries or people, but he also affirms Greek identity by constantly comparing or relating to Greek customs in order to show the likeness or stark differences of cultures. Many scholars have, however, criticized Herodotus for doing this; naming him an ethnocentric for introducing all other peoples and cultures as inferior to his own. This essay will seek to expose whether Herodotus is an ethnocentric or a cultural relativist by exploring the ways in which Herodotus refers to ‘the other’ and the customs and culture of these people. Through the exploration of the Egyptians and the Scythians in Herodotus’s The Histories, this essay will determine that Herodotus’s conception of culture develops from a cultural relativist perspective rather than an ethnocentric point of view, where he uses his own well-known culture as a basis for explaining other cultures and customs, while respecting their difference as being of equal value in their own land, as Greek

Assess the reasons for the Greek victory over the Persians in 490 to 480/479 BC. Make a judgement based on outcome, results and values.

The Parthians, based in Iran, extend to Mesopotamia. They were seminomadic Parthians that drove the Seleucus out of Iran. They had a federated governmental structure and had especially strong cavalry:

In the period known as classical Greece in the years 800-323 BCE, Greece comprised of small city states (poleis) which were considered and operated as independent small countries. Amongst those city states Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and considered in Greek history as the most influential states to western civilisation. These two city states shared some common characteristics whilst in some instances they were very different from each other. Sparta and Athens had differences and similarities in the way they governed their city states, in how they established their military forces, how they treated women, their marriage customs and social gatherings

The Mongols were nomadic pastoralists who originated in the Eurasian steppes but eventually conquered the largest contiguous empire in history. The first ruler Genghis Khan was able to unite the loosely-bound nomadic clans in 1206 AD and begin seizing land through ingenious military tactics such as base-10 warrior organization, trickery, and terror. Later, his grandson Kublai Khan continued conquering new land and adding it to their vast yet relatively decentralized government. Although there were a few positive effects of Mongol rule, they still had an overall negative impact on Eurasia because of the large quantities of deaths they caused and their weakening of Chinese power in their own government.

In ancient Greece there were two major polises which allowed the Greek culture to achieve greatness during the 400-500 B.C.E. era. These two polises were Athens and Sparta; both city states differed in many ways before the start of the Persian War. There were low rugged mountains that separated these two city states so communication and travel were difficult. The government of these two city states can be seen as a primary difference between the two. Draco, Solon, Pisistratus, and Cleithenes were four leaders that greatly influenced the political development of Athens. Athens and Sparta differed primarily in their political, social, and economical aspects. But there were other difference that Athens and Sparta share which I will examine in this essay.

Athens and Sparta, the two largest and most powerful cities in ancient Greece (between 800 and 323 BCE) were two different models of polis, their social, political and cultural values and ways of life were dramatically different. (Brand, n.d.)

The people of Sparta didn’t keep a written record of their history, events or customs, instead, it was orally shared. However, Non-Spartans, usually Athenians, did write about what they knew about Sparta and some of the events the Spartans were involved in. Much speculation has occurred as to the reliability of these accounts, not just because of the writers own predisposition, but also because of the secretive tendencies of the Spartans and their own form of propaganda that created a reputation known as the “Spartan Mirage”. Due to inconsistencies in the archaeological evidence and written sources, it is theorised that the Spartans formed a reputation for themselves that may or may not be completely accurate.

and opinions about life each and every day. Various gods ruled these different city states.

Mesopotamia was the land between two rivers, and it was part of the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent was a large arc of rich farmland, that goes from the Gulf of Persia to The Mediterranean Sea. Mesopotamia was a very fertile land that was perfect for farming, so opposing civilizations wanted control of this fertile land. This land referred to was fought for by three civilizations and, each took Mesopotamia within different time frames. When they did not have control of this land, they would all fight against the others to get it. The civilizations were the Sumerians, the Akkadians, and the Chaldeans. The Sumerians were the first civilization in Mesopotamia, just below the Akkadians, and the Chaldeans were not from Mesopotamia, they came from the Syrian Desert. There was another group of people, not within Mesopotamia, but in the Fertile Crescent, and they were called the Phoenicians.

Hadji Murat, Tolstoy's second book with the Caucasus as its setting can be considered a work of historical fiction that is a beautiful tale of resistance, and a window into not only the Caucasian War of the mid-nineteenth century, but also the culture of the Russian Empire during this period. As a work of fiction the reader must be wary of depictions of actual persons such as Tsar Nicholas I, whom Tolstoy was not enamored with, to say the least, but many insights about the period and its people can be gleaned from the story. The novel is one of great contrasts between Chechens and Russians and also of what life was like during this time.

?Unlike most other cities in the ancient world, Corinth was a city destined for prosperity and longevity no matter who occupied it or how it was governed.? It is as old, or older, than any other ancient Greek city, with origins that lie only in myths and legends that are more than two thousand years old.? Little is known of who established the city or when it was actually founded.? What we do know is Corinth was a very important city and it became a major player in ancient Greek and Roman history.?

De Fabianis, Valeria Manferto, ed. Ancient Rome: History of a Civilization that Ruled the World. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1996Grant, Michael. The Founders of the Western World: A History of Greece and Rome. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, Maxwell Macmillan Int., 1991Martin, Thomas R. Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times. New Haven, Eng.: Yale University Press,

The Dark Age of Greece refers to a period of time where all knowledge of Mycenae construction, painting, sculpture, reading and writing disintegrated due to Dorian invasion. One form of art that continued through the period of the Mycenaean downfall was the art of pottery. Pottery, more specifically vase painting, was the beginning of an illustrative development in Greek art and was considered a durable form of art because it ensured the survival of artifacts for long periods of time unlike other forms of art. The emergence of independent city-states within Greece took place around the 8th century, which in turn led to the formation of colonies to facilitate trade

Very few civilizations have had as profound an influence on the world as those of ancient Greece. The Greeks laid the foundations for fields varying from philosophy to political theory to war tactics. However, this influence was not just due to their intelligence or success, but their widespread presence in the Mediterranean. Greek culture was spread throughout their known world in two distinct manners, the foundation of apoikia in the Archaic Age (8th century to 500 B.C. ) and imperialists by poleis, primarily Athens of the Classical Age (490 - 323 B.C ). Though the culture of a mother city (mētropolis) may have spread through two very different manners of “colonization.” The word is not used in the literal sense, but rather hereafter used to mean “spreading of culture”, as the former can hardly be described using the contemporary definition of colonization and the latter was through Athenian empire-building. These developments had a significant impact on ancient Greece and our modern perception thereof. Like most of the ancient world, we can best analyze these methods of colonialism through extant artifacts. I will analyze an inscription of the foundation oath of Cyrene, which recounts the decision and manner in which the island of Thera sent its citizens to the form a new polis, and the fragments of the Lapis Primus, a marble monolith that documented tributes to Athens when the city was at the peak of its imperial age, evidencing the magnitude of their power and influence in the Greek region.