Web Explorations

Minoan Civilization

This site provides not only an excellent introduction to the predecessors of the Greeks in the eastern Mediterranean, but also provides a virtual tour of its principle archeological sites.

Questions for exploration:

Early Minoan civilization may have been able to withstand a devastating earthquake due to the nature of its social organization. What was this social organization and why may it have strengthened the civilization in times of both wealth and difficulty? What natural and human disasters eventually brought the civilization to an end?

Daily Life in Ancient Greece

These sites are devoted to exploring daily life in the ancient world and explore the role of women and slaves in Greek society.

Questions for exploration:

Discuss the significance of domestic slaves in Greek home life. What were their duties? How did one come to be a slave in Greek society? What freedoms and limits to freedom did women face in Greek society? What roles were reserved for them? What games might they enjoy and what games were they not permitted to attend? How did the courtyard of the Greek home figure in the world of Greek women?

Greek Men’s Life

This site is part of an exhibition of Greek culture and art.

Questions for exploration:

Clicking on the module buttons for schooling and warfare will provide material necessary to answer the following questions: What sort of schooling was provided for rich Greek men? How did the course of warfare change during Greek history?

The Greek Home

This site is part of an exhibition of Greek domestic culture and art.

Questions for exploration:

What were the characteristics of a Greek home? From the images on an ancient Greek vase (found by clicking on the module button, "Greek furnishings"), what can we deduce about what kind of home furnishing they employed? How would the drinking vessel viewed by clicking on the "drinking party" module button tell you that Greek partygoers were serious drinkers?

Athens

This site provides a virtual tour of Athens. Examine the Athenian acropolis and get introduced to Greek architecture

Questions for exploration:

Why is it understandable that Greeks regarded the site of the acropolis as not only sacred, but sacred to a female divinity? What architectural refinements add to the beauty of the Partheon?

Labors of Herakles

This site examines the labors of Herakles (Hercules) in Greek mythology.

Questions for exploration:

What were the "labors" of Herakles? How did they embody what the Greeks called pathos?

The Ancient Olympic Games Virtual Museum

This site offers materials on the history of the Olympic Games, including this "memoir" of a competitor, Xenophon, in the games.

Questions for exploration:

How did Xenophon initially gain the recognition needed to train for the Games? What did he do before departing for the Games? Who took care of the athletic fields? What was the penalty for a false start during a race meeting? After he returned to his home, what did Xenophon do in thanks for his victory?

The Ancient City of Athens

This site uses ancient Athens to introduce the concept of typography.

Questions for exploration:

What is topography? Why study a city’s topography? What types of sources exist for information about ancient Athens?

Thucydides: Greek Historian

This site is one of the major sites for materials and links on ancient Greece.

Questions for exploration:

In the search box at this site, enter the term Thucydides. On the basis of the results, discuss what we know and how we know about famous historians? Why was Thucydides exiled? How did he defend the strategic vision of Pericles? Why is Thucydides famous as an historian today? How would his "re-constructions" of speeches be regarded by popular writers today? By professional historians?

Greek Medicine

This site offers a good introductory essay on Greek medicine.

Questions for exploration:

Can you find any similarities between the Greek idea of "humors" and the Chinese concept of "chi?" Did Hypocrates write the Hypocratic Oath? How "modern" do you find that Oath as it may be applied today?

The Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles

This a site maintained by the Hellenic Ministry of culture that advocates the return to Greece of the marbles of the Parthenon, now principally housed in London and commonly called the Elgin Marbles.

Questions for exploration:

How did precious ancient Greek art and artifacts end up in modern London? Why is it argued that these objects now belong in Greece? How, and on what grounds, would you propose to resolve this debate?

The Astronomy of the Greeks

This site is part of Portland State University’s Internet guide to Greek Civilization.

Questions for exploration:

What were some of the most impressive gains in astronomy made by the Greeks? What were the chief accomplishments of Eratosthenes and Aristotle in measuring celestial bodies?

A Day in Ancient Rome

This a multi-link site devoted to the Eternal City's ancient heritage.

Questions for exploration:

Describe a typical day in the life of an ancient Roman, using the links to school, lunch and baths to illustrate the experience.

Roman Ball Games

This site is devoted to illustrating the Roman ball sports.

Questions for exploration:

According to their mural art, muscular Roman men and scantily clad Roman women worked out regularly in the palaestra (fields) or sphaerista (ball courts). What kind of common athletic games did Romans play? Which games do we still play today?

The First European Monetary Union?

This site is an exhibit designed to explain the nature of ancient Roman currency systems that is part of a larger exhibition on Romans in Britain.

Questions for exploration:

What, beyond the value of the currency itself, was the great utility of coinage? What are at least two reasons archeologists find coins useful as artifacts?

The Roman Legions

This site, devoted to tracing the Glory of Rome, features a thorough study of the Roman legions and their leaders.

Questions for exploration:

Why did the Roman army undertake serious reforms? What tactics made the Roman legion nearly invincible against less well-organized foes? How was citizenship obtained via military service? Who guaranteed that military pensions would be paid? Can you see any danger in this arrangement? What multicultural advantage did Flavius Aetius have among great Roman generals? Why is his death symbolic of the decline of Rome?

Josephus: The Jewish Wars

Josephus was a governor in Judea who allied himself with the Romans against a rising of the Jewish people against Roman rule. This site provides a transcription of Josephus’s famous history of the Roman "pacification" of Judea in 72 ace. This site examines Josephus’s history for what it reveals about Roman provincial administration.

Questions for exploration:

What did the Jewish rebels wish to see in place of Roman rule? What did the rebels fear most should the rebellion fail? What did Josephus himself think of the aims and the tactics of the zealot guerillas? Can you think of any other revolutionary wars for independence where patriot rebels or loyalists burned the houses of their fellow countrymen? Does his narrative reveal any feelings for the rebels? What evidence, if any, can you find that Josephus is either ambivalent in his loyalties or if he is a true admirer of Rome? How did the victorious Romans react at the scene they beheld at the end of the siege of Masada? How reliable is Josephus’s account as a source of the events during the siege of Masada?

Galeria Valeria

This site examines the life of Galeria Valeria, daughter of the Emperor Diocletian and wife of Emperor Galerius.

Questions for exploration:

What does the story of Galeria Valeria tell us about the place of royal women in the Roman Empire? How does her appearance on Roman coinage reflect the politics of the age?

Vesuvius, Italy and its Link to The Vesuvius Homepage.

Natural and human history of the Bay of Naples and the Vesuvius volcano.

Questions for exploration:

How did the eruptions of the Vesuvius volcano influence the natural and human history of central Italy? What accounts for this impact? How may future eruptions of Vesuvius influence the future of human habitation in the Bay of Napoli?

Roman Maritime Trade

This site offers a history of Roman naval technology and a description of Roman overseas trade.

Questions for exploration:

What other Mediterranean civilizations preceded Rome in building great seaborn trading empires? What city in Africa and what crop became essential to Rome's survival? What story in the Bible supports the idea that shipping in ancient times was seasonal? What evidence is offered that Phoenician sailors sailed around Africa?