Classical Antiquity

Lore & Background

The era begins in the Archaic period (c. 8th to c. 6th centuries BC) with a resurgence of historical sources after the Late Bronze Age collapse, following a dark age where literacy was lost despite its earlier presence in the Mycenaean era. By 776 BC, the Ancient Olympic Games were established, and Homer's lifetime marks the re-emergence of recorded history for Greece. In Greece, this age saw the revitalization of writing and the development of democracy and philosophy. Pottery styles shifted from geometric to the Orientalizing style, influenced by Egypt and Phoenicia. In Italy, the Etruscans held political control until the late 6th century BC, when Italic tribes created republics. Legend states Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC by Romulus and Remus; after the expulsion of King Tarquinius Superbus in 510 BC, Rome transitioned into a republic that was initially an oligarchy dominated by patricians before gradually expanding rights to plebeians.

In Their Own Story

The Classical Greece period (5th to 4th centuries BC) witnessed intense conflict and shifting hegemony. In 510 BC, Spartan troops helped overthrow the Athenian tyrant Hippias. The subsequent Greco-Persian Wars (499–449 BC) liberated Greece from Persian rule but sparked the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), ending in a Spartan victory. By 395 BC, Sparta lost its naval supremacy, leading to the inconclusive Corinthian War by 387 BC. A turning point arrived in 371 BC when Theban generals Epaminondas and Pelopidas won at the Battle of Leuctra, ending Spartan dominance. However, Macedon rose under Philip II (359–336 BC), who expanded into Paeonia, Thrace, and Illyria. His son, Alexander the Great (356–323 BC), extended power to the Persian Empire, Egypt, and the fringes of India. The period ended in 323 BC with Alexander's death and the fragmentation of his empire among the Diadochi.

Reader's Guide

The Hellenistic period (323–146 BC) saw Greek become the lingua franca, interacting with cultures from Persia to Central Asia. Advances in geography, astronomy, and mathematics flourished under Aristotelianism. This era concluded when Rome became a super-regional power, conquering Greece in 146 BC. The Roman Republic (5th to 1st centuries BC) began circa 509 BC, lasting over 450 years before transforming into the Empire through civil wars. Rome unified Italy via conflicts like the Samnite Wars and Pyrrhic War, eventually dominating Italy after the Punic and Macedonian Wars. By the 2nd century BC, Rome acquired Greece and Asia Minor, facing internal unrest like the Catiline conspiracy and Social War before the First Triumvirate. The Roman Empire (1st century BC to 5th century AD) continued to term itself a res publica while expanding de facto from the 130s BC with acquisitions in Cisalpine Gaul, Illyria, Greece, and Hispania.

Did You Know?

• Classical antiquity conventionally ends with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.
• Although literacy existed during the Mycenaean Bronze Age via Linear B script, it was lost during the Dark Ages before re-emerging around Homer's time in the 8th century BC.
• Contrary to some beliefs, Assyrian inscriptions confirm that Sargon II received tribute from the seven kings of Cyprus (Yadnana) around 709 BC, prior to his death in 705 BC.
• The Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC ended Spartan supremacy and established Theban hegemony.
• Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC by Romulus and Remus according to legend.