This Internet Book visited
17, 862,401 times since April 1997 (as of 12/2000)

The PREMIER JOURNEY to The Ancient World, weaving together  the Peoples of those lands and civilizations and the way they lived and - their thoughts, their hopes, their dreams, their lives.

What is the Ancient World?   Greece, Rome, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylon, Sumer, Nubia, Persia, Byzantium, Turkey?  Or is it Assyrians, Chaldeans, Hebrews, Hittites, Akkadians, Etruscans, Minoans?  Is it Alexander, Plato, Virgil, Socrates, Hammurabi, Aristotle, Nefertiti, the Pharaohs, Emperors, Caesar, Cleopatra, Sargon, Akhenaton, the Black Athena, Homer? Or is it the dinosaurs, Stonehenge, hunters, slaves, women, rulers, soldiers, or the Iliad, the Aeneid, the Odyssey, the Olympics? Is it found in the ruins, temples, forums, pyramids or in the remnants of ordinary life?  Explore through this Web Book and the Online College Course.

  Ancient Civilization did not begin in what we think of as the West. It did not start in Paris or Berlin or London or Prague or Brussels or Stockholm. It grew out of the Mediterranean breezes, the sun and desert of Northern Africa, the Persian and West Asian lands. To study Ancient Civilization is to travel - across parts of Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to India. It is a linking voyage, not a reducing trip. It CONNECTS peoples, ideas, patterns, developments, organizations, wars, religions, art, architecture, food and drink. It is a human endeavor about a human story.

I am an historian, not a classicist.  And historians and classicists are not the same.  They focus and work differently.  But the challenge of it all is that understanding can only come by standing on the mountain and looking at the parts in the whole. An historian of this time (from the beginning of time through Egypt, Greece, to the fall of Rome) must be willing and eager to reach out and know that all knowledge is important. I built this Ancient Civilization arena for people - for students, faculty, and ordinary folks who think it is fascinating and can be just plain fun. Just like our lives, in this Arena there is much seriousness but also much joy and animation.

And the wonderful range of things to think about? Culture, archaeology, art, music, theater, books and writing, language, philosophy, politics, peace and war, life and living. Psychology, sociology, history, geometry and astronomy and biology, building and architecture and engineering. Economics and geography, women and men and children, farming and town planning, rivers and deserts and mountains, gods and goddesses. Birth and death, magic and mystery, aspiration and despair, palaces and mud huts, the freedom to rule empires, and the chains of everlasting slavery. Poetry, logic, weaponry, sports, courage and cowardice, love and hate, and genius.

ANCIENT SOURCES:A BEGINNING

The Web teems with the richness of the Ancient World.  So many wonderfully conceived sites representing dedication, scholarship, diversity, determination and exceptional creativity.  At least 400 lists exist for the ancient area. But, what good, I wondered, is yet another list. So this Ancient Arena is explained each step of the way. By looking through the material in the Chapters on this Page, one can attain a general overview of the place, the time, the subject matter, the humans. Then the searcher can move to the areas of interest or even fascination - and begin the in-depth "clicking" and traveling and thinking.  My pledge to the voyager is simple: I place here only those sites and destinations in which I have spent time and thought. I have searched through each one with care.

 We begin with the Big Five Destinations:

The Land Almost Before Time

The Mystery that was Egypt

The Glory that was Greece

The Power that was Rome

The Complexity that was the Other Ancients

Yet I include many others dispersed throughout this Ancient World. Everyone has his/her own starting point. So, start anywhere.

ANCIENT CULTURES: SPANNING AND CONNECTING

So many lands, empires, city states, territories, peoples, cultures, beliefs, symbols. Sometimes it is difficult to see the forest for the trees; to notice the patterns; to sense the human interrelatedness; to catch the common or similar fears, aspirations, dreams, brutalities, misunderstandings, and strivings to know. Yet the continuities and common themes loom every bit as important as the often perceived "Tower of Babel." After you have finished with Prehistory, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the other ancient civilizations, then and only then go  to the Bridge:  Spanning and Connecting Chapter.  The OVERVIEW bridges all the civilizations and deals with special places, archaeology, arts and antiquity, cities, sites, cultures and culture, medicine and science, women, history and literature, myths, magic, legend, warfare, sources, lists.

ALMOST BEFORE TIME BEGAN

Dinosaurs, mammoths, ice ages, neolithic warriors, Stone Age hunter gatherers. Prehistoric Man, Primitive Man, Neanderthal Man, Paleolithic Man. And the pursuit of the origins of Stonehenge. A great opportunity for a variety of fascinating Internet Field Trips.

DINOSAURS AND OTHER FOLKS - AND THEIR LAND, The Hunters and the Gatherers, STONEHENGE.

             To Prehistory       

THE MYSTERY THAT WAS EGYPT

The Egyptians carry a fascination for us that transcends time. And always the sense of strangeness and mystery. Videos, TV programs from Omar Shariff and the "Mysteries of the Pyramids," to Charleton Heston and "The Mystery of the Sphinx," and "Cleopatra: Destiny's Queen," and the "Chariots of the Gods," and the "Visit of the Aliens." How could the history of one nation span 3000 years? How did they build such remarkable monuments to antiquity? Why did intelligent humans mummify themselves? Where did their genius come from? Why do most history books on Western Civilization allot this culture only a scant twenty pages at best? Why do many people "forget" that Egypt is and always has been in Africa?

The themes of this Section give credence to the richness of the Egyptian civilization AND to the Web. In categories that I think important but to which the Web makes no contribution, I leave blank - but urge referral to articles and books focusing on those subjects - such as Slavery.

To Part I - Egypt, Prehistory, Other Ancients   

THE GLORY THAT WAS GREECE

The splendor, the sacrifices, the superstars, the sound and fury, the symbolism - and the men primarily and their slaves who made this possible. Here in this mere spot of land, smaller than some of the states from which we come - extended periodically by stunning conquest, lies a central core to the shaping and future of the Western human and those earthlings who are impacted by these traditions and values.

             To Part II - Greece

THE POWER THAT WAS ROME

The land of the citizen statesmen, the Emperors, the warriors, the Caesars. The power of an Empire that conquered most of what we know of as Europe, ruled it, linked its roads and laws with it, exported its culture and language to it. Baths, plumbing, food, religion, architecture, drama, walls, palaces, slaves and servants. Political strategy, diplomacy, and philosophy. Words falter in capturing this mighty civilization with its weaknesses and strengths, its triumphs and its calamities.

   To Part III-Rome      

THE CHALLENGE THAT WAS CHRISTIANITY

We thought it was time for a special section on early Christianity.  Although the resources are vast, online students picked a few they found helpful. Thanks to special students who prepared this section.   Simply, these students learned from them: CLeja, JHui, MVan Horn, DPerkins, SDavis, DLeech, IHolding, JMontoya, RCross, MBostick, KOber, MarisolH, CStryker, RWhite, VDahlstrom.

        To Christianity   

THE COMPLEXITY THAT WAS THE "OTHER ANCIENTS"

The peoples that "time forgot!" Obscure to the mainstream of classical ancient civilization. But central and contributory to so much. As scholars increase their research, folks increase their interest and searches for information and insight.  The Web is growing in sites.  I have spent hours going through each one.  A few excellent ones exist.  I list here only those that are useful.  Mesopotamia, Babylon, Sumer, King Sargon, Akkadian Empire, Dynasty of Ur, Sumerians, Akkad, cuneiform, Assyria, Hammurabi, Babylon, Chaldeans, Celts.

 To The Other Ancients  

ANCIENT CULTURES: SPANNING AND CONNECTING

So many countries, city states, territories, peoples, cultures, beliefs, symbols. Sometimes it is difficult to see the forest for the trees; to notice the patterns; to sense the human interrelatedness; to catch the common or similar fears, aspirations, dreams, brutalities, misunderstandings, and strivings to know. Yet the continuities and common themes loom every bit as important as the often perceived "Tower of Babel."

              To Part IV:  Ancient Culture - Bridges      

THIS CHALLENGING PROJECT IS DEDICATED

TO: Those remarkable humans across Eastern Europe who have struggled, preserved, grown in stature in the midst of decades of unspeakable abuse. While many of my friends and colleagues come to mind across the new nations, I must DEDICATE this page to the families and humans I know -  of honor, brilliance and courage - in Romania and Bosnia and Croatia; and the remarkable students I marched with on the streets of Belgrade, Christmas 97. They exemplify the qualities of the human spirit, the values of bravery and integrity, the genius and daring to gaze positively into the future.

Major Web College History Courses:

The Special Western Civilization Series

Professor Konnilyn Feig

COURSE CENTERS AND WEB INTERNET BOOKS

• History 4A- WESTERN CIVILIZATION: THE ANCIENT WORLD

  Act I: From Prehistory to the Fall of Rome

  (Every Quarter, Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer Usually)

• History 4B - WESTERN CIVILIZATION: THE MEDIEVAL, RENAISSANCE, REFORMATION WORLD

  Act II: From the Fall of Rome to the French Revolution

  ( Winter )

• History 4C- WESTERN CIVILIZATION: THE MODERN WORLD

  Act III: From The French Revolution to the Fall of the Berlin Wall

  (Fall , Spring, Five-Week Summer )
  

• History 16 - INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF ANCIENT ROME:  Occasionally

  4 Quarter Units Each.

• Identical in Content, Rigor, Requirements, Assignments, Exams, to On-Campus College Course, fully articulated with all California Universities.
• The Online Course Information Site and Summary Syllabus for History 4A:  Western Civilization:  The Ancient World - Act I
• The Online Course Information Site and Summary Syllabus for History 4B:  Western Civilization: The Medieval Renaissance World - Act II
• The Online Course Information Site and Summary Syllabus for History 4C:  Western Civilization:  The Modern World - Act III
• The Web Book for History 16 - History of Ancient Rome here.
  For Registration and Process/Course Information, Contact Global Access Courses at the FOOTHILL COLLEGE SITE.  

   Internet Book and Site Created, Designed, Executed
By Dr. Konnilyn Feig, Professor of History/Political Science. Author, Hitler's Death Camps: The Sanity of Madness. Site  Full Copyright, Dr. K. Feig. Revised, Ongoing.
Internet Books and Sites on loan to Foothill College for Web Courses.

I created this site for folks in the Web World who enjoy Ancient history as much as I do: the "public," history buffs, families, students of all ages, elementary and high school teachers, university faculty.  I have tried to be intensely aware of others' work and respect copyrights.  I don't think I have violated anyone's work - and only highlighted the special efforts of others. If anyone feels to the contrary, contact me. I wanted this site to be available for public use, personally or in a classroom - and as a resource for teachers at all levels.  Thus no passwords are required. I only ask that if you refer your students to this site, that you credit me properly for the years of work this entailed.

  HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS PAGE.  
THANKS TO THE FOOTHILL COLLEGE FOLKS:
Vivian Sinou, Judy Baker, and the President of Foothill College whose support for technology is unrelenting.

GRAPHICS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
I remain in awe at the talent and skill of all the accomplished Web graphic artists who devote so much effort, skill, ability to making the Web such a special place. While I have made many of my own graphics, I have used the "good" ones from others. It is so difficult, however, to know who created what. I would like to thank and highlight every artist whose work I have used. I will be adding a special ARTISTS HALL OF FAME. Thus if you see your graphic on this site, please let me know with your site identification and URL - so I may give you special credit.

Revision 2009