Turkomen on the Silk Road with camels Just like under Persian or Sassanian rule, the economy of West Asia during the Islamic period depended very heavily on trade. The Silk Road ran right across the Islamic Empire. It [...]
These punch-marked silver coins might be from the time of Chandragupta I, in Mauryan India. Chandragupta I Alexander went back to Babylon in 324 BC. Then a man named Chandragupta overthrew [...]
The god Poseidon rules the ocean Ocean god Poseidon The Greeks thought of the god Poseidon as a god of violent, unpredictable movement. He is most often the god of the ocean, which is [...]
Herakles cleaning the Augean Stables (Metope from Olympia, ca. 460 BC) Another Labor of Herakles For one of the Labors of Herakles, Herakles had to clean out the cattle stables of King [...]
Greek Olympic events - Men's footrace (Athens, ca. 530 BC) A short foot race At first, the only athletic competition at the Olympics was a single short foot race, 170 [...]
Archaic Greek economy: A black-figure vase showing a blacksmith at work (Athens, about 550 BC) Not much trade in the Dark Ages During the political collapse of the Greek Dark [...]
Parthenon frieze - seated goddesses What is on the Parthenon frieze? On the Parthenon's frieze, Pheidias carved a long procession of Athenians, with girls in the front, bringing a new [...]
Abrigo del Ciervo, Spain, ca. 6000 BC: Early European economy Hunting and gathering The first people in Europe lived by hunting and gathering; they probably had both dogs and bows [...]
Valmonica, Italy (ca. 2000 BC?) Were artists still doing rock art? Yes! Bronze Age artists kept on carving rock art all across Europe, using it to show the new horses [...]
Squash history: Pumpkins growing Where is squash from? Squash is the fruit of a vine plant that grows wild in Central America. Squash probably evolved around the same time as [...]
