Tough economic times can lead to stress which in turn leads to poor diet and exercise choices.
Don’t go stretching that waistband. Simply make a few rules to stick by so you come out of the credit crunch as fit as a fiddle.
1) Don't opt for super cheap meals. The lure of a filling fast food meal for only a few dollars can be temping but what you save on cost now will end in pricey medical bills in the future. Skip fatty foods and opt for economical but nutritious options such as a wholemeal pasta with tomato ragu or frittata with eggs and veggies. Don’t be lazy, look around your supermarket for great food at low prices.
2) Stay in but don't slob out. During tough economic times cutting down on nights out is an easy way to save money but don’t sit idly in front of the television snacking to pass time. Instead, be social. Invite friends round for a night of board games or cards. Both options stimulate your mind which can improve the health of your brain in years to come.
3) Don’t cancel gym membership. It can be tempting to cut luxury items from our budget but if you use the it, it’s worth keeping. Instead of cancelling, make more of the facilities. Try out new classes and ask for guest passes so you can bring a friend along.
4) Pick up a workout DVDs. If you don’t have a gym membership, invest in a great exercise DVD or game. They make a great addition to jogging when the weather takes a turn for the worse, save money and if followed correctly, will give an equally good workout as a gym session. Check out our favourites workouts.
5) Drink water. Soft drinks are cheap and may seem like a treat, but they are empty calories and have no nutritional value. Save your money for a fun excursion and keep hydrated with water.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
naughty massages for your beloved
Titillating Towel Spank
For ages, Russian spa-goers have sworn by flogging to boost circulation and flush out toxins. There, you would get lashed with branches, but you can make do in your home by using a warm, damp towel, says massage therapist Maiya Thompson, of Just Calm Down Spa, in NYC, where they offer a modern version of flogging. Dip a hand towel in lukewarm water, wring it out, then pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds (it shouldn’t feel scalding to the touch). Tell your guy to stand with his back to you. That way, he won’t know what areas you’re going to hit, which ups the thrill for both of you. Twist the towel and grab both ends. Release one end of the towel and gently whip it a few times over his legs and arms, then move to the small of his back and, of course, his butt. Now let him do it to you.
The Below-the-Belt Press
European cultures tend to be less uptight than ours is, so it should come as no surprise that massages on the other side of the Atlantic venture farther south than they do here. But there’s a reason for it. You can get therapeutic benefits from loosening up your hip flexors (where the front of your upper thighs meet the hips). “Most people’s hip flexors lose flexibility from sitting for long periods,” says Caroline Rushworth, spa educator for Sothys Paris Spa in New York. To turn your man’s joints into jelly like they do in France, rub massage oil between your palms, then gently knead his hip flexors in a clockwise circular motion, creating friction and warmth. Once his muscles feel more pliable, increase the pressure and trace small circles toward the extrasensitive groin area. After he’s been moaning in pleasure for a while, switch places so he can do you.
Pleasure-Packed Pec Rub
Thai massage therapists say that your man’s back shouldn’t get all the love during a rubdown. “Working on his chest increases blood flow, which helps boost the immune system,” says April Supingprus, head therapist at the Thai Privilege Spa in NYC. Get frisky and drizzle a lickable water-based massage oil, like Victoria’s Secret Kissable Massage Oil, $12, onto his skin, then place your palms next to each other, facing upright, on one side of his chest, and slowly stroke upward using circular motions. Brush over his nipple with your thumbs (or your tongue!). Continue toward his shoulders, alternating between palm and finger pressure. Repeat on the other side, then it’s your turn.
The Lap Massage
Indian women know that a scalp massage relieves stress from the neck up. And since men tend to carry tension above their shoulders, it’s an ideal fix for them, says Amanda Brand, a massage therapist at Euphoria Spa in NYC. To boost the experience for both of you, place your guy’s head in your lap so you can see his reaction to your touches. First, use your index fingers to press in between his eyebrows. Then rub around his ears, where there are more than 300 pressure points, making it a prime erogenous zone. From there, massage your way up to the crown of his head. Now he can return the favor.
beauty,hair remedies for busy girls
At-the-Mall Makeover
You've spent the day shopping in frenzied department stores and you're running late for a date with your guy or some other p.m. appointment you want to look awesome for. The problem: Your hair has fallen flat, your eye makeup has suffered a meltdown, and since you've learned it's best to tote less when you holiday shop, the only thing you're packing is a lip gloss. Don't fret — instead, check out these artful freshen-up strategies.
Blot away oil-slicked skin.
If your face is shinier than the patent-leather pumps you just picked up, make a beeline for a bathroom stall. Since you don't want to wash away what's left of your makeup, tear off a piece of toilet-seat-cover paper and use it to dab away grease gently. Caveat: Don't rub or you'll smear off every trace of color.
Look for lotion.
Hit the beauty floor of a department store and seek out the one product that can cover the most get-gorgeous ground: moisturizer. You can use this multitasker to smooth dry skin on your face, clean up old makeup, and even calm frizzy hair. So pick a beauty counter selling skin-care items and use a sample of their latest silkener to lube up liberally.
Snag samples and do a speedy makeup job.
Next, get to work using the cosmetic color testers to foxify your face. Play up either your eyes or your lips using a bright or bold hue — emphasizing just one feature is a fast way to look hot and p.m. appropriate, says makeup artist Robin Nardaez, of NYC's Borja Color Studio.
Get blown off.
You can revive limp long-past-their-prime locks with a blast of warm air from the hand dryers found in most public rest rooms, says Lisa Chiccine, senior stylist for Avon Salon and Spa in New York City. Aim the nozzle toward your tresses and finger-tousle while the hot air hits them. To give definition to frizzed-out curls, wet your hands and use them to scrunch your twirls as the air blows. Note: If the nozzle won't turn upward, you can bend at the waist, flip your hair over, and massage your roots to amp up the volume.
Plump up your pucker.
The paper towels in rest rooms are just rough enough to polish your pout perfectly. First, wipe away any cakey leftover lipstick residue, then rub a towel over your lips to exfoliate dry, chapped skin and bring a natural, just-kissed flush to the surface.
Speedy "Yikes...I Overslept!" Strategies
By the time you finally hear your alarm, you realize it's been buzzing for more than an hour. Now how the hell are you gonna pull it together enough to look bright-eyed and beautiful when you're nursing a school-night hangover and have to be at work ASAP? Don't panic. We have sneaky tricks to resuscitate your look on the double.
Wake up your complexion.
Give your tuckered-out skin a jolt with a splash of very cold water to bring color to your cheeks, then dab moisturizer on your cocktail-dehydrated epidermis. We like Chanel Precision Energizing Radiance Lotion, $36. Don't forget to fix red eyes with a squirt of eye drops.
Forget foundation.
Since you don't have time to apply base expertly all over your face, apply concealer just where you need it — over blemishes, under-eye circles, and any red areas, says Sephora makeup artist Charlie Green.
Work second-day makeup.
Slept-in eye makeup can look inexplicably great, says Nardaez. So if you couldn't muster the motivation to clean your face before you crashed, use it to your advantage in the a.m.: Dampen a cotton swab, then clean up any smudges and go.
Put color in your cheeks.
You tend to look pasty after a night of revelry, so enliven your skin with a peachy shade of rouge to avert "someone had a late one" comments from your coworkers. Use a cream blush, which looks more natural than a powder when you're going for a lot of color. We like BECCA Creme Blush in Byzantine, $27.
Create a stylishly sloppy mane.
Since you don't have time to shampoo, blow-dry, and style your strands, sweep them into an easy updo. Put hair in a ponytail, then pull it through again, stopping halfway, and leave some pieces hanging loose, says Chiccine.
Getting Decked Out Deskside
The only date you have planned for the night is with your remote control until your coworker springs a last-minute invite to a hottie-filled happening. There's no time to go home and primp, so what's a girl — whose morning makeup is all but a memory — to do? Try this advice to go from rundown to ravishing.
Switch your style.
Revive a tired workday do with a quick coif change. If your hair's been up all day, the pony holder or clips should have given your mane some sexy texture, so shake it out and scrunch the crown to emphasize that volume. But if you've worn your locks down all day and they're looking a bit bedraggled, try switching your part or sweeping your hair into a twist to make it look more party-girl pretty. If you don't have a comb, try a plastic fork, which is also really good for teasing your roots, says Chiccine.
Darken your lids.
You can make your regular daytime eye shadow look sultry and nighttime trendy by wetting the applicator before you apply it. Just go over your lash lines, then smudge the color across your lids, says Nardaez.
Take a utensil to your lashes.
Curled lashes make eyes look big and bright, but who carries a curler around? No need to! A metal spoon from the office break room can fill in. Hold it against your desk lamp to warm it, then place the back of the spoon under your upper lashes and press up lightly as you partially close your lid.
Shine, shine, shine.
If there's one bit of beauty loot you should make a permanent place for in your desk drawer, it's shimmer powder. When impromptu p.m. outings arise, use it to add radiance to your collarbone, shins, cheekbones, and even your hair. We love Victoria's Secret Bare Bronze Collection Flawless Glow Face Bronzer, $17.50 and Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Makeup Loose Shimmer Powder, $18.
Erase your cuticles.
If you haven't tended to your talons in weeks and your cuticles are overtaking your nails, use the eraser tip of a pencil to push back the overgrown skin gently, then buff your nails to a shine with a tissue.
Highlight your pout...literally
Desperate times call for desperate measures. On those occasions when you find yourself stuck without lipstick and craving some color, dot a nontoxic pink highlighter over your lips and lightly rub them together before the color sets. Yes, a Cosmo editor has actually done this and it looks good — like a pink popsicle stain. We swear!
Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.
You've spent the day shopping in frenzied department stores and you're running late for a date with your guy or some other p.m. appointment you want to look awesome for. The problem: Your hair has fallen flat, your eye makeup has suffered a meltdown, and since you've learned it's best to tote less when you holiday shop, the only thing you're packing is a lip gloss. Don't fret — instead, check out these artful freshen-up strategies.
Blot away oil-slicked skin.
If your face is shinier than the patent-leather pumps you just picked up, make a beeline for a bathroom stall. Since you don't want to wash away what's left of your makeup, tear off a piece of toilet-seat-cover paper and use it to dab away grease gently. Caveat: Don't rub or you'll smear off every trace of color.
Look for lotion.
Hit the beauty floor of a department store and seek out the one product that can cover the most get-gorgeous ground: moisturizer. You can use this multitasker to smooth dry skin on your face, clean up old makeup, and even calm frizzy hair. So pick a beauty counter selling skin-care items and use a sample of their latest silkener to lube up liberally.
Snag samples and do a speedy makeup job.
Next, get to work using the cosmetic color testers to foxify your face. Play up either your eyes or your lips using a bright or bold hue — emphasizing just one feature is a fast way to look hot and p.m. appropriate, says makeup artist Robin Nardaez, of NYC's Borja Color Studio.
Get blown off.
You can revive limp long-past-their-prime locks with a blast of warm air from the hand dryers found in most public rest rooms, says Lisa Chiccine, senior stylist for Avon Salon and Spa in New York City. Aim the nozzle toward your tresses and finger-tousle while the hot air hits them. To give definition to frizzed-out curls, wet your hands and use them to scrunch your twirls as the air blows. Note: If the nozzle won't turn upward, you can bend at the waist, flip your hair over, and massage your roots to amp up the volume.
Plump up your pucker.
The paper towels in rest rooms are just rough enough to polish your pout perfectly. First, wipe away any cakey leftover lipstick residue, then rub a towel over your lips to exfoliate dry, chapped skin and bring a natural, just-kissed flush to the surface.
Speedy "Yikes...I Overslept!" Strategies
By the time you finally hear your alarm, you realize it's been buzzing for more than an hour. Now how the hell are you gonna pull it together enough to look bright-eyed and beautiful when you're nursing a school-night hangover and have to be at work ASAP? Don't panic. We have sneaky tricks to resuscitate your look on the double.
Wake up your complexion.
Give your tuckered-out skin a jolt with a splash of very cold water to bring color to your cheeks, then dab moisturizer on your cocktail-dehydrated epidermis. We like Chanel Precision Energizing Radiance Lotion, $36. Don't forget to fix red eyes with a squirt of eye drops.
Forget foundation.
Since you don't have time to apply base expertly all over your face, apply concealer just where you need it — over blemishes, under-eye circles, and any red areas, says Sephora makeup artist Charlie Green.
Work second-day makeup.
Slept-in eye makeup can look inexplicably great, says Nardaez. So if you couldn't muster the motivation to clean your face before you crashed, use it to your advantage in the a.m.: Dampen a cotton swab, then clean up any smudges and go.
Put color in your cheeks.
You tend to look pasty after a night of revelry, so enliven your skin with a peachy shade of rouge to avert "someone had a late one" comments from your coworkers. Use a cream blush, which looks more natural than a powder when you're going for a lot of color. We like BECCA Creme Blush in Byzantine, $27.
Create a stylishly sloppy mane.
Since you don't have time to shampoo, blow-dry, and style your strands, sweep them into an easy updo. Put hair in a ponytail, then pull it through again, stopping halfway, and leave some pieces hanging loose, says Chiccine.
Getting Decked Out Deskside
The only date you have planned for the night is with your remote control until your coworker springs a last-minute invite to a hottie-filled happening. There's no time to go home and primp, so what's a girl — whose morning makeup is all but a memory — to do? Try this advice to go from rundown to ravishing.
Switch your style.
Revive a tired workday do with a quick coif change. If your hair's been up all day, the pony holder or clips should have given your mane some sexy texture, so shake it out and scrunch the crown to emphasize that volume. But if you've worn your locks down all day and they're looking a bit bedraggled, try switching your part or sweeping your hair into a twist to make it look more party-girl pretty. If you don't have a comb, try a plastic fork, which is also really good for teasing your roots, says Chiccine.
Darken your lids.
You can make your regular daytime eye shadow look sultry and nighttime trendy by wetting the applicator before you apply it. Just go over your lash lines, then smudge the color across your lids, says Nardaez.
Take a utensil to your lashes.
Curled lashes make eyes look big and bright, but who carries a curler around? No need to! A metal spoon from the office break room can fill in. Hold it against your desk lamp to warm it, then place the back of the spoon under your upper lashes and press up lightly as you partially close your lid.
Shine, shine, shine.
If there's one bit of beauty loot you should make a permanent place for in your desk drawer, it's shimmer powder. When impromptu p.m. outings arise, use it to add radiance to your collarbone, shins, cheekbones, and even your hair. We love Victoria's Secret Bare Bronze Collection Flawless Glow Face Bronzer, $17.50 and Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Makeup Loose Shimmer Powder, $18.
Erase your cuticles.
If you haven't tended to your talons in weeks and your cuticles are overtaking your nails, use the eraser tip of a pencil to push back the overgrown skin gently, then buff your nails to a shine with a tissue.
Highlight your pout...literally
Desperate times call for desperate measures. On those occasions when you find yourself stuck without lipstick and craving some color, dot a nontoxic pink highlighter over your lips and lightly rub them together before the color sets. Yes, a Cosmo editor has actually done this and it looks good — like a pink popsicle stain. We swear!
Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
99 greatest historical famous people
Moses
Born circa 1300 B.C., Egypt
Died 1180 B.C., Canaan
Was put in a basket and sent down a river as a baby by his sister to avoid the killing of Hebrew boys by Pharaoh. He was then found and raised by a princess of Egypt.
Learning of his heritage he supposedly was charged by God with the task of going before Pharaoh to demand his people be set free from slavery. When Pharaoh refused, Moses call granted the power to call a plague upon Egypt of supernatural origin and catastrophic consequences.
After ten plagues, he led the Hebrews for forty years in the wilderness en route to the promised land of Canaan which they would later conquer and make the Kingdom of Israel.
It was under Moses leadership that the Hebrew people received most of their laws, including the Ten Commandments, and became what we today consider Jewish.
Moses supposedly was killed by God for not following his specific instructions for the carrying out of a miracle, but not before he was brought up a mountain to see the land he had brought the Israelites to conquer.
Muhammad
Born 570 B.C., Mecca
Died June 8, 632 B.C., Medina
Founder and holy prophet of the Muslim faith.
Implored the people of his area to return to the belief in one true God rather than the pagan worship of many gods.
Was not received well in the city of Mecca which he fought many battles against over the years.
Was also not well received by Jews who could not believe that a prophet would ever come from a non-Jew. To this Muhammad pointed out that Abraham was not a Jew.
United many tribes in Arabia with Medina as its capital.
Began receiving the inspired word of god when he was forty in a cave where he fasted and worshiped annually during the month of Ramadan.
Mursilis I
Born circa 1640, Hittite Kindom
Died circa 1595, Hittite Kingdom
Lead the Hittites to victory in Syria where they destroyed Aleppo.
Lead them to further victory with the sacking of Babylon which ended the rule of the descendants of Hammurabi.
Was assassinated by his Brother-in-law, Hantili, when who he returned to his Kingdom. Hantili then succeeded him as King.
Nebuchadnezzar
Born circa 625 B.C., Babylon
Died circa 562 B.C., Babylon
Considered the greatest king of Babylon but has been vilified for his treatment of the Jews.
Nebuchadnezzar sieged and conquered Jerusalem, destroying the Temple of Solomon in the process.
He enslaved the inhabitants of Judah and brought them to Babylon.
Brought about the Neo-Babylonian Empire sometimes referred to as the Chaldeans after the dynasty that he belonged to.
Was fare to those he conquered, only willing to destroy a city if absolutely necessary and showing royal officials great courtesy. This can be seen in his treatment of Jeremiah, and Danial and his companions.
Nefertiti
Born 1370 B.C., Egypt
Died 1330 B.C., Egypt
Wife of Akhenaten and possible coregent with him during parts of his reign.
Step mother of Tutankhamen.
May have ruled solely for a brief period after her husbands death under the name Neferneferuaten-nefertiti.
Was believed to be much more well liked then her husband as her statues were not smashed in their tomb.
Nero
Born December 15, 37 B.C., Rome
Died June 9 68 A.D., Rome
Last emperor of the Julio-claudian dynasty.
Is reviled as a tyrant and a persecutor of Christians who was famous for allegedly "fiddling while Rome burned." Many sources indicate that Nero may have actually been well liked and there is no backing behind the claim that he regarded the burning of Rome with happiness or even flippancy.
He warred and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire.
Was born Lucius Dominitus Ahenobarbus
Osiris
Worship began 3000 B.C., Egypt
Worship ended 500 A.D., Egypt
God of life, death, and fertility.
Was the judge of the dead but also the one who allowed life.
At times was considered the primary deity of the henotheistic society.
Is said to be Anubis' father as he replaced him as the god primarily associated with the afterlife.
Was murdered by Set but resurrected for a time by his wife Isis who then became pregnant with Horus, the god of new beginnings.
Ovid
Born March 20, 43 B.C., Sulmona
Died 17 A.D., Tomis
A Latin poet ranked with Virgil and Horace in importance.
Had an impact on art and literature for centuries into the middle ages.
Wrote of love, women, and mythological transformation.
Pericles
Born 495 B.C., Athens
Died 429 B.C., Athens
A great statesman and general for Athens, he was the leader of their forces (strategos).
Lived during the Golden Era between the Persian War and the Peloponnesian War.
Faught for 2 years in the Peloponnesian War before dying from an unknown epidemic that many accused him of bringing on Athens because he sailed to war after witnessing a lunar eclipse.
He knew better than most of the true nature of eclipses having been educated by Anaxagoras.
Had he lived Athens may have won the war against Sparta because it is said that his successors were inferior to him.
Philip II
Born 382 B.C., Macedon
Died 336 B.C., Macedon
Father of Alexander the Great, Philip III, and possible Ptolemy Soter.
United the Greek city states into one nation under Macedonian rule.
As a child was a well treated hostage in Thebes, Egypt.
Came to the thrown only after his elder brothers, Alexander II and Perdiccas III. And he was only elected regent for the true rightful heir, Amyntas IV, who was Perdiccas' infant son. He managed to secure the thrown for himself though.
Was assassinated by one of his own body guards at his daughter's wedding.
Plato
Born circa 428 B.C., Athens
Died circa 348 B.C., Athens
Student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle.
Left Athens for a long time because he was disgusted with them for executing Socrates.
Wrote many books on philosophy, most famous of which are the Apology and the Republic.
Developed a philosophy of greater and greater levels of truth known as Platonism.
Founded the first school of higher learning in the western world, known as the Academy.
Pompey
Born September 29, 106 B.C., Picenum
Died September 29, 48 B.C., Egypt
Roman statesman and general who very well could have gone on to fill Julius Caesar's role in Rome.
He entered into the First Triumvirate with Caesar and Crassus.
He fled Rome from Caesar during their civil war, allowing Caesar to capture the treasury which was kept at the temple of Saturn.
He managed to once beat Caesar in a battle, but failed to pursue and destroy his enemies much smaller army.
Pompey was killed in a boat going to shore at Egypt where he believed he had found safe haven. Really, the Egyptian king had arranged for his assassination by two of his old comrades, in order to gain prestige with Caesar.
Pontius Pilate
Born circa 10 B.C., Roman Empire
Died circa 36 B.C., Roman Empire
Pontius Pilate was the man who is believed to have presided over the trial and sentencing of Jesus Christ.
According to the Bible, Pilate found no guilt in Jesus and was confused as to how the Jews welcomed him as a prophet just a week before but know demanded his death.
Being a governor in a territory that balked at their Roman overlords and were known to cause uprisings, he was put in the difficult situation of trying to avid a riot as it could cost him his life.
According to some accounts, Jesus himself told Pilate that it was not he who was responsible for the death but rather the people pressuring him and that he would not be in the wrong for issuing the sentence. Either way, Pilate is famous for washing his hands as a display that he was not at fault in the matter of killing what he considered to be an innocent man.
Ptolemy I
Born 367 B.C., Macedon
Died 283 B.C., Egypt
Possibly the half-brother of Alexander the Great.
One of Alexander's most trusted generals.
In the civil war that broke out after the death of Alexander, Ptolemy was one of the generals to secure land and proclaimed himself the king of Egypt.
From his dynasty, Cleopatra came.
Ramses II a.k.a. Ramses the Great
Born circa 1290 B.C., Egypt
Died circa 1213 B.C., Egypt
A member of the nineteenth dynasty.
Is said to be the greatest king of Egypt.
Has many monuments built to himself across the land of Egypt.
Is believed to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus who Moses went before to demand his people's freedom.
Fought with the Hittites and one a famous battle at Kadesh despite the fact that he was tricked. Though he won the battle he lost the war as he didn't have enough troops of supplies to continue.
Remus
Born circa 771 B.C., Temple of Vesta
Died circa 753 B.C., Rome
One of the legendary founders of Rome.
Supposedly fathered by the god of war, Mars.
Supposedly descended from Aeneas, a survivor of Troy.
Was killed by his brother Romulus over who should rule the new city of Rome.
Romulus
Born 771 B.C., Temple of Vesta
Died 717 B.C., Rome
Twin brother of Remus.
Romulus crowned himself the first king of Rome after killing his brother, the city's cofounder.
Named the city after himself.
Sappho
Born circa 620 B.C., Lesbos
Died circa 570 B.C., Lesbos
Like her fellow poets, Hesiod and Homer, very little is known about Sappho except her poetry.
She was an educated woman, which was very rare for her time.
She was born into an aristocratic family which afforded her a sophisticated language and many rare places to visit and write about.
Is believed to have been a lesbian by many because of her poems to women. The word lesbian in fact comes from the name of her birthplace: Lesbos.
Sargon
Born circa 1500 B.C., Sumeria
Died circa 1440 B.C., Sumeria
Sargon is considered one of if not the earliest emperor. He preceeded the first Babylonian Empire and the Assyrians.
His empire spanned across most of the fertile crescent.
It is said that when he invaded Babylon and desecrated the temples there, he angered the Babylonian patriot god, Marduk, who then cursed Sargon to have rebellion throughout his land and never peace.
Marduk's curse brought the downfall of Sargon's empire.
Saul
Born circa 900 B.C., Israel
Died circa 850 B.C.Israel
Saul was the first king of Israel and a celebrated man in the earlier days of his reign.
His increased madness towards the end of his reign leads many theologians to believe that since the Hebrews demanded a king instead of relying on God, God therefore punished them by making Saul king.
Saul united all the tribes of Israel for the first time since the exodus.
Saul fell out of God's grace when he plundered an army he was told to completely destroy.
Was very close to David until later years when David was anointed the new king of Israel and a civil war broke out between them.
Seneca
Born circa 4 B.C., Hispania
Died circa 65 A.D., Rome
Son of another Seneca who was a famous Roman orator.
A sickly child who was sent to Rome for schooling and then to Egypt for treatment of his illness.
Was almost killed in a conflict with Emperor Caligula, but was spared because the Emperor thought he would die soon anyway because of his sickness.
Was the tutor of Emperor Nero and latter his advisor.
Shalmaneser
Born circa 1274 B.C., Asshur
Died circa 1245 B.C., Asshur
Assyrian king who vastly expanded the empire.
Claimed to have blinded 14,400 enemy prisoners in one eye.
Would often deport captured people to foreign lands rather than slaughter them.
Was the ancestor to Shalmaneser V, who is believed to be the Assyrian King that captured the the lost tribes of Israel.
Socrates
Born circa 470 B.C., Athens
Died circa 399 B.C., Athens
Socrates was the teacher of Plato.
He developed the Socratic method, a philosophical method of question and answer that is designed to get to the heart of matters.
He was opposed to the democratic ruling of Athens and felt that government should be a council of philosophers deciding on matters.
The oracle at Delphi claimed that he was the wisest man in Greece.
Though Socrates disbelieved her at first and set out to prove her wrong, he found no man in Greece wiser than himself.
He was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and was sentenced to death which he humbly accepted. He drank hemlock as his death penalty.
Solomon
Born 800 B.C., Jerusalem
Died 720 B.C., Jerusalem
Solomon was the son of King David and the heir to the thrown.
He was the bastard child of David and Bathsheba.
The Bible claims he was the wisest man on earth.
Unlike his father, who was a warrior king, Solomon expanded his kingdom through diplomacy and trade.
It is said that God was often displeased with him for allowing his many wives to influence him with pagan beliefs.
Despite his great wealth, success, and heresy, he is believed to have written the book of Ecclesiastes in his old age, which is notorious for its view of worldly things as meaningless.
Solon
Born circa 638 B.C., Athens
Died circa 558 B.C., Athens
Athenian lawmaker.
One of the Seven Wise Men of Greece.
Advised Athens to war over possession of the island of Salamis and became a hero when they won.
Solon introduced the concept of a trial by jury.
Also credited with introducing pederastic education.
Sophocles
Born 495 B.C., Attica
Died 406 B.C., Athens
Second of the three great tragedians.
Wrote 123 plays in his life.
Only seven have survived to modern times.
As a child he led the chorus of boys at the Athenian celebration of the victory over the Persians at Salamis.
St. Benedict of Nursia
Born circa 480 A.D., Nursia
Died circa 543 A.D., Monte Cassino
A famous monk who constructed many monasteries throughout Italy.
Towards the later years of his life, he lived mostly in seclusion but became a highly respected man in the area.
It is said that whenever an abbot would die at a nearby monastery, the inhabitants would beg him to become their abbot.
Founder of the Benedictine order.
St. Helena
Born circa 248 AD Drepanon, Bithynia
Died circa 328 AD Nicomedia, Bithynia
Mother of Emperor Constantine the first, Helena was made empress dowager by her son when he came to power in 306 AD, even though his father, Constantius Chlorus had renounced her.
After a family tragedy in which her favorite grandson Crispus Caeser was executed, Helena traveled to the Holy Land, building churches on the supposed sites of the Nativity and the Ascension.
Later in the century Helena was credited with finding the cross and over the years the story was embellished and romanticized.
St. Patrick
Born circa 600 A.D., Britain
Died circa 660 A.D., Ireland
Early Christian missionary and a patron saint of Ireland along with Brigid of Kildare.
Was captured at the age of sixteen by Irish invaders and kept as a slave for six years.
When he escaped and returned home, he went to school and became a deacon and eventually a bishop.
He returned to Ireland as a missionary and was very successful at converting the inhabitants.
St. Patrick's Day is in honor of him.
St. Paul
Born circa 20 B.C., Tarsus
Died circa 70 B.C., Rome
The most prolific writer in the New Testament, with 13 books credited to him.
Known as the apostle to the gentiles, Paul's mission was the conversion of people to Christianity throughout the Greek world.
Was originally a Pharisee and a persecutor of Christians before Jesus supposedly appeared to him on the road to Damascus.
Paul remained a devout Jew throughout his missions, even though he broke Jewish law if he felt it could aid in his work.
Was arrested in Israel and spent many years in and out of court traveling from Jerusalem to Rome in the process.
He was eventually martyred in Rome by beheading.
St. Peter
Born circa 1 A.D., Capernaum
Died circa 70 A.D., Rome
Peter was the leader of the apostles and took over charge of the Christian faith after Jesus ascension.
Like Paul, he traveled around the Greek world teaching and writing letters outlining Christian ethics.
He is considered the first Pope by Catholics.
Paul was martyred in Rome, but not being a Roman citizen, he was made to suffer crucifixion instead of simple beheading. It is said that he felt he was unworthy to died in the same manner that Christ did, and so he was crucified upside down.
Thucydides
Born circa 460 B.C., Alimos
Died circa 400 B.C., Greece
Famous historian who wrote The History of the Peloponnesian War.
Was a strategos in the Athenian navy but was exiled for his failure to help the key city of Amphipolis when it was attacked by Spartans.
Travelling throughout the Peloponnesian regions freely as an exile he was able to get a better perspective on the war which he used to write his book.
It is considered the first ancient Greek historical account that leaves out the use of gods and goddesses as causes for political events and rather described man being the cause of all that occurred.
Tiberius
Born November 16, 42 B.C., Rome
Died March 16, 37 A.D., Rome
Successor of Augustus and the second Roman emperor.
Ruled during the ministry and martyrdom of Jesus Christ.
Was not a Julian by blood line but was adopted by Augustus as a child.
He did marry Augustus' daughter which kept the bloodline but due to the mix, historians refer to the dynasty after Tiberius as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Claudius being what his middle name was before he changed it to Caesar.
Tiberius Gracchus
Born 163 B.C., Rome
Died 133 B.C., Rome
Roman politician who tried to make agrarian reforms in the republic.
He was met with heavy resistant which eventually led to his death at the hands of a conservative faction of the Roman Senate.
His family was very wealthy and was well connected to the government.
Tiglath-Pileser III
Born circa 765 B.C., Assyria
Died circa 727 B.C., Assyria
Created the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Conquered most of the world known to Assyria at the time.
Followed the precedence of other Assyrian kings and deported many of his captured enemies.
May have been the king to conquer the Israelites and take away the ten lost tribes.
Trajan
Born September 18, 53 B.C., Italica
Died August 9, 117 B.C., Selinus
Served in the Roman army and worked his way up through the ranks.
Emperor Domitian's successor Nerva was not liked by the army and appointed Trajan to be his successor to gain favor.
Trajan is known for being a stark contrast to Domitian, as he was peaceful. He freed many people enslaved by the late emperor and returned much seized property.
Tutankhamen
Born circa 1360 B.C., Armarna
Died circe 1378 B.C., Armarna
Tutankhamen was the son of the heretic Pharaoh, Akhenaton.
Going against his father's religious movement, Tutankhamen allowed polytheist worship again.
He is best known for having one of the best preserved tombs in Egypt. No grave robbers seemed to have gotten to it before Archaeologists discovered it.
Ruled for a very short time and died of a head wound at the age of 18 or 19.
Virgil
Born October 15, 70 B.C., Rome
Died September 21, 19 B.C., Rome
Famous Roman poet who wrote the Aeniad which became the Roman Empire's national epic.
The epic recounts the mythological story of Aeneas, a survivor of Troy who's descendants, Romulus and Remus, went on to found Rome.
Virgil abandoned the study of rhetoric, medicine, and astronomy for the study of philosophy.
Xerxes
Born circa 500 B.C.
Died circa 430 B.C.
Xerxes ruled the Persian Empire at it's peek, inheriting it from his father Darius.
He lead the war against Greece after his father, and witnessed the devastating blow to his army at the battle of Thermopoly.
His army eventually was defeated and he returned to Persia, never to raid Greece again.
He is also the king in the book of Esther. He chose Esther to replace his deposed Queen Vashti.
He ordered the genocide of all Jews in his empire under the influence of adviser, Haman, but eventually changed his mind at Esther's revelation that she was Jewish.
Yahweh
Worship began circa 10,000 B.C., The Garden of Eden
Worship is still practiced today
Yahweh is the proper name of the Hebrew, Christian, and Muslim God in the Hebrew language.
The name means I Am, which signifies the inability for any worldly terms to qualify or define him.
The name was not spoken by Hebrews for fear of misusing it. Instead other terms such as Elohim, Sabbaot, and El Shaddai were used.
It is uncertain exactly what time period the concept of an uncreated creator who is infinite came about, but the term Yahweh was first used during the Israelites time in the Sinai wilderness, after the exodus from Egypt.
Zeno
Born 425 A.D., Byzantine Empire
Died 291 A.D., Byzantine Empire
Was a Byzantine Emperor in the empire's early years.
Despite constant civil disorder, Zeno was somewhat successful in foreign affairs.
Zeno, though born of a people looked upon as barbarians, he found favor in the Emperor Leo I as a valiant warrior. Through this he moved up the ranks until eventually he succeeded Leo as emperor.
Zeus
Worship began 1000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended 300 A.D., Rome
Zeus was the youngest child of Chronos but was his successor because of his great valor in the war of the gods.
Greek legend has it that Chronos feared one of his children becoming greater than him and so he devoured them as they were born, eating three girls and two boys. Being immortal, the children could not die but rather grew in him. Zeus' mother hid him away and he was raised by humans. He then came back and freed his siblings from Chronos' stomach and overthrew him.
He chose to reign over the sky as his domain and is depicted as the bringer of rains and as using lightening as his weapon. Though he was god of the sky, he was also the king of all the gods.
Zoroaster a.k.a. Zerathustra
Born circa 1200-600 B.C., Persia
Died circa 1130-530 B.C., Persia
Zoroaster is the founder of Mazdaism, today known as Zoroastrianism.
The religion believes in an uncreated creator god called Ahura Mazda. It is unclean if there is any relation between this god and the God of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths.
It is believed by many that Zoroastrianism is a duelist religion, believing in two god, one evil and one good, but both even in strength and it is up to man to choose which to follow. But this there was only a cult of people within Zoroastrianism who believed that, and most believe that in the end, the supreme god will defeat the evil god.
Zoroaster is one of the least known figures in history, which is stunning considering the impact he had on the middle eastern world. His religion was the official one of the Persian Empire and is still practiced today in parts of India. It is considered to be the oldest living religions in the world.
Born circa 1300 B.C., Egypt
Died 1180 B.C., Canaan
Was put in a basket and sent down a river as a baby by his sister to avoid the killing of Hebrew boys by Pharaoh. He was then found and raised by a princess of Egypt.
Learning of his heritage he supposedly was charged by God with the task of going before Pharaoh to demand his people be set free from slavery. When Pharaoh refused, Moses call granted the power to call a plague upon Egypt of supernatural origin and catastrophic consequences.
After ten plagues, he led the Hebrews for forty years in the wilderness en route to the promised land of Canaan which they would later conquer and make the Kingdom of Israel.
It was under Moses leadership that the Hebrew people received most of their laws, including the Ten Commandments, and became what we today consider Jewish.
Moses supposedly was killed by God for not following his specific instructions for the carrying out of a miracle, but not before he was brought up a mountain to see the land he had brought the Israelites to conquer.
Muhammad
Born 570 B.C., Mecca
Died June 8, 632 B.C., Medina
Founder and holy prophet of the Muslim faith.
Implored the people of his area to return to the belief in one true God rather than the pagan worship of many gods.
Was not received well in the city of Mecca which he fought many battles against over the years.
Was also not well received by Jews who could not believe that a prophet would ever come from a non-Jew. To this Muhammad pointed out that Abraham was not a Jew.
United many tribes in Arabia with Medina as its capital.
Began receiving the inspired word of god when he was forty in a cave where he fasted and worshiped annually during the month of Ramadan.
Mursilis I
Born circa 1640, Hittite Kindom
Died circa 1595, Hittite Kingdom
Lead the Hittites to victory in Syria where they destroyed Aleppo.
Lead them to further victory with the sacking of Babylon which ended the rule of the descendants of Hammurabi.
Was assassinated by his Brother-in-law, Hantili, when who he returned to his Kingdom. Hantili then succeeded him as King.
Nebuchadnezzar
Born circa 625 B.C., Babylon
Died circa 562 B.C., Babylon
Considered the greatest king of Babylon but has been vilified for his treatment of the Jews.
Nebuchadnezzar sieged and conquered Jerusalem, destroying the Temple of Solomon in the process.
He enslaved the inhabitants of Judah and brought them to Babylon.
Brought about the Neo-Babylonian Empire sometimes referred to as the Chaldeans after the dynasty that he belonged to.
Was fare to those he conquered, only willing to destroy a city if absolutely necessary and showing royal officials great courtesy. This can be seen in his treatment of Jeremiah, and Danial and his companions.
Nefertiti
Born 1370 B.C., Egypt
Died 1330 B.C., Egypt
Wife of Akhenaten and possible coregent with him during parts of his reign.
Step mother of Tutankhamen.
May have ruled solely for a brief period after her husbands death under the name Neferneferuaten-nefertiti.
Was believed to be much more well liked then her husband as her statues were not smashed in their tomb.
Nero
Born December 15, 37 B.C., Rome
Died June 9 68 A.D., Rome
Last emperor of the Julio-claudian dynasty.
Is reviled as a tyrant and a persecutor of Christians who was famous for allegedly "fiddling while Rome burned." Many sources indicate that Nero may have actually been well liked and there is no backing behind the claim that he regarded the burning of Rome with happiness or even flippancy.
He warred and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire.
Was born Lucius Dominitus Ahenobarbus
Osiris
Worship began 3000 B.C., Egypt
Worship ended 500 A.D., Egypt
God of life, death, and fertility.
Was the judge of the dead but also the one who allowed life.
At times was considered the primary deity of the henotheistic society.
Is said to be Anubis' father as he replaced him as the god primarily associated with the afterlife.
Was murdered by Set but resurrected for a time by his wife Isis who then became pregnant with Horus, the god of new beginnings.
Ovid
Born March 20, 43 B.C., Sulmona
Died 17 A.D., Tomis
A Latin poet ranked with Virgil and Horace in importance.
Had an impact on art and literature for centuries into the middle ages.
Wrote of love, women, and mythological transformation.
Pericles
Born 495 B.C., Athens
Died 429 B.C., Athens
A great statesman and general for Athens, he was the leader of their forces (strategos).
Lived during the Golden Era between the Persian War and the Peloponnesian War.
Faught for 2 years in the Peloponnesian War before dying from an unknown epidemic that many accused him of bringing on Athens because he sailed to war after witnessing a lunar eclipse.
He knew better than most of the true nature of eclipses having been educated by Anaxagoras.
Had he lived Athens may have won the war against Sparta because it is said that his successors were inferior to him.
Philip II
Born 382 B.C., Macedon
Died 336 B.C., Macedon
Father of Alexander the Great, Philip III, and possible Ptolemy Soter.
United the Greek city states into one nation under Macedonian rule.
As a child was a well treated hostage in Thebes, Egypt.
Came to the thrown only after his elder brothers, Alexander II and Perdiccas III. And he was only elected regent for the true rightful heir, Amyntas IV, who was Perdiccas' infant son. He managed to secure the thrown for himself though.
Was assassinated by one of his own body guards at his daughter's wedding.
Plato
Born circa 428 B.C., Athens
Died circa 348 B.C., Athens
Student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle.
Left Athens for a long time because he was disgusted with them for executing Socrates.
Wrote many books on philosophy, most famous of which are the Apology and the Republic.
Developed a philosophy of greater and greater levels of truth known as Platonism.
Founded the first school of higher learning in the western world, known as the Academy.
Pompey
Born September 29, 106 B.C., Picenum
Died September 29, 48 B.C., Egypt
Roman statesman and general who very well could have gone on to fill Julius Caesar's role in Rome.
He entered into the First Triumvirate with Caesar and Crassus.
He fled Rome from Caesar during their civil war, allowing Caesar to capture the treasury which was kept at the temple of Saturn.
He managed to once beat Caesar in a battle, but failed to pursue and destroy his enemies much smaller army.
Pompey was killed in a boat going to shore at Egypt where he believed he had found safe haven. Really, the Egyptian king had arranged for his assassination by two of his old comrades, in order to gain prestige with Caesar.
Pontius Pilate
Born circa 10 B.C., Roman Empire
Died circa 36 B.C., Roman Empire
Pontius Pilate was the man who is believed to have presided over the trial and sentencing of Jesus Christ.
According to the Bible, Pilate found no guilt in Jesus and was confused as to how the Jews welcomed him as a prophet just a week before but know demanded his death.
Being a governor in a territory that balked at their Roman overlords and were known to cause uprisings, he was put in the difficult situation of trying to avid a riot as it could cost him his life.
According to some accounts, Jesus himself told Pilate that it was not he who was responsible for the death but rather the people pressuring him and that he would not be in the wrong for issuing the sentence. Either way, Pilate is famous for washing his hands as a display that he was not at fault in the matter of killing what he considered to be an innocent man.
Ptolemy I
Born 367 B.C., Macedon
Died 283 B.C., Egypt
Possibly the half-brother of Alexander the Great.
One of Alexander's most trusted generals.
In the civil war that broke out after the death of Alexander, Ptolemy was one of the generals to secure land and proclaimed himself the king of Egypt.
From his dynasty, Cleopatra came.
Ramses II a.k.a. Ramses the Great
Born circa 1290 B.C., Egypt
Died circa 1213 B.C., Egypt
A member of the nineteenth dynasty.
Is said to be the greatest king of Egypt.
Has many monuments built to himself across the land of Egypt.
Is believed to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus who Moses went before to demand his people's freedom.
Fought with the Hittites and one a famous battle at Kadesh despite the fact that he was tricked. Though he won the battle he lost the war as he didn't have enough troops of supplies to continue.
Remus
Born circa 771 B.C., Temple of Vesta
Died circa 753 B.C., Rome
One of the legendary founders of Rome.
Supposedly fathered by the god of war, Mars.
Supposedly descended from Aeneas, a survivor of Troy.
Was killed by his brother Romulus over who should rule the new city of Rome.
Romulus
Born 771 B.C., Temple of Vesta
Died 717 B.C., Rome
Twin brother of Remus.
Romulus crowned himself the first king of Rome after killing his brother, the city's cofounder.
Named the city after himself.
Sappho
Born circa 620 B.C., Lesbos
Died circa 570 B.C., Lesbos
Like her fellow poets, Hesiod and Homer, very little is known about Sappho except her poetry.
She was an educated woman, which was very rare for her time.
She was born into an aristocratic family which afforded her a sophisticated language and many rare places to visit and write about.
Is believed to have been a lesbian by many because of her poems to women. The word lesbian in fact comes from the name of her birthplace: Lesbos.
Sargon
Born circa 1500 B.C., Sumeria
Died circa 1440 B.C., Sumeria
Sargon is considered one of if not the earliest emperor. He preceeded the first Babylonian Empire and the Assyrians.
His empire spanned across most of the fertile crescent.
It is said that when he invaded Babylon and desecrated the temples there, he angered the Babylonian patriot god, Marduk, who then cursed Sargon to have rebellion throughout his land and never peace.
Marduk's curse brought the downfall of Sargon's empire.
Saul
Born circa 900 B.C., Israel
Died circa 850 B.C.Israel
Saul was the first king of Israel and a celebrated man in the earlier days of his reign.
His increased madness towards the end of his reign leads many theologians to believe that since the Hebrews demanded a king instead of relying on God, God therefore punished them by making Saul king.
Saul united all the tribes of Israel for the first time since the exodus.
Saul fell out of God's grace when he plundered an army he was told to completely destroy.
Was very close to David until later years when David was anointed the new king of Israel and a civil war broke out between them.
Seneca
Born circa 4 B.C., Hispania
Died circa 65 A.D., Rome
Son of another Seneca who was a famous Roman orator.
A sickly child who was sent to Rome for schooling and then to Egypt for treatment of his illness.
Was almost killed in a conflict with Emperor Caligula, but was spared because the Emperor thought he would die soon anyway because of his sickness.
Was the tutor of Emperor Nero and latter his advisor.
Shalmaneser
Born circa 1274 B.C., Asshur
Died circa 1245 B.C., Asshur
Assyrian king who vastly expanded the empire.
Claimed to have blinded 14,400 enemy prisoners in one eye.
Would often deport captured people to foreign lands rather than slaughter them.
Was the ancestor to Shalmaneser V, who is believed to be the Assyrian King that captured the the lost tribes of Israel.
Socrates
Born circa 470 B.C., Athens
Died circa 399 B.C., Athens
Socrates was the teacher of Plato.
He developed the Socratic method, a philosophical method of question and answer that is designed to get to the heart of matters.
He was opposed to the democratic ruling of Athens and felt that government should be a council of philosophers deciding on matters.
The oracle at Delphi claimed that he was the wisest man in Greece.
Though Socrates disbelieved her at first and set out to prove her wrong, he found no man in Greece wiser than himself.
He was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and was sentenced to death which he humbly accepted. He drank hemlock as his death penalty.
Solomon
Born 800 B.C., Jerusalem
Died 720 B.C., Jerusalem
Solomon was the son of King David and the heir to the thrown.
He was the bastard child of David and Bathsheba.
The Bible claims he was the wisest man on earth.
Unlike his father, who was a warrior king, Solomon expanded his kingdom through diplomacy and trade.
It is said that God was often displeased with him for allowing his many wives to influence him with pagan beliefs.
Despite his great wealth, success, and heresy, he is believed to have written the book of Ecclesiastes in his old age, which is notorious for its view of worldly things as meaningless.
Solon
Born circa 638 B.C., Athens
Died circa 558 B.C., Athens
Athenian lawmaker.
One of the Seven Wise Men of Greece.
Advised Athens to war over possession of the island of Salamis and became a hero when they won.
Solon introduced the concept of a trial by jury.
Also credited with introducing pederastic education.
Sophocles
Born 495 B.C., Attica
Died 406 B.C., Athens
Second of the three great tragedians.
Wrote 123 plays in his life.
Only seven have survived to modern times.
As a child he led the chorus of boys at the Athenian celebration of the victory over the Persians at Salamis.
St. Benedict of Nursia
Born circa 480 A.D., Nursia
Died circa 543 A.D., Monte Cassino
A famous monk who constructed many monasteries throughout Italy.
Towards the later years of his life, he lived mostly in seclusion but became a highly respected man in the area.
It is said that whenever an abbot would die at a nearby monastery, the inhabitants would beg him to become their abbot.
Founder of the Benedictine order.
St. Helena
Born circa 248 AD Drepanon, Bithynia
Died circa 328 AD Nicomedia, Bithynia
Mother of Emperor Constantine the first, Helena was made empress dowager by her son when he came to power in 306 AD, even though his father, Constantius Chlorus had renounced her.
After a family tragedy in which her favorite grandson Crispus Caeser was executed, Helena traveled to the Holy Land, building churches on the supposed sites of the Nativity and the Ascension.
Later in the century Helena was credited with finding the cross and over the years the story was embellished and romanticized.
St. Patrick
Born circa 600 A.D., Britain
Died circa 660 A.D., Ireland
Early Christian missionary and a patron saint of Ireland along with Brigid of Kildare.
Was captured at the age of sixteen by Irish invaders and kept as a slave for six years.
When he escaped and returned home, he went to school and became a deacon and eventually a bishop.
He returned to Ireland as a missionary and was very successful at converting the inhabitants.
St. Patrick's Day is in honor of him.
St. Paul
Born circa 20 B.C., Tarsus
Died circa 70 B.C., Rome
The most prolific writer in the New Testament, with 13 books credited to him.
Known as the apostle to the gentiles, Paul's mission was the conversion of people to Christianity throughout the Greek world.
Was originally a Pharisee and a persecutor of Christians before Jesus supposedly appeared to him on the road to Damascus.
Paul remained a devout Jew throughout his missions, even though he broke Jewish law if he felt it could aid in his work.
Was arrested in Israel and spent many years in and out of court traveling from Jerusalem to Rome in the process.
He was eventually martyred in Rome by beheading.
St. Peter
Born circa 1 A.D., Capernaum
Died circa 70 A.D., Rome
Peter was the leader of the apostles and took over charge of the Christian faith after Jesus ascension.
Like Paul, he traveled around the Greek world teaching and writing letters outlining Christian ethics.
He is considered the first Pope by Catholics.
Paul was martyred in Rome, but not being a Roman citizen, he was made to suffer crucifixion instead of simple beheading. It is said that he felt he was unworthy to died in the same manner that Christ did, and so he was crucified upside down.
Thucydides
Born circa 460 B.C., Alimos
Died circa 400 B.C., Greece
Famous historian who wrote The History of the Peloponnesian War.
Was a strategos in the Athenian navy but was exiled for his failure to help the key city of Amphipolis when it was attacked by Spartans.
Travelling throughout the Peloponnesian regions freely as an exile he was able to get a better perspective on the war which he used to write his book.
It is considered the first ancient Greek historical account that leaves out the use of gods and goddesses as causes for political events and rather described man being the cause of all that occurred.
Tiberius
Born November 16, 42 B.C., Rome
Died March 16, 37 A.D., Rome
Successor of Augustus and the second Roman emperor.
Ruled during the ministry and martyrdom of Jesus Christ.
Was not a Julian by blood line but was adopted by Augustus as a child.
He did marry Augustus' daughter which kept the bloodline but due to the mix, historians refer to the dynasty after Tiberius as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Claudius being what his middle name was before he changed it to Caesar.
Tiberius Gracchus
Born 163 B.C., Rome
Died 133 B.C., Rome
Roman politician who tried to make agrarian reforms in the republic.
He was met with heavy resistant which eventually led to his death at the hands of a conservative faction of the Roman Senate.
His family was very wealthy and was well connected to the government.
Tiglath-Pileser III
Born circa 765 B.C., Assyria
Died circa 727 B.C., Assyria
Created the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Conquered most of the world known to Assyria at the time.
Followed the precedence of other Assyrian kings and deported many of his captured enemies.
May have been the king to conquer the Israelites and take away the ten lost tribes.
Trajan
Born September 18, 53 B.C., Italica
Died August 9, 117 B.C., Selinus
Served in the Roman army and worked his way up through the ranks.
Emperor Domitian's successor Nerva was not liked by the army and appointed Trajan to be his successor to gain favor.
Trajan is known for being a stark contrast to Domitian, as he was peaceful. He freed many people enslaved by the late emperor and returned much seized property.
Tutankhamen
Born circa 1360 B.C., Armarna
Died circe 1378 B.C., Armarna
Tutankhamen was the son of the heretic Pharaoh, Akhenaton.
Going against his father's religious movement, Tutankhamen allowed polytheist worship again.
He is best known for having one of the best preserved tombs in Egypt. No grave robbers seemed to have gotten to it before Archaeologists discovered it.
Ruled for a very short time and died of a head wound at the age of 18 or 19.
Virgil
Born October 15, 70 B.C., Rome
Died September 21, 19 B.C., Rome
Famous Roman poet who wrote the Aeniad which became the Roman Empire's national epic.
The epic recounts the mythological story of Aeneas, a survivor of Troy who's descendants, Romulus and Remus, went on to found Rome.
Virgil abandoned the study of rhetoric, medicine, and astronomy for the study of philosophy.
Xerxes
Born circa 500 B.C.
Died circa 430 B.C.
Xerxes ruled the Persian Empire at it's peek, inheriting it from his father Darius.
He lead the war against Greece after his father, and witnessed the devastating blow to his army at the battle of Thermopoly.
His army eventually was defeated and he returned to Persia, never to raid Greece again.
He is also the king in the book of Esther. He chose Esther to replace his deposed Queen Vashti.
He ordered the genocide of all Jews in his empire under the influence of adviser, Haman, but eventually changed his mind at Esther's revelation that she was Jewish.
Yahweh
Worship began circa 10,000 B.C., The Garden of Eden
Worship is still practiced today
Yahweh is the proper name of the Hebrew, Christian, and Muslim God in the Hebrew language.
The name means I Am, which signifies the inability for any worldly terms to qualify or define him.
The name was not spoken by Hebrews for fear of misusing it. Instead other terms such as Elohim, Sabbaot, and El Shaddai were used.
It is uncertain exactly what time period the concept of an uncreated creator who is infinite came about, but the term Yahweh was first used during the Israelites time in the Sinai wilderness, after the exodus from Egypt.
Zeno
Born 425 A.D., Byzantine Empire
Died 291 A.D., Byzantine Empire
Was a Byzantine Emperor in the empire's early years.
Despite constant civil disorder, Zeno was somewhat successful in foreign affairs.
Zeno, though born of a people looked upon as barbarians, he found favor in the Emperor Leo I as a valiant warrior. Through this he moved up the ranks until eventually he succeeded Leo as emperor.
Zeus
Worship began 1000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended 300 A.D., Rome
Zeus was the youngest child of Chronos but was his successor because of his great valor in the war of the gods.
Greek legend has it that Chronos feared one of his children becoming greater than him and so he devoured them as they were born, eating three girls and two boys. Being immortal, the children could not die but rather grew in him. Zeus' mother hid him away and he was raised by humans. He then came back and freed his siblings from Chronos' stomach and overthrew him.
He chose to reign over the sky as his domain and is depicted as the bringer of rains and as using lightening as his weapon. Though he was god of the sky, he was also the king of all the gods.
Zoroaster a.k.a. Zerathustra
Born circa 1200-600 B.C., Persia
Died circa 1130-530 B.C., Persia
Zoroaster is the founder of Mazdaism, today known as Zoroastrianism.
The religion believes in an uncreated creator god called Ahura Mazda. It is unclean if there is any relation between this god and the God of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths.
It is believed by many that Zoroastrianism is a duelist religion, believing in two god, one evil and one good, but both even in strength and it is up to man to choose which to follow. But this there was only a cult of people within Zoroastrianism who believed that, and most believe that in the end, the supreme god will defeat the evil god.
Zoroaster is one of the least known figures in history, which is stunning considering the impact he had on the middle eastern world. His religion was the official one of the Persian Empire and is still practiced today in parts of India. It is considered to be the oldest living religions in the world.
99 Famous People of Ancient History82
Index
Abraham, Achilles, Adam, Aechylus, Aesop, Ahura Mazda, Akhenaten, Alexander the Great, Allah, Apollo, Archilochus, Archimedes, Aristotle, Aspasia, Athena, Aten, Attila the Hun, Augustus/Octavian, Bridget of Kildare, Cambyses, Charon, Cicero, Cincinnatus, Cleopatra, Constantine, Crassus, Cyrus, Darius, David, Diocletian, Diogenes, Epicurus, Esther, Euripides, Eve, Gilgamech, Hadrian, Hamilcar, Hammurabi, Hannibal, Hasdrubal, Hera, Herodotus, Hesiod, Hippocrates, Homer, Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, Julius Caeser, Juno, Jupiter, Justinian, Marc Antony, Marcus Cato, Mars, Minos, Moses, Muhammad, Mursilis, Nebuchadnezzar, Nefertiti, Nero, Osiris, Ovid, Pericles, Philip II, Plato, Pompey, Pontius Pilate, Ptolemy, Ramses II, Remus, Romulus, Sappho, Sargon, Saul, Seneca, Shalmaneser, Socrates, Solomon, Solon, Sophocles, St. Benedict of Nursia, St. Helena, St. Patrick, St. Paul, St. Peter, Thucydides, Tiberius, Tiberius Gracchus, Tiglath-Pileser, Trajan, Tutankhamen, Virgil, Xerxes, Yahweh, Zeno, Zeus, Zoroaster
Short Descriptions
Abraham
Born circa 1900 B.C., Ur, Mesopotamia
Died circa 1725 B.C., Canaan
The revered father of the Hebrew people who enstated the practice of circumcision.
Believed to be the father of many other Semitic people with many Muslims tracing heritage back to him also.
Formed a covenant with God that laid the foundations for Judaism.
Travelled from his home city of Ur in Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan, but is known for strictly abiding by his beliefs and not allowing his family to be changed by the people he lived among.
Achilles
Born circa 1215 B.C., Thessaly
Died circa 1183 B.C., Troy
The legendary hero of the Iliad. Son of a sea nymph, Thetis, and the King of the Myrmidons, Peleus.
With godly heritage and known for his unstoppable rage Achilles slowly becomes more humanized throughout the Iliad until he dies a mortal death. This is a main theme in the story.
The Achilles tendon is named after him as that is believed to be the one part of his body that was vulnerable to attack, though that legend didn't begin circulating until the first century A.D. long after the Iliad was written.
Adam
Created circa 10,000-6,000 B.C., Garden of Eden
Died circa 9,000-5,000 B.C., Unknown wilderness (note: the range of Adam's possible creation is vast and is widely disputed among Christian researchers.)
The first human being to inhabit the planet according to Jewish and Christian doctrine. Was made by God out of dust as a perfect and immoral being.
Adam is the patriarch of the entire human race, with all people believed to be literal descendants of him and his wife, Eve.
Was the second human to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, plunging humanity into sin.
Was cast out of the paradisiacal Garden of Eden, where the Tree of Life is kept, and was doomed to toil in the land and eventually die.
Aechylus
Born circa 525 B.C., Eleusis, Attica
Died circa 455 B.C., Gela, Sicily
Famous Greek playwright known as the father of drama.
Implimented the use of more than one man interacting with the chorus in his plays. (Usually two men).
Fought against the Persian Emperor Darius in the Battle of Marathon and latter against Xerxes at the Battles of Salamis and Plataea.
His participation in the war heavily influenced his writing as is shown in his most famous work, The Persian, which recounted the Greek victory at Salamis.
Aesop
Born circa 500 A.D., Samos
Died 460 A.D., Delphi, Greece
Was a slave of a man named Xanthus, but was freed.
Traveled through Greece telling fables in political circles to sway the changes in government.
Died at the hands of the Delphians for an unknown reason
Ahura Mazda
Worship Began circa 500 B.C., Media
Worship continues in present day in India
The God of Zoroastrianism or Mazdaism
Very similar to the Christian and Jewish idea of an uncreated all powerful creator who will vanquish the evil forces at the end of time.
It is very uncertain as to when the concept of Ahura Mazda arose and most credit it to the religious leader Zoroaster, which hardly helps as it is uncertain when he lived.
Briefly was believed to be the twin brother of the evil spirit Angra Mainyu and his opposite but equal counterpart. Now, he is believed to be the complete being, with the evil spirit Angra Mainyu and the good spirit Spenta Mainyu the opposite and equal spirits warring within him.
Akhenaten
Born circa 1370 B.C.
Died circa 1336 B.C.
The Heretic Pharaoh. Born as Amenhotep IV, meaning "Amun is satisfied" he changed his name to Akhenaten, "effective spirit of Aten," when he denounced the worship of many gods and established Aten, the sun disk, as the supreme one true God.
His was believed to be the first attempt at monotheism in the world.
Is known for having a peculiar body shape that people theorize may be due to any thing from being a hermaphrodite, to having Marfan's syndrome, to him actually being a woman in disguise.
His forced monotheism seems to have been hated as he moved the capital of Egypt from fertile Thebes to the middle of the desert at el-Amarna; his statues in his tomb were smashed while those of his well loved wife; Nefertiti, remained unharmed; the nation reverted back to polytheism immediately after his short lived dynasty ended with Tutankhamen; and his tomb was left alone out in el-Amarna, instead of being moved to the Valley of the Kings.
Alexander the Great a.k.a Alexander III
Born July, 356 B.C., Macedon
Died June 11, 323 B.C., Babylon
Alexander the Great is known as one of the greatest military minds of all time.
When Alexander's father, Phillip II, was assassinated, Alexander inherited the newly unified Greece thanks to his father's conquests.
King Alexander had to quell rebellions twice in the southern parts of Greece before gaining complete control.
Alexander the Great fulfilled both the prophecy of Daniel (Chapter 8) and the suspicions of the Persians, that a unified Greece would conquer Persia.
Alexander pushed his army all the way to the boarders of India before being forced to turn back when his own men threatened to rebel.
Died in Nebuchadnezzar II's palace in Babylon from an unknown illness that lasted 12 days. Some suspect poisoning.
Allah
Worship Began circa 610 A.D., Arabian Peninsula
Worship continues across the world today.
"Allah" translates as, "The One to be worshipped."
Allah is the God of the Muslim faith.
Allah is the same God as the Christian and Jewish faiths and Arabic speaking Jews and Christians refer to their God as Allah.
Apollo
Worship Began circa 1,100 B.C. Greece
Worship Ended circa 300 B.C. Rome
An oracular god, Apollo was the patron of the oracle at Delphi.
He was the sister of Artemis the huntress.
Apollo was often equated with the sun god, Helio, as his siter was equated with the moon goddess, Selene.
Unusual among the gods as he had devout cults formed specifically for him. Two cults actually had such a different concept of him that he might as well have been two distinct gods.
Archilochus
Born circa 680 B.C., Paros
Died circa 645 B.C., Thasos
A poet who made his living by public and private recitals of his work.
Was considered an equal to Homer by his countrymen and statues to each of them were dedicated on the same day.
Was known for his harsh satire.
Supposedly at a feast of Demeter he poured out his emotions in a satirical attack against a man who had promised him his daughter but then rescinded. The insults were said to be so shameful that the man and his daughters hung themselves.
Archimedes
Born circa 287 B.C., Syracuse, Sicily
Died circa 212 B.C., Syracuse, Sicily
Regarded as the most important scientists in antiquity, Archimedes was a mathematician, engineer, and physicist.
Archimedes has legends about him creating ancient super weapon's such as the "Archimedes' Death Ray," which is a humorous name for an invention made of polished metal mirrors that he supposedly used to burn ships, and the "Archimedes' Claw" which was supposedly a crane like device that violently latched onto ships and pulled them upward causing them to sink.
Archimedes died in the second Punic War. According to tradition, hewas not supposed to be killed but rather captured. However, he enraged a Roman soldier by ignoring him and telling the soldier to go away while he worked on his math and was killed on the spot.
Aristotle
Born 384 B.C., Stagira, Thrace
Died March 7, 322 B.C., Chalcis
Student at Plato's Academy in Athens for 20 years.
Tutored Alexander the Great for seven years at the request of Philip of Macedon, Alexander's father.
Founded his own school in Athens known as the Lyceum.
When the Athenians brought charges against Aristotle, he fled the city saying, "I will not allow them to sin twice against philosophy," which is believed to be a reference to the Athenian execution of Socrates.
Aspasia
Born circa 470 B.C., Miletus, Asia Minor
Died circa 400 B.C., Athens, Greece
Romantically involved with the statesmen, Pericles and Lysicles.
She was said to be an influential and charismatic speaker.
The details of Aspasia's life are unknown. She is written about in the works of Plato and has been accused of running a brothel by comic poets.
Athena
Worship began circa 1,000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended circa 300 A.D., Rome
Goddess of wisdom.
Zeus swallowed Athena's mother, Metis the Titan, whole immediately after impregnating her.
Unable to die, Athena grew inside of Zeus creating a great pressure on his forehead. She then emerged from his head when Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, broke Zeus's head open to relieve the pressure.
Often bested Aries the god of war because of her superior wisdom and cuning.
The Athens take their name from her because, according to myth, she stopped the sea god, Poseidon, from flooding the city and taking it as his own.
Aton a.k.a Aten
Worship began 3000 B.C., Egypt
Worship ended 300 A.D., Egypt
The sun disk and believed to be the creator of all.
Associated with Amen-Ra or Re the sun god.
Became less associated with Re when Akhenaton proclaimed Aton to be not only the supreme god, but the only god, which went in opposition to the Amen-Ra priesthood at Thebes.
Attila the Hun
Born circa 406 A.D., Hun Monarch
Died 453 A.D., Danube
Along with his brother Bleda, he inherited the united Hun tribes from their uncle Rugila.
Continuously caused trouble for the Byzantine Empire by putting them under constant attack.
His empire stretched from Scandinavia to Armenia.
Cut a swath clear through Europe, defeating the Gothic-Roman alliance along the way and making his way all the way to Italy to marry Honoria, who he felt had been promised to him. He turned back for no known reason before attacking Rome.
Augustus a.k.a. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus
Born September 23, 63 B.C. Rome, Rome
Died August 19, 14 A.D. Nola, Rome
Ruled as an autocrat for 41 years which is longer than any subsequent emperor.
His rule is considered the dividing line between the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.
Ended many cival wars within the nation causing a 200 year era of peace known as the Pax Romana.
Had to fight with Marcus Aurelius to rule after Julius Caesar's death.
Bridget of Kildare
Born 451 A.D., Kildare, Ireland
Died circa 525 A.D. Kildare, Ireland
Was born a pagan but changed her beliefs and converted to Christianity.
After becoming a nun, her and a group of fellow nuns and monks established a convent in which she eventually became Abbess.
Kildare had a fire in it that was always kept burning according to pagan religious beliefs. Rather than putting it out, Bridget and her fellow nuns gave it a Christian interpretation, which kept healthy relations with the Druids of the area.
Many believe she did not actually exist but was a Christianized version of a Celtic goddess, used to help convert pagans.
Cambyses
This is three people in history. He was a little known brother of Cyrus I. Cyrus then named his son Cambyses who became ruler of Anshan under the over lordship of the Median Emperor. He lived from 600 B.C to 559 B.C. in Anshan. His son was Cyrus II or Cyrus the Great. Cyrus the Great then had a son: Cambyses II. Camyses ruled over Babylon under his fathers reign and then when Cyrus died, Cambyses became emperor of Persian. It is unsure of when he was born but he died in either 522 or 523 B.C.
Charon
Era of belief began 1000 B.C., Greece
Era of belief ended 300 A.D., Greece
The ferryman who takes the dead across the river Acheron.
Charged one obolus coin, which is why many Greeks buried their dead with coins on their tongues.
Charon is depicted as either a cranky, insulting old man, a winged demon, or a cloaked skeleton.
Cicero (in Latin pronounced Kikero)
Born January 3, 106 B.C., Arpinum, Rome
Died December 7, 43 B.C., Formia, Rome
Lawyer, Statesman, philosopher and orator
Considered one of Rome's best orators ever.
Credited for introducing Greek philosophical principles to Rome and created a vocabulary for them in Latin.
Was beheaded by his own people who had listed him as an enemy of the state by the influence of Marc Antony. It is said that Marc Antony's wife Fulvia took his head, cut out the tongue and stabbed it repeatedly with her hairpin to insult his powerful oratory skills.
Cincinnatus
Born 519 B.C., Rome
Died circa 440 B.C., Rome
Cincinnatus was an early Roman statesman and is considered to be a semi-legendary figure as it is difficult to discern the true events of his life from the exaggerated ones.
He first became dictator in 458 B.C. at the request of the people so that he could protect them against the Aequi and Volscian tribes that threatened them.
He came out of retirement and became dictator again in 439 B.C. to stop a revolt by the plebeians.
Cleopatra
Born 69 B.C., Alexandria, Egypt
Died 30 B.C., Alexandria, Egypt
Cleopatra was the last ruler of the Ptolemy dynasty in Egypt, making her of Greek decent.
She had love affairs with both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony.
She tried to keep Egypt free of Roman rule through diplomacy. Her efforts failed as she chose to stay by Marc Antony's side when he fought over leadership with Octavian and lost.
Supposedly she took her own life by having an asp bite her.
Constantine I a.k.a. Constantine the Great
Born February 27, 280 A.D., Naissus
Died May 22, 337 A.D., Rome
Fought against Licinius and many other rivals before becoming the emperor of all Rome.
Known for being the first to openly embrace Christianity and promote freedom of religion for all.
Constantine is known for his famous dream in which he say the chi rho, a Greek symbol for Christ, in the sky along with the phrase, "By this sign, you shall concur." It was after this that he won leadership of Rome.
Rebuilt the city of Byzantium, declaring it to be New Rome. He gave it a senate similar to Rome. He supposedly had many religious relics there to protect it. New Rome was changed to Constantinople where he is buried and eventually became the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
Crassus
Born 115 B.C., Rome
Died 53 B.C., Parthia
One of the richest men in Rome.
Entered into the First Triumvirate with Pompeius Magnus and Julius Caesar.
Was defeated at Parthia, which he attacked so that he could match the military strength of Caesar and Pompey, despite the fact he had the aid of the King of Armenia.
Cyrus the Great a.k.a. Cyrus II
Born circa 576 or 590 B.C., Persia
Died 530 B.C., Massagetae
First king of the Persian Empire after leading the Persians to concur the Medes.
Expanded the empire by concurring Babylon.
Will always be remembered as the turning point between the Medo-Persian Empire and the Persian Empire.
Darius the Great a.k.a. Darius I
Born circa 549 B.C. Persia
Died circa 485 B.C. Persia
Revised the Persian system of administration and the legal code.
He twice had to stop revolts in Babylon, three times in Susiana, and also one in Ionia. The last one led to the conflict between Greece and Persia and the Persian defeat at Marathon.
Divided the empire into provinces under rule of governors.
Built the new capital of Persepolis.
Vainly tried multiple times to conquer Greece in retaliation for their assistance in the Ionian rebellion.
David
Born circa 1025 B.C., Bethlehem, Israel
Died circa 965 B.C., Jerusalem, Israel
Complimented in the Bible as "a man after God's own heart" David is regarded as the greatest king in Israel's history.
He was a warrior king who expanded his country into a small empire conquering any army who opposed him.
David was renowned for his great fighting prowess and reliance on God which are evident in his slaying of Goliath the giant and of many Philistines throughout his life time.
Though a righteous man, David sinned terribly by having an affair with a woman named Bathsheba and having her husband killed when he found out she was pregnant.
He started the tradition of Israelite royalty being from the tribe of Judah.
The Messiah came from his bloodline as reward for his righteousness.
Diocletian
Born circa 245 A.D., Dioclea
Died circa 312 A.D., Salona
Made many reforms including the establishment of an autocratic government.
Laid the foundations for the second phase of the Roman Empire, the Tetrarchy.
Was the first Roman emperor to voluntarily step down from office. Rather then wait until he died, Diocletian retired from being Emperor to grow cabbages.
Diogenes
Again, this is a name that was used by several important historical figures. One a Greek philosopher who lived around 460 B.C. Another philosopher in 412 B.C. Another man was an Athenian educated Seleucian who appeal a fee charged to Athens by the Romans in 155 B.C. The list goes on.
Epicurus
Born 341 B.C., Samos
Died 270 B.C., Athens
He believed, like Democritus before him that there are un-cuttable fundamental particles that make up everything in the universe.
He taught that the gods do not punish man but that everything is determined by the movement of monads or atoms.
Taught that pain and pleasure are measurements of what is bad and good.
Esther a.k.a. Hadassah
Born 480 B.C.
Died 420 B.C.
Esther is a very celebrated figure in Jewish society. Her account was so feared by Hitler that he had the book banned because it might rally Jews' spirits.
She was forced into a contest to determine the new wife of Xerxes, King of Persia. After a year she was found to please him the most and became queen.
When Xerxes agreed with his advisor, Haman, that all the Jews living among the Persians should be killed, she pleaded for her people, revealing herself to be Jewish and winning the king's favor.
Is known for approaching the king uninvited. This action would have been punished by death had the king not found favor in her and held his scepter out to receive her.
Euripides
Born 480 B.C., Athens
Died 406 B.C., Macedonia
Famous Greek playwright.
Is said to be the last of the great tragedians.
Is thought to have written ninety-five plays in his lifetime.
Eve
Created 10,000-6,000 B.C., The Garden of Eden
Died 9,000-5,000 B.C., Unknown Wilderness
First woman and second human being created.
Wife of Adam and mother of all humanity.
First to listen to the snakes advice and disobey God by eating of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Like her husband, Eve was caste out of the Garden of Eden.
Gilgamesh
Born 2670 B.C.
Died 2610 B.C.
According to the Sumerian king list, Gilgamesh was the fifth kind of Urak.
Is supposedly two thirds god and one third human.
He was said to have superhuman strength and to have built a wall around his city to defend from threats.
Supposedly his people diverted the flow of the Euphrates River so they could burry him in the riverbed.
Hadrian
Born January 24, 76 A.D., Rome
Died July 10, 138 A.D., Baiae
A stoic-epicurean emperor.
The third of the "Five Good Emperors."
He himself said he was born in Rome in his autobiography, but there is a tradition he was born in Seville, Spain.
Built Hadrian's Wall in Britannia to protect against the hostile Caledonians. It also showed his will for Rome to work on internal improvements rather than continuing it's conquests.
Hamilcar Barca
Born 270 B.C., Carthage
Died 228 B.C., Hispania
Greatest Carthaginian military leader of his time.
Had a deep hatred for Rome.
Began a conquest of Hispania but died before it's completion.
Hamilcar was the father of the famous Hannibal who he trained to be his successor and instilled his hatred for Rome.
Hammurabi
Born circa 1810 B.C., Babylon
Died circa 1750 B.C., Babylon
Member of the first dynasty of Babylon.
Hammurabi expanded his Empire less through conquest and more through internal strengthening and diplomacy.
Hammurabi is best known for his code of law. Before this was written Law was simply mob mentality for peasants and whatever the king says for nobles. But with this code inscribed on a stone monument and placed in a public area for all to see, everyone was held to the same set of laws. Even the king could be held accountable for breaking them.
Hannibal
Born 247 B.C., Carthage
Died 183 B.C., Libyssa
His name means "grace of Baal." Ball was the patron god of Carthage.
He is best known for crossing the Alps into Italy using Elephants and engaging in a 15 year war there.
Though he was able to defeat Roman armies time after time, he didn't have enough men to take the capital, which was evident upon entering Italy. He instead traveled around the country defeating their armies and destroying their crops.
He may have become strong enough to take Rome had his brothers come to his aid, but they were both defeated.
He returned to Carthage where he defended the city against the Roman counter attack.
Rome demanded that he be removed from Caryhage because of the thread he posed and so he was exiled to Mesopotamia. They later decided that he should be handed over to them and when Prusias, ruler of the land he was staying in, agreed, he took poison rather than be captured by his enemy.
Hasdrubal
Born circa 240 B.C., Carthage
Died 207 B.C., Gaul
Younger brother of Hannibal and fellow general in the Second Punic War.
Fought in Hispania while his older brother moved on to Italy.
Was summoned to Hannibal's aid but never made it past Gaul, being cut down in a battle against two Roman armies.
His head was severed and thrown into Hannibal's camp to discourage him.
Hera
Worship began 1000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended 300 A.D., Rome
Queen of the gods and wife of Zeus.
She is the god of marriage.
Hera is best known for he opposition to Zeus on many matters that even caused fear in the king of the gods.
She epitomizes the duality between the subservient nature of an ancient woman to her husband and yet the great influence she could have over him.
Herodotus
Born circa 484 B.C., Halicarnassus
Died circa 425 B.C., Athens
Considered the Father of History.
Wrote The History, a book recounting the most prominent events of the ancient Greek world at the time.
Traveled as far as Ukraine, Sicily, Italy, and the first cataract of the Nile in Egypt.
It's believed that his focus in his book on the united Greek forces defeating the Persians, is to criticize the Peloponnesian War, which had recently broke out between Athens and Sparta, the two major contributors in defeating the Persians.
Hesiod
Born circa 730 B.C., Greece
Died circa 670 B.C., Greece
Hesiod was a poet and rhapsode.
Hesiod lived before recorded history and very little is known about him.
His writings give insight into ancient Greek mythology, farming, astrology, and time-keeping.
Hippocrates
Born 460 B.C., Kos
Died 370 B.C., Kos
Father of modern day medicine.
Said to be the first to discern between medicine and philosophy, arguing that illness is not of a supernatural origin.
Started the Koan style of medicine which focused more on prognosis and treatment then of diagnosis.
The Hippocratic Oath that all doctors say is named after him for his schools strict professionalism.
Homer
Born circa 730 B.C., Ionia
Died circa 670 B.C., Greece
The most famous Greek poet and rhapsode.
Like Hesiod, Homer lived before recorded history and little is known about him.
Credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Was believed to be blind and to have recited his verses from memory and possibly in song.
Jesus Christ
Born circa 7 B.C., Bethlehem, Judea
Died circa 25 A.D., Jerusalem, Judea
Called the Christ in Greek or Messiah in Hebrew which means the anointed one.
Claimed to have been the prophesied redeemer of humanity of Jewish belief.
Jesus is generally considered to be the most influential person in history as his followers constitute the largest religion in the world: Christianity.
Was famous for teaching peace and tolerance to all men and for supposedly performing many miracles.
Was martyred in Jerusalem by Roman officials persuaded by Jews who accused him of heresy for his teachings.
John the Baptist
Born circa 8 B.C., Jerusalem, Judea
Died circa 23 B.C., Jerusalem, Judea
Jesus' cousin who heralded his coming.
Is believed to have lived in the desert and to have worn camel's skin and eated locusts with honey.
Baptized people as a symbol of the cleansing they would go through at the coming of the messiah.
Was imprisoned by King Herod who feared his public influence. Herod's wife and niece then tricked him into having John beheaded.
Julius Caesar
Born July 12, 100 B.C., Rome
Died March 15, 44 B.C., Rome
A great conqueror for Rome, Julius Caesar traveled all over the Mediterranean quelling rebellions.
After the fighting he was the most powerful general in all of Rome and took the position of Imperator.
Fearing that he would become to powerful and wishing to maintain a republic and not an empire, many senators attacked and killed Julius Caesar at a senate meeting.
Two of his killers where Brutus and Cassius, close friends and allies of Caesar.
Juno
Worship began 1000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended 300 A.D., Rome
Juno was the Roman version of the goddess Hera
Wife of Jupiter and mother of Mars, the god of war who was very important ot the Romans.
Juno was also a member of the Capitoline Triad along with Jupiter and Minerva.
The month of June is named after her.
Jupiter a.k.a. Jove
Worship began 1000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended 300 A.D., Rome
Jupiter was the Roman version of Zeus.
The planet Jupiter is named after him because it was the largest and he was the king of the gods.
His name comes from Indo-European origin and means "Father god."
Justinian
Born circa 482 A.D., Tauresium
Died November 13-14 565 A.D., Constantinople
Was born a peasant but was raised by his uncle, Justin, who was part of the imperial guard.
When Emperor Anastasius died, Justin took the thrown with the help of his nephew Justinian and when Justin became senile Justinian became de facto ruler and proper emperor after Justin's death.
He was the only Roman Emperor to reclaim the territories of the Western Roman Empire and actual succeeded in taking the city of Rome itself.
He also lead a successful conquest in northern Africa.
Marc Antony
Born January 14, 83 B.C., Rome
Died August 1, 30 B.C., Alexandria, Egypt
Marc Antony was a great supporter of Julius Caesar and, to the dismay of a crowd, tried to place a diadem on his head proclaiming him king.
He also tried to head off Caesar before he got to the senate chamber where he was to be assassinated to warn him of the plot.
After Caesar's death Marc Antony competed with Octavian for control of Rome.
He allied himself with Cleopatra of Egypt, who was also his lover.
He was defeated by Octavian and committed suicide by falling on his sword under the false impression that Cleopatra had already done so.
Marcus Cato a.k.a. Cato the Elder
Born 234 B.C., Tusculum
Died 149 B.C., Rome
Was a contemporary of Scipio Africanus who he contended with over power.
Had a successful military career that included fighting against Hannibal Barca in the Second Punic war.
As consul he lead the Romans to defeat Antiochus the Great and the Seleucid Empire at the Battle of Thermopylea.
Mars
Worship began 1000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended 300 A.D., Rome
The god of war.
Heavily revered in Roman society because they were such a warlike state.
Was originally a god of fertility and vegetation but was changed to a god of battle as the empire grew.
Is believed to come from the Etruscan god of agriculture, Maris.
Minos
Born circa 1500 B.C., Crete
Died circa 1450 B.C., Crete
A legendary character who was the son of Zeus and Europa.
After becoming the King of Crete he banished his two brothers Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon.
Lived three generations before the Trojan War.
Retired to a cave in his old age were he supposedly received instructions from Zeus who introduced to Minos the concept of pederasty which he in turn passed on to the Greek civilizations.
Moses
Born circa 1300 B.C., Egypt
Died 1180 B.C., Canaan
Abraham, Achilles, Adam, Aechylus, Aesop, Ahura Mazda, Akhenaten, Alexander the Great, Allah, Apollo, Archilochus, Archimedes, Aristotle, Aspasia, Athena, Aten, Attila the Hun, Augustus/Octavian, Bridget of Kildare, Cambyses, Charon, Cicero, Cincinnatus, Cleopatra, Constantine, Crassus, Cyrus, Darius, David, Diocletian, Diogenes, Epicurus, Esther, Euripides, Eve, Gilgamech, Hadrian, Hamilcar, Hammurabi, Hannibal, Hasdrubal, Hera, Herodotus, Hesiod, Hippocrates, Homer, Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, Julius Caeser, Juno, Jupiter, Justinian, Marc Antony, Marcus Cato, Mars, Minos, Moses, Muhammad, Mursilis, Nebuchadnezzar, Nefertiti, Nero, Osiris, Ovid, Pericles, Philip II, Plato, Pompey, Pontius Pilate, Ptolemy, Ramses II, Remus, Romulus, Sappho, Sargon, Saul, Seneca, Shalmaneser, Socrates, Solomon, Solon, Sophocles, St. Benedict of Nursia, St. Helena, St. Patrick, St. Paul, St. Peter, Thucydides, Tiberius, Tiberius Gracchus, Tiglath-Pileser, Trajan, Tutankhamen, Virgil, Xerxes, Yahweh, Zeno, Zeus, Zoroaster
Short Descriptions
Abraham
Born circa 1900 B.C., Ur, Mesopotamia
Died circa 1725 B.C., Canaan
The revered father of the Hebrew people who enstated the practice of circumcision.
Believed to be the father of many other Semitic people with many Muslims tracing heritage back to him also.
Formed a covenant with God that laid the foundations for Judaism.
Travelled from his home city of Ur in Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan, but is known for strictly abiding by his beliefs and not allowing his family to be changed by the people he lived among.
Achilles
Born circa 1215 B.C., Thessaly
Died circa 1183 B.C., Troy
The legendary hero of the Iliad. Son of a sea nymph, Thetis, and the King of the Myrmidons, Peleus.
With godly heritage and known for his unstoppable rage Achilles slowly becomes more humanized throughout the Iliad until he dies a mortal death. This is a main theme in the story.
The Achilles tendon is named after him as that is believed to be the one part of his body that was vulnerable to attack, though that legend didn't begin circulating until the first century A.D. long after the Iliad was written.
Adam
Created circa 10,000-6,000 B.C., Garden of Eden
Died circa 9,000-5,000 B.C., Unknown wilderness (note: the range of Adam's possible creation is vast and is widely disputed among Christian researchers.)
The first human being to inhabit the planet according to Jewish and Christian doctrine. Was made by God out of dust as a perfect and immoral being.
Adam is the patriarch of the entire human race, with all people believed to be literal descendants of him and his wife, Eve.
Was the second human to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, plunging humanity into sin.
Was cast out of the paradisiacal Garden of Eden, where the Tree of Life is kept, and was doomed to toil in the land and eventually die.
Aechylus
Born circa 525 B.C., Eleusis, Attica
Died circa 455 B.C., Gela, Sicily
Famous Greek playwright known as the father of drama.
Implimented the use of more than one man interacting with the chorus in his plays. (Usually two men).
Fought against the Persian Emperor Darius in the Battle of Marathon and latter against Xerxes at the Battles of Salamis and Plataea.
His participation in the war heavily influenced his writing as is shown in his most famous work, The Persian, which recounted the Greek victory at Salamis.
Aesop
Born circa 500 A.D., Samos
Died 460 A.D., Delphi, Greece
Was a slave of a man named Xanthus, but was freed.
Traveled through Greece telling fables in political circles to sway the changes in government.
Died at the hands of the Delphians for an unknown reason
Ahura Mazda
Worship Began circa 500 B.C., Media
Worship continues in present day in India
The God of Zoroastrianism or Mazdaism
Very similar to the Christian and Jewish idea of an uncreated all powerful creator who will vanquish the evil forces at the end of time.
It is very uncertain as to when the concept of Ahura Mazda arose and most credit it to the religious leader Zoroaster, which hardly helps as it is uncertain when he lived.
Briefly was believed to be the twin brother of the evil spirit Angra Mainyu and his opposite but equal counterpart. Now, he is believed to be the complete being, with the evil spirit Angra Mainyu and the good spirit Spenta Mainyu the opposite and equal spirits warring within him.
Akhenaten
Born circa 1370 B.C.
Died circa 1336 B.C.
The Heretic Pharaoh. Born as Amenhotep IV, meaning "Amun is satisfied" he changed his name to Akhenaten, "effective spirit of Aten," when he denounced the worship of many gods and established Aten, the sun disk, as the supreme one true God.
His was believed to be the first attempt at monotheism in the world.
Is known for having a peculiar body shape that people theorize may be due to any thing from being a hermaphrodite, to having Marfan's syndrome, to him actually being a woman in disguise.
His forced monotheism seems to have been hated as he moved the capital of Egypt from fertile Thebes to the middle of the desert at el-Amarna; his statues in his tomb were smashed while those of his well loved wife; Nefertiti, remained unharmed; the nation reverted back to polytheism immediately after his short lived dynasty ended with Tutankhamen; and his tomb was left alone out in el-Amarna, instead of being moved to the Valley of the Kings.
Alexander the Great a.k.a Alexander III
Born July, 356 B.C., Macedon
Died June 11, 323 B.C., Babylon
Alexander the Great is known as one of the greatest military minds of all time.
When Alexander's father, Phillip II, was assassinated, Alexander inherited the newly unified Greece thanks to his father's conquests.
King Alexander had to quell rebellions twice in the southern parts of Greece before gaining complete control.
Alexander the Great fulfilled both the prophecy of Daniel (Chapter 8) and the suspicions of the Persians, that a unified Greece would conquer Persia.
Alexander pushed his army all the way to the boarders of India before being forced to turn back when his own men threatened to rebel.
Died in Nebuchadnezzar II's palace in Babylon from an unknown illness that lasted 12 days. Some suspect poisoning.
Allah
Worship Began circa 610 A.D., Arabian Peninsula
Worship continues across the world today.
"Allah" translates as, "The One to be worshipped."
Allah is the God of the Muslim faith.
Allah is the same God as the Christian and Jewish faiths and Arabic speaking Jews and Christians refer to their God as Allah.
Apollo
Worship Began circa 1,100 B.C. Greece
Worship Ended circa 300 B.C. Rome
An oracular god, Apollo was the patron of the oracle at Delphi.
He was the sister of Artemis the huntress.
Apollo was often equated with the sun god, Helio, as his siter was equated with the moon goddess, Selene.
Unusual among the gods as he had devout cults formed specifically for him. Two cults actually had such a different concept of him that he might as well have been two distinct gods.
Archilochus
Born circa 680 B.C., Paros
Died circa 645 B.C., Thasos
A poet who made his living by public and private recitals of his work.
Was considered an equal to Homer by his countrymen and statues to each of them were dedicated on the same day.
Was known for his harsh satire.
Supposedly at a feast of Demeter he poured out his emotions in a satirical attack against a man who had promised him his daughter but then rescinded. The insults were said to be so shameful that the man and his daughters hung themselves.
Archimedes
Born circa 287 B.C., Syracuse, Sicily
Died circa 212 B.C., Syracuse, Sicily
Regarded as the most important scientists in antiquity, Archimedes was a mathematician, engineer, and physicist.
Archimedes has legends about him creating ancient super weapon's such as the "Archimedes' Death Ray," which is a humorous name for an invention made of polished metal mirrors that he supposedly used to burn ships, and the "Archimedes' Claw" which was supposedly a crane like device that violently latched onto ships and pulled them upward causing them to sink.
Archimedes died in the second Punic War. According to tradition, hewas not supposed to be killed but rather captured. However, he enraged a Roman soldier by ignoring him and telling the soldier to go away while he worked on his math and was killed on the spot.
Aristotle
Born 384 B.C., Stagira, Thrace
Died March 7, 322 B.C., Chalcis
Student at Plato's Academy in Athens for 20 years.
Tutored Alexander the Great for seven years at the request of Philip of Macedon, Alexander's father.
Founded his own school in Athens known as the Lyceum.
When the Athenians brought charges against Aristotle, he fled the city saying, "I will not allow them to sin twice against philosophy," which is believed to be a reference to the Athenian execution of Socrates.
Aspasia
Born circa 470 B.C., Miletus, Asia Minor
Died circa 400 B.C., Athens, Greece
Romantically involved with the statesmen, Pericles and Lysicles.
She was said to be an influential and charismatic speaker.
The details of Aspasia's life are unknown. She is written about in the works of Plato and has been accused of running a brothel by comic poets.
Athena
Worship began circa 1,000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended circa 300 A.D., Rome
Goddess of wisdom.
Zeus swallowed Athena's mother, Metis the Titan, whole immediately after impregnating her.
Unable to die, Athena grew inside of Zeus creating a great pressure on his forehead. She then emerged from his head when Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, broke Zeus's head open to relieve the pressure.
Often bested Aries the god of war because of her superior wisdom and cuning.
The Athens take their name from her because, according to myth, she stopped the sea god, Poseidon, from flooding the city and taking it as his own.
Aton a.k.a Aten
Worship began 3000 B.C., Egypt
Worship ended 300 A.D., Egypt
The sun disk and believed to be the creator of all.
Associated with Amen-Ra or Re the sun god.
Became less associated with Re when Akhenaton proclaimed Aton to be not only the supreme god, but the only god, which went in opposition to the Amen-Ra priesthood at Thebes.
Attila the Hun
Born circa 406 A.D., Hun Monarch
Died 453 A.D., Danube
Along with his brother Bleda, he inherited the united Hun tribes from their uncle Rugila.
Continuously caused trouble for the Byzantine Empire by putting them under constant attack.
His empire stretched from Scandinavia to Armenia.
Cut a swath clear through Europe, defeating the Gothic-Roman alliance along the way and making his way all the way to Italy to marry Honoria, who he felt had been promised to him. He turned back for no known reason before attacking Rome.
Augustus a.k.a. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus
Born September 23, 63 B.C. Rome, Rome
Died August 19, 14 A.D. Nola, Rome
Ruled as an autocrat for 41 years which is longer than any subsequent emperor.
His rule is considered the dividing line between the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.
Ended many cival wars within the nation causing a 200 year era of peace known as the Pax Romana.
Had to fight with Marcus Aurelius to rule after Julius Caesar's death.
Bridget of Kildare
Born 451 A.D., Kildare, Ireland
Died circa 525 A.D. Kildare, Ireland
Was born a pagan but changed her beliefs and converted to Christianity.
After becoming a nun, her and a group of fellow nuns and monks established a convent in which she eventually became Abbess.
Kildare had a fire in it that was always kept burning according to pagan religious beliefs. Rather than putting it out, Bridget and her fellow nuns gave it a Christian interpretation, which kept healthy relations with the Druids of the area.
Many believe she did not actually exist but was a Christianized version of a Celtic goddess, used to help convert pagans.
Cambyses
This is three people in history. He was a little known brother of Cyrus I. Cyrus then named his son Cambyses who became ruler of Anshan under the over lordship of the Median Emperor. He lived from 600 B.C to 559 B.C. in Anshan. His son was Cyrus II or Cyrus the Great. Cyrus the Great then had a son: Cambyses II. Camyses ruled over Babylon under his fathers reign and then when Cyrus died, Cambyses became emperor of Persian. It is unsure of when he was born but he died in either 522 or 523 B.C.
Charon
Era of belief began 1000 B.C., Greece
Era of belief ended 300 A.D., Greece
The ferryman who takes the dead across the river Acheron.
Charged one obolus coin, which is why many Greeks buried their dead with coins on their tongues.
Charon is depicted as either a cranky, insulting old man, a winged demon, or a cloaked skeleton.
Cicero (in Latin pronounced Kikero)
Born January 3, 106 B.C., Arpinum, Rome
Died December 7, 43 B.C., Formia, Rome
Lawyer, Statesman, philosopher and orator
Considered one of Rome's best orators ever.
Credited for introducing Greek philosophical principles to Rome and created a vocabulary for them in Latin.
Was beheaded by his own people who had listed him as an enemy of the state by the influence of Marc Antony. It is said that Marc Antony's wife Fulvia took his head, cut out the tongue and stabbed it repeatedly with her hairpin to insult his powerful oratory skills.
Cincinnatus
Born 519 B.C., Rome
Died circa 440 B.C., Rome
Cincinnatus was an early Roman statesman and is considered to be a semi-legendary figure as it is difficult to discern the true events of his life from the exaggerated ones.
He first became dictator in 458 B.C. at the request of the people so that he could protect them against the Aequi and Volscian tribes that threatened them.
He came out of retirement and became dictator again in 439 B.C. to stop a revolt by the plebeians.
Cleopatra
Born 69 B.C., Alexandria, Egypt
Died 30 B.C., Alexandria, Egypt
Cleopatra was the last ruler of the Ptolemy dynasty in Egypt, making her of Greek decent.
She had love affairs with both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony.
She tried to keep Egypt free of Roman rule through diplomacy. Her efforts failed as she chose to stay by Marc Antony's side when he fought over leadership with Octavian and lost.
Supposedly she took her own life by having an asp bite her.
Constantine I a.k.a. Constantine the Great
Born February 27, 280 A.D., Naissus
Died May 22, 337 A.D., Rome
Fought against Licinius and many other rivals before becoming the emperor of all Rome.
Known for being the first to openly embrace Christianity and promote freedom of religion for all.
Constantine is known for his famous dream in which he say the chi rho, a Greek symbol for Christ, in the sky along with the phrase, "By this sign, you shall concur." It was after this that he won leadership of Rome.
Rebuilt the city of Byzantium, declaring it to be New Rome. He gave it a senate similar to Rome. He supposedly had many religious relics there to protect it. New Rome was changed to Constantinople where he is buried and eventually became the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
Crassus
Born 115 B.C., Rome
Died 53 B.C., Parthia
One of the richest men in Rome.
Entered into the First Triumvirate with Pompeius Magnus and Julius Caesar.
Was defeated at Parthia, which he attacked so that he could match the military strength of Caesar and Pompey, despite the fact he had the aid of the King of Armenia.
Cyrus the Great a.k.a. Cyrus II
Born circa 576 or 590 B.C., Persia
Died 530 B.C., Massagetae
First king of the Persian Empire after leading the Persians to concur the Medes.
Expanded the empire by concurring Babylon.
Will always be remembered as the turning point between the Medo-Persian Empire and the Persian Empire.
Darius the Great a.k.a. Darius I
Born circa 549 B.C. Persia
Died circa 485 B.C. Persia
Revised the Persian system of administration and the legal code.
He twice had to stop revolts in Babylon, three times in Susiana, and also one in Ionia. The last one led to the conflict between Greece and Persia and the Persian defeat at Marathon.
Divided the empire into provinces under rule of governors.
Built the new capital of Persepolis.
Vainly tried multiple times to conquer Greece in retaliation for their assistance in the Ionian rebellion.
David
Born circa 1025 B.C., Bethlehem, Israel
Died circa 965 B.C., Jerusalem, Israel
Complimented in the Bible as "a man after God's own heart" David is regarded as the greatest king in Israel's history.
He was a warrior king who expanded his country into a small empire conquering any army who opposed him.
David was renowned for his great fighting prowess and reliance on God which are evident in his slaying of Goliath the giant and of many Philistines throughout his life time.
Though a righteous man, David sinned terribly by having an affair with a woman named Bathsheba and having her husband killed when he found out she was pregnant.
He started the tradition of Israelite royalty being from the tribe of Judah.
The Messiah came from his bloodline as reward for his righteousness.
Diocletian
Born circa 245 A.D., Dioclea
Died circa 312 A.D., Salona
Made many reforms including the establishment of an autocratic government.
Laid the foundations for the second phase of the Roman Empire, the Tetrarchy.
Was the first Roman emperor to voluntarily step down from office. Rather then wait until he died, Diocletian retired from being Emperor to grow cabbages.
Diogenes
Again, this is a name that was used by several important historical figures. One a Greek philosopher who lived around 460 B.C. Another philosopher in 412 B.C. Another man was an Athenian educated Seleucian who appeal a fee charged to Athens by the Romans in 155 B.C. The list goes on.
Epicurus
Born 341 B.C., Samos
Died 270 B.C., Athens
He believed, like Democritus before him that there are un-cuttable fundamental particles that make up everything in the universe.
He taught that the gods do not punish man but that everything is determined by the movement of monads or atoms.
Taught that pain and pleasure are measurements of what is bad and good.
Esther a.k.a. Hadassah
Born 480 B.C.
Died 420 B.C.
Esther is a very celebrated figure in Jewish society. Her account was so feared by Hitler that he had the book banned because it might rally Jews' spirits.
She was forced into a contest to determine the new wife of Xerxes, King of Persia. After a year she was found to please him the most and became queen.
When Xerxes agreed with his advisor, Haman, that all the Jews living among the Persians should be killed, she pleaded for her people, revealing herself to be Jewish and winning the king's favor.
Is known for approaching the king uninvited. This action would have been punished by death had the king not found favor in her and held his scepter out to receive her.
Euripides
Born 480 B.C., Athens
Died 406 B.C., Macedonia
Famous Greek playwright.
Is said to be the last of the great tragedians.
Is thought to have written ninety-five plays in his lifetime.
Eve
Created 10,000-6,000 B.C., The Garden of Eden
Died 9,000-5,000 B.C., Unknown Wilderness
First woman and second human being created.
Wife of Adam and mother of all humanity.
First to listen to the snakes advice and disobey God by eating of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Like her husband, Eve was caste out of the Garden of Eden.
Gilgamesh
Born 2670 B.C.
Died 2610 B.C.
According to the Sumerian king list, Gilgamesh was the fifth kind of Urak.
Is supposedly two thirds god and one third human.
He was said to have superhuman strength and to have built a wall around his city to defend from threats.
Supposedly his people diverted the flow of the Euphrates River so they could burry him in the riverbed.
Hadrian
Born January 24, 76 A.D., Rome
Died July 10, 138 A.D., Baiae
A stoic-epicurean emperor.
The third of the "Five Good Emperors."
He himself said he was born in Rome in his autobiography, but there is a tradition he was born in Seville, Spain.
Built Hadrian's Wall in Britannia to protect against the hostile Caledonians. It also showed his will for Rome to work on internal improvements rather than continuing it's conquests.
Hamilcar Barca
Born 270 B.C., Carthage
Died 228 B.C., Hispania
Greatest Carthaginian military leader of his time.
Had a deep hatred for Rome.
Began a conquest of Hispania but died before it's completion.
Hamilcar was the father of the famous Hannibal who he trained to be his successor and instilled his hatred for Rome.
Hammurabi
Born circa 1810 B.C., Babylon
Died circa 1750 B.C., Babylon
Member of the first dynasty of Babylon.
Hammurabi expanded his Empire less through conquest and more through internal strengthening and diplomacy.
Hammurabi is best known for his code of law. Before this was written Law was simply mob mentality for peasants and whatever the king says for nobles. But with this code inscribed on a stone monument and placed in a public area for all to see, everyone was held to the same set of laws. Even the king could be held accountable for breaking them.
Hannibal
Born 247 B.C., Carthage
Died 183 B.C., Libyssa
His name means "grace of Baal." Ball was the patron god of Carthage.
He is best known for crossing the Alps into Italy using Elephants and engaging in a 15 year war there.
Though he was able to defeat Roman armies time after time, he didn't have enough men to take the capital, which was evident upon entering Italy. He instead traveled around the country defeating their armies and destroying their crops.
He may have become strong enough to take Rome had his brothers come to his aid, but they were both defeated.
He returned to Carthage where he defended the city against the Roman counter attack.
Rome demanded that he be removed from Caryhage because of the thread he posed and so he was exiled to Mesopotamia. They later decided that he should be handed over to them and when Prusias, ruler of the land he was staying in, agreed, he took poison rather than be captured by his enemy.
Hasdrubal
Born circa 240 B.C., Carthage
Died 207 B.C., Gaul
Younger brother of Hannibal and fellow general in the Second Punic War.
Fought in Hispania while his older brother moved on to Italy.
Was summoned to Hannibal's aid but never made it past Gaul, being cut down in a battle against two Roman armies.
His head was severed and thrown into Hannibal's camp to discourage him.
Hera
Worship began 1000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended 300 A.D., Rome
Queen of the gods and wife of Zeus.
She is the god of marriage.
Hera is best known for he opposition to Zeus on many matters that even caused fear in the king of the gods.
She epitomizes the duality between the subservient nature of an ancient woman to her husband and yet the great influence she could have over him.
Herodotus
Born circa 484 B.C., Halicarnassus
Died circa 425 B.C., Athens
Considered the Father of History.
Wrote The History, a book recounting the most prominent events of the ancient Greek world at the time.
Traveled as far as Ukraine, Sicily, Italy, and the first cataract of the Nile in Egypt.
It's believed that his focus in his book on the united Greek forces defeating the Persians, is to criticize the Peloponnesian War, which had recently broke out between Athens and Sparta, the two major contributors in defeating the Persians.
Hesiod
Born circa 730 B.C., Greece
Died circa 670 B.C., Greece
Hesiod was a poet and rhapsode.
Hesiod lived before recorded history and very little is known about him.
His writings give insight into ancient Greek mythology, farming, astrology, and time-keeping.
Hippocrates
Born 460 B.C., Kos
Died 370 B.C., Kos
Father of modern day medicine.
Said to be the first to discern between medicine and philosophy, arguing that illness is not of a supernatural origin.
Started the Koan style of medicine which focused more on prognosis and treatment then of diagnosis.
The Hippocratic Oath that all doctors say is named after him for his schools strict professionalism.
Homer
Born circa 730 B.C., Ionia
Died circa 670 B.C., Greece
The most famous Greek poet and rhapsode.
Like Hesiod, Homer lived before recorded history and little is known about him.
Credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Was believed to be blind and to have recited his verses from memory and possibly in song.
Jesus Christ
Born circa 7 B.C., Bethlehem, Judea
Died circa 25 A.D., Jerusalem, Judea
Called the Christ in Greek or Messiah in Hebrew which means the anointed one.
Claimed to have been the prophesied redeemer of humanity of Jewish belief.
Jesus is generally considered to be the most influential person in history as his followers constitute the largest religion in the world: Christianity.
Was famous for teaching peace and tolerance to all men and for supposedly performing many miracles.
Was martyred in Jerusalem by Roman officials persuaded by Jews who accused him of heresy for his teachings.
John the Baptist
Born circa 8 B.C., Jerusalem, Judea
Died circa 23 B.C., Jerusalem, Judea
Jesus' cousin who heralded his coming.
Is believed to have lived in the desert and to have worn camel's skin and eated locusts with honey.
Baptized people as a symbol of the cleansing they would go through at the coming of the messiah.
Was imprisoned by King Herod who feared his public influence. Herod's wife and niece then tricked him into having John beheaded.
Julius Caesar
Born July 12, 100 B.C., Rome
Died March 15, 44 B.C., Rome
A great conqueror for Rome, Julius Caesar traveled all over the Mediterranean quelling rebellions.
After the fighting he was the most powerful general in all of Rome and took the position of Imperator.
Fearing that he would become to powerful and wishing to maintain a republic and not an empire, many senators attacked and killed Julius Caesar at a senate meeting.
Two of his killers where Brutus and Cassius, close friends and allies of Caesar.
Juno
Worship began 1000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended 300 A.D., Rome
Juno was the Roman version of the goddess Hera
Wife of Jupiter and mother of Mars, the god of war who was very important ot the Romans.
Juno was also a member of the Capitoline Triad along with Jupiter and Minerva.
The month of June is named after her.
Jupiter a.k.a. Jove
Worship began 1000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended 300 A.D., Rome
Jupiter was the Roman version of Zeus.
The planet Jupiter is named after him because it was the largest and he was the king of the gods.
His name comes from Indo-European origin and means "Father god."
Justinian
Born circa 482 A.D., Tauresium
Died November 13-14 565 A.D., Constantinople
Was born a peasant but was raised by his uncle, Justin, who was part of the imperial guard.
When Emperor Anastasius died, Justin took the thrown with the help of his nephew Justinian and when Justin became senile Justinian became de facto ruler and proper emperor after Justin's death.
He was the only Roman Emperor to reclaim the territories of the Western Roman Empire and actual succeeded in taking the city of Rome itself.
He also lead a successful conquest in northern Africa.
Marc Antony
Born January 14, 83 B.C., Rome
Died August 1, 30 B.C., Alexandria, Egypt
Marc Antony was a great supporter of Julius Caesar and, to the dismay of a crowd, tried to place a diadem on his head proclaiming him king.
He also tried to head off Caesar before he got to the senate chamber where he was to be assassinated to warn him of the plot.
After Caesar's death Marc Antony competed with Octavian for control of Rome.
He allied himself with Cleopatra of Egypt, who was also his lover.
He was defeated by Octavian and committed suicide by falling on his sword under the false impression that Cleopatra had already done so.
Marcus Cato a.k.a. Cato the Elder
Born 234 B.C., Tusculum
Died 149 B.C., Rome
Was a contemporary of Scipio Africanus who he contended with over power.
Had a successful military career that included fighting against Hannibal Barca in the Second Punic war.
As consul he lead the Romans to defeat Antiochus the Great and the Seleucid Empire at the Battle of Thermopylea.
Mars
Worship began 1000 B.C., Greece
Worship ended 300 A.D., Rome
The god of war.
Heavily revered in Roman society because they were such a warlike state.
Was originally a god of fertility and vegetation but was changed to a god of battle as the empire grew.
Is believed to come from the Etruscan god of agriculture, Maris.
Minos
Born circa 1500 B.C., Crete
Died circa 1450 B.C., Crete
A legendary character who was the son of Zeus and Europa.
After becoming the King of Crete he banished his two brothers Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon.
Lived three generations before the Trojan War.
Retired to a cave in his old age were he supposedly received instructions from Zeus who introduced to Minos the concept of pederasty which he in turn passed on to the Greek civilizations.
Moses
Born circa 1300 B.C., Egypt
Died 1180 B.C., Canaan
rules for friendship
Friendships do have rules ...
The Girlfriend Rules:
- We all know they exist, it's about time someone put them down on paper!
Sex and The City, Lipstick Jungle, chick flicks galore on both the big and small screen affirm the extraordinary bond between women. We support each other, look out for each other's interests, cheer each other on, offer up advice, do favours, sacrifice, share clothes and give, give, GIVE for the oh so honorable cause of women's sorority-ship. Always.
Yeah, right.
I've had the privilege of befriending, both professionally and personally, some very happening women, most of which I call friend to this day.
I've also been privy on more than one occasion to a group of snippy backbiters. The last occasion where I found myself swimming against this misfortune was in a retail office full of very religious women, naively I assumed "This should be a fairly principled environment, right?" I soon learned that, on a daily basis, a select few would leave for lunch and as soon as the door closed behind them, one of these pious charlatans would proclaim (hand held to chest) "Well God bless her, and Jesus forgive me for saying anything ... but..." and the gossip would begin.
My point is; there really are all kinds. There's class in every trailer park, and trailer park in every class. Every one gets burned, and the quicker we learn to cherish the real girlfriends we do find, the better.
A tried and true Girlfriend GETS the rules, and sticks to them.
Ten rules of friendship (isn't it funny that there are always ten?)
1) You do not date your friends ex.
The time limit on this:
If they were married or seriously committed: ever
If the friend is also related to you: ever
If they dated for over a year: after a year IF your friend is SO over the guy, you can ask.
If they dated for less than six months: once your friend is clearly SO over the guy, you can ask.
** If your friend never gets over guys, you have to address this, and perhaps even re-evaluate what a flake your friend is.
2) You never negatively gossip about each other while one is absent. A concerned conversation, which may lead to a helpful conclusion, is exempt.
3) If your mom is your friend, you need to be careful what you tell her. Especially about your friends. Your age is not relevant here.
4) When your friend dumps on you regarding her useless boyfriend or husband, you listen, offering very little input or direct advice. "I'll help you with whatever you decide." "You know I support you." THAT'S IT.
REASON: Once these two reconcile, and you have confided in her that the guy is a jerk, spends too much, everyone hates him, etcetera ... you now have a problem. Let your friends alone decide on their love lives. ** Any abusive situation is, of course, exempt from this rule.
5) Do not be one of those 'friends' that constantly dumps about your useless boyfriend / husband. On occasion - fine, doing this constantly shows extreme disrespect for your spouse. It also has the eventual effect of making you look like a loser.
6) Old friends get the benefit of the doubt over new ones. Until they screw it up. A good friend never will.
7) Friends establish understandings about cash: Are you casual with money or not? YOU HAVE TO PUT IT OUT THERE. I'll spot any friend money if I have it. Forgotten wallet, emergency plane ticket, unexpected trip to the vet, bail ... whatever. I hate splitting hairs on restaurant checks, I'll get it this time, and you get it next time. THAT'S ME. Friends have to casually put their MONEY STUFF out there, and then all need to respect this. Some people can never loan money - it makes them nuts.
ESTABLISH MONEY BOUNDARIES then HONOUR THEM.
8) It is your responsibility to not knowingly let your friend look bad.
Spinach in teeth, toilet paper on shoe, pertinent information at a gathering (So-and-so's boyfriend is in jail, don't bring him up / The guy to your left is rich / Mary just came out of the closet and would probably NOT want to meet your brother ... etcetera).
9) Friends do not sabotage each other, (even subconsciously). If Jane has lost twenty pounds and you've gained eleven, and you find yourself shoving cake in her face, maybe you need to look in the mirror.
10) Friends keep secrets. Period. Even from other friends.
**Spousal abuse, addictions and similar dangerous activities are exempt.
SECRETS need to be established. Is this a secret? ASK. If you do not mention that something is private from other friends, it is unfair to assume it is. Be careful with this one: it can be confusing, and it's a biggie. Girlfriends like to talk and they are not psychic.
There you have it, a few simple rules for friends to live by. And remember:
Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.
--Samuel Butler
Friends are like melons; shall I tell you why? To find one good you must one hundred try.
-- Claude Mermet
A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.
-- Bernard Meltzer.
The Girlfriend Rules:
- We all know they exist, it's about time someone put them down on paper!
Sex and The City, Lipstick Jungle, chick flicks galore on both the big and small screen affirm the extraordinary bond between women. We support each other, look out for each other's interests, cheer each other on, offer up advice, do favours, sacrifice, share clothes and give, give, GIVE for the oh so honorable cause of women's sorority-ship. Always.
Yeah, right.
I've had the privilege of befriending, both professionally and personally, some very happening women, most of which I call friend to this day.
I've also been privy on more than one occasion to a group of snippy backbiters. The last occasion where I found myself swimming against this misfortune was in a retail office full of very religious women, naively I assumed "This should be a fairly principled environment, right?" I soon learned that, on a daily basis, a select few would leave for lunch and as soon as the door closed behind them, one of these pious charlatans would proclaim (hand held to chest) "Well God bless her, and Jesus forgive me for saying anything ... but..." and the gossip would begin.
My point is; there really are all kinds. There's class in every trailer park, and trailer park in every class. Every one gets burned, and the quicker we learn to cherish the real girlfriends we do find, the better.
A tried and true Girlfriend GETS the rules, and sticks to them.
Ten rules of friendship (isn't it funny that there are always ten?)
1) You do not date your friends ex.
The time limit on this:
If they were married or seriously committed: ever
If the friend is also related to you: ever
If they dated for over a year: after a year IF your friend is SO over the guy, you can ask.
If they dated for less than six months: once your friend is clearly SO over the guy, you can ask.
** If your friend never gets over guys, you have to address this, and perhaps even re-evaluate what a flake your friend is.
2) You never negatively gossip about each other while one is absent. A concerned conversation, which may lead to a helpful conclusion, is exempt.
3) If your mom is your friend, you need to be careful what you tell her. Especially about your friends. Your age is not relevant here.
4) When your friend dumps on you regarding her useless boyfriend or husband, you listen, offering very little input or direct advice. "I'll help you with whatever you decide." "You know I support you." THAT'S IT.
REASON: Once these two reconcile, and you have confided in her that the guy is a jerk, spends too much, everyone hates him, etcetera ... you now have a problem. Let your friends alone decide on their love lives. ** Any abusive situation is, of course, exempt from this rule.
5) Do not be one of those 'friends' that constantly dumps about your useless boyfriend / husband. On occasion - fine, doing this constantly shows extreme disrespect for your spouse. It also has the eventual effect of making you look like a loser.
6) Old friends get the benefit of the doubt over new ones. Until they screw it up. A good friend never will.
7) Friends establish understandings about cash: Are you casual with money or not? YOU HAVE TO PUT IT OUT THERE. I'll spot any friend money if I have it. Forgotten wallet, emergency plane ticket, unexpected trip to the vet, bail ... whatever. I hate splitting hairs on restaurant checks, I'll get it this time, and you get it next time. THAT'S ME. Friends have to casually put their MONEY STUFF out there, and then all need to respect this. Some people can never loan money - it makes them nuts.
ESTABLISH MONEY BOUNDARIES then HONOUR THEM.
8) It is your responsibility to not knowingly let your friend look bad.
Spinach in teeth, toilet paper on shoe, pertinent information at a gathering (So-and-so's boyfriend is in jail, don't bring him up / The guy to your left is rich / Mary just came out of the closet and would probably NOT want to meet your brother ... etcetera).
9) Friends do not sabotage each other, (even subconsciously). If Jane has lost twenty pounds and you've gained eleven, and you find yourself shoving cake in her face, maybe you need to look in the mirror.
10) Friends keep secrets. Period. Even from other friends.
**Spousal abuse, addictions and similar dangerous activities are exempt.
SECRETS need to be established. Is this a secret? ASK. If you do not mention that something is private from other friends, it is unfair to assume it is. Be careful with this one: it can be confusing, and it's a biggie. Girlfriends like to talk and they are not psychic.
There you have it, a few simple rules for friends to live by. And remember:
Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.
--Samuel Butler
Friends are like melons; shall I tell you why? To find one good you must one hundred try.
-- Claude Mermet
A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.
-- Bernard Meltzer.
make him fall in love with you
You have met your soul mate, the one and only, now what? Now you have to make him or her fall madly, drunkly, and blindly in love with you. You could use the old-fashioned, outdated method of getting to know the person, dating, and being yourself...letting the love and mutual respect develop
naturally, but do you really have the time and patience for that?
In this day and age, only fools let love follow its natural course. You need to act now and manipulate the situation to your advantage, unless you want to end up a forty year old living with your parents. And, don't forget old Aunt Marge pinching your cheeks, asking for the 947,329th time: "When are you going to get married?”
Ten Ways to Make Someone Love You
Be Needy: You have to let this person know you need him or her. Not only will it make your love feel good to be wanted, but you will be able to latch on quickly and get your hooks in nice and deep.
Learn Everything: Dig deep and discover everything about your love. You will amaze him or her with your ability to know this person so well. It will seem uncanny that you can know so much about this person. Some might call it stalking, but it's not like background checks are illegal.
Meet the Parents: You don't even have to wait for your love interest to introduce you. Take some initiative and meet them on your own. You will get to know a lot more about your love through his or her family. Plus, it will make it more difficult for this person not to get into a relationship with you once the family loves you!
Say I Love You: Nothing better lets someone know exactly how you feel than actually telling them. That's right, be honest. You need to get it out in the open, and let him or her know exactly what you expect from the relationship. If your love wants to know which relationship you are talking about, don't hold back: tell this person everything! You can even share the ideas you have for what to name your kids.
Get the Friends: You know #3? Well, the same thing applies here, but focus on the friends. Once you have infiltrated the group of friends, you are in for life. Find out what their interests are, where they hang out, what they do--and make sure you are always around.
Make Your Interests Match: Whoever said that you should be independent was crazy. You need to find out what interests your love. Then, make sure he or she knows that you have the same exact interests! You might have to stay up all night reading up on baseball stats or learn the local theater schedules, but it will be worth it when you have your arms wrapped, dead-tight, around your love.
PDA: Oh yeah...public displays of affection. Get it on as soon as possible. Nothing will endear you to your love more than being all over him or her in public. The moment you see this person, start touching. Do whatever you have to do to get a hold of his or her hand. Hug your love and don't hold those smooches back. If he or she seems a little weirded out about it, don't worry...keep the PDA going strong. It will pay out in the long run.
Get a Tattoo: A huge tattoo. Preferably with a giant heart. Don't forget the most important part: your love's name! For extra points, get a tattoo of his or her face.
Move In: Your love interest might not think it is a great idea at first, but you can work around that. Just start bringing your stuff over and leaving it at his or her place. Get yourself a key- I know you can find a way- and let yourself in whenever you need to. Definitely be sure to create your space at his/her place. And, make sure your picture is everywhere. This way, you won't be forgotten when you aren't around for a little while.
Love Spells: If all else fails, try some love spells. That's right: voodoo it. Wrap that guy or gal around your finger. It's all about the manipulation. Steal some hair, light a candle, and bad karma be damned!
By now you should be happily in the arms of your sweet, true love.
Disclaimer
This article is meant for humorous purposes only. Any resemblance to real actions or police incidents is purely coincidental. No tattoo artists or Wiccans were injured in the creation of this article. If you are susceptible to following bad advice, this is not for you. This article is intended for those with a sense of humor, not for those who feel offended. This advice is not recommended for children, teenagers, adults, or anyone not interested in a prison record.
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