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:
Mural Crown
Mural Crown: artistic motif from the ancient Near East, also used in Hellenistic and Roman art. An Elamite goddess wearing a…Numidian-Carthaginian War
Numidian-Carthaginian War: the conflict between the Numidians and the Carthaginians in 151-150 BCE, pretext for a Roman intervention that culminated in the sack of Carthage (146 BCE).Prelude …Olympiad
Olympiad: a period of four year, originally between two Olympic Games, later used as a unit for historical chronology.Every Greek city had a different calendar, often naming the year after a magistrate, making it very difficult to date events in…Oracle
Oracle: ancient sanctuary where the people could ask advise from a deity. The response is also called an oracle. Delphi A short…Ostracism
Ostracism, "the judgment of the potsherds": Athenian juridical practice in which a potentially dangerous person would be exiled from the city without loss of property or civil rights. …Ostracon
Ostracon: an inscribed potsherd. Sahidic ostracon from Thebes We are accustomed to write on paper. The ancients used papyrus or parchment, but…Pediment
Pediment: the (usually triangular) upper part of a gable in an ancient building, often decorated with a relief. Pediment of a…Peloponnesian League
Peloponnesian League: modern name for the alliance of Sparta. This informal coalition of towns on the Peloponnese had its origins in the Archaic period; in the classical age, it was opposed to (and overcame) the Delian League of Athens. …Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War: name of the conflict between Athens and Sparta that broke out in 431 and continued, with an interruption, until 404. Athens was forced to dismantle its empire. The war however, was not decisive, because within a decade, the…Penteconter
Pentekonter (Greek πεντηκόντορος): a small warship with fifty rowers, popular in the Archaic Age of Greece. Vase painting of an archaic…Peristyle
Peristyle (Greek περίστυλιον): colonnade surrounding a courtyard or garden. Pompeii, House of the Vettii, Peristyle A peristyle is, essentially, a colonnade that hides…Persian Alphabet
Persian Alphabet: script of thirty-six signs and eight ideograms, used in the Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions. Achaemenid Royal Inscription DSe When the Persian…