Concepts
On this page, you will find an overview of the mental concept of Antiquity, from acropolis to ziggurat, from ephor to tetrarch, from barbarian to tyrant.
There are 132 items in Concepts:
Dictator
Dictator: Roman magistrate with extraordinary powers, appointed during an emergency. The word dictator originally meant "the one who dictates" or "gives orders". The negative connotation is a later development. …Earth and water
Earth and water: symbol of surrender in the ancient Achaemenid empire. A satrap receives visitors. Nereid Monument, Xanthus The Persian custom to…Ecclesiastical Council
Council (or synod): meeting of the bishops of the church to discuss theological and organizational matters. The Council of Nicaea In every…Ephor
Ephor (Greek: ἔφορος) “overseer”: name of an annually elected official in ancient Sparta and its colonies Thera and Cyrene.Origin The origin of the ephorate is not known. Writing in the mid fifth-century, the Greek researcher Herodotus of Halicarnassus states that it…Eques
Knight (Latin eques): title of members of the elite of the Roman republic. Under the empire, they were "second tier", after the senators.Origins …Eye of the King
Eye of the king (Old Persian Spasaka?): inspector in the Achaemenid empire. Sometimes called "eyes and ears".In his charming description of the youth of the founder of the Achaemenid empire, Cyrus the Great, the Greek researcher Herodotus of Halicarnassus suggests…Fasces
Fasces: set of rods bound in the form of a bundle which contained an axe. In ancient Rome, the bodyguards of a magistrate carried fasces. …Fifth Syrian War (202-195)
Syrian Wars: series of conflicts between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires in the third and second centuries BCE; at stake was an area called Coele Syria, which is more or less identical to modern Israel, the Palestine territories, Lebanon, and…First Punic War
First Punic War (264-241 BCE): the first of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire, in which Rome conquered Sicily. Sicily According to…First Syrian War (274-272)
Syrian Wars: series of conflicts between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires in the third and second centuries BCE; at stake was an area called Coele Syria, which is more or less identical to modern Israel, the Palestine territories, Lebanon, and…Fiscus Judaicus
Fiscus Judaicus ("Jewish tax"): a tax that the Jews had to pay to the temple of the Roman supreme god Jupiter Capitolinus after the destruction of their own temple in 70 CE. …Flash flood
Flash flood: the seasonal flood in a wadi. A flash flood in Bani Walid A wadi is a river in an arid…