The arts reflect the society that creates them. Nowhere is this truer than in the case of the ancient Greeks. Through their temples, sculpture, and pottery, the Greeks incorporated a fundamental principle of their culture: arete. To the Greeks, arete meant excellence and reaching one's full potential.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
The Inca called their empire Tahuantinsuyu, or Land of the Four Quarters. It stretched 2,500 miles from Quito, Ecuador, to beyond Santiago, Chile. Within its domain were rich coastal settlements, high mountain valleys, rain-drenched tropical forests and the driest of deserts. The Inca controlled perhaps 10 million people, speaking a hundred different tongues. It was the largest empire on earth at the time. Yet when Pizarro executed its last emperor, Atahualpa, the Inca Empire was only 50 years old.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
Survey of the social, cultural, and political development of western Europe between 500 and 1300. Topics include: the Germanic conquest of the ancient Mediterranean world; the Carolingian Renaissance; feudalism and the breakdown of political order; the crusades; the quality of religious life; the experience of women; and the emergence of a revitalized economy and culture in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Material Type: Full Course
During the Middle Ages, the feudal system meant that most people in Europe lived in small farming villages. As the population expanded and the towns grew, however, a need arose to find ways to differentiate between two people who shared the same first name.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This unit follows a general introduction of Athens and Sparta including historical context, geographical location, demographics, etc. This unit will begin with teaching about the people of Athens and Sparta and the competition between the two. Students will learn about the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian Wars, focusing on the involvement of Athens and Sparta. Students will read articles describing the two city-states and the spartan education system in an open textbook. Based on their knowledge of both Sparta's and Athens' societal and military ventures, students will decide if the spartan education system was beneficial. They will then compose a persuasive essay on this topic.
Material Type: Lesson
This unit is designed to provide 11th grade students with a basic understanding of the 5 Major World Religions. Included for each religion are: origins, development, beliefs, and impact. The unit incorporates elements of online learning with face-to-face interactions.
Material Type: Unit of Study
Democracy. Philosophy. Sculpture. Dramatic tragedies. The Olympic Games. Many of the fundamental elements of Western culture first arose more than 2000 years ago in ancient Greece.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
The 6th century B.C.E. was an amazing time of philosophical growth for ancient China. It was during that time that the two most influential spiritual leaders native to China, Confucius and Lao-tzu, are thought to have lived and taught. The philosophies that they practiced, Taoism and Confucianism, existed simultaneously in dynastic China, attracting countless numbers of followers over the past 2,500 years. The fascination of both the Eastern and Western worlds with these two legendary figures and the philosophies that they created remains strong.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
Slideshow of ancient Greece
Material Type: Interactive
This video is produced by the Bloomfield Township, MI community media. It is from a public access program. It is posted to the Internet Archive and was discovered via https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Vd4QiNgR59m3064dN042QwW4uULpSdihpziCMEC1qZc/edit#gid=839695847
Material Type: Lecture
'Ancient World, The: Greece' (1955) 66m, dir. ray Garner. This film recreates the ancient Greek world through its extant art and literature. The narration is from translations of Greek authors, including Hesiod, Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, and Plutarch, and accompanies visual impressions of Greek religious philosophy and history through the golden age. The film features spectacular footage of Crete, Knossos, Mycenae, and the sculptures of Athens. It discusses the Persians at Marathon, then 10 years later, Xerxes at Thermopylae. To view Garner’s Greece, Part II, visit http://archive.org/details/AncientWorldGreece_Pt2 For more on Garner, visit http://www.afana.org/garner.htm
Material Type: Lesson
'Ancient World, The: Greece' (1955) 66m, dir. ray Garner. This film recreates the ancient Greek world through its extant art and literature. The narration is from translations of Greek authors, including Hesiod, Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, and Plutarch, and accompanies visual impressions of Greek religious philosophy and history through the golden age. The film features spectacular footage of Crete, Knossos, Mycenae, and the sculptures of Athens. It discusses the Persians at Marathon, then 10 years later, Xerxes at Thermopylae. For more on Garner, visit http://www.afana.org/garner.htm
Material Type: Lesson
One of the many factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire was the rise of a new religion, Christianity. The Christian religion, which was monotheistic ran counter to the traditional Roman religion, which was polytheistic (many gods). At different times, the Romans persecuted the Christians because of their beliefs, which were popular among the poor.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
Not many things have endured without interruption or major transformation for over 5,000 years. Hindu traditions such as these are great exceptions. Arguably, Hinduism is the oldest religion on Earth.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
To understand the life and death of Jesus and the birth of Christianity, one must understand the context of the Roman Empire. Jesus was a Jew, as were almost all of his early followers.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
A man meditating alone in a cave near Mecca received a religious vision. This vision laid the foundations for a new religion. The year was 610 and the man's name was Muhammad.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
In the wake of Columbus' historic voyage in 1492, expeditions, especially from Imperial Spain, swarmed into Aztec territory. They came in search of gold and souls gold to enrich the coffers of the Spanish king (and their own), and heathen souls to rescue for Christianity. Within a generation, America's ancient civilizations were crushed. Both the Aztec and Inca Empires collapsed after campaigns lasting just a couple of years. How did they fall so fast? Historians suggest many causes.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
Between the 9th and 11th centuries C.E., the kingdom of Ghana was so rich that its dogs wore golden collars, and its horses, which were adorned with silken rope halters, slept on plush carpets. Based on animal luxuries alone, it is no wonder that foreigners touted Ghana's kings as the richest men in the world.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
What would life be like if a magician ruled the land? The history of ancient Mali gives us some hints. The founder of this West African kingdom was well known among his people as a man of magic with more than a few tricks up his sleeve.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
Like many great civilizations, Benin's rise to power was filled with excitement and wonder, but its eventual social crises and political instability displayed the effects of greed, inhumanity, and love of power.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Reading
