22,000 BC

8,000 BC

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8th century BC

753BC

753-509BC Period of Kings

509BC Beginning of the Roman Republic

494-297BC Nobles VS commoners and a series of institutional reforms

297-275BC Unification of Italy

264-146BC Overseas expansion: Punic War and Macedonian War

88-31BC Civil War in the Roman Republic

29BC The Beginning of the Roman Empire and the Principality

98-end of 2nd century AD, the golden age of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire Turns to Absolute Monarchy: Decline and Disintegration

The fall of the Western Roman Empire

The fall of the Eastern Roman Empire

323BC-30BC Hellenistic period

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510-323BC Classical Period: The Peak and Decline of Athenian Civilization

8th century - 510BC Archaic period: The development of the monarchy-nobility-democracy system in Athens

Starting around 800 BC, the Greek city-states arose

1200-800BC Dark Ages

15th century BC-end of 13th century BC Mycenaean civilization

2200-1500BC Cretan Civilization

The rough style of Mycenaean civilization The exquisite southern style of Cretan civilization Formed the Greek style of the later classical era

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Agora: square, market Greece's climate is suitable for outdoor activities, gatherings in public places for political and cultural activities. This kind of activity is public and transcends blood ties, and Agora has become a place that promotes democratic institutions. (With the continuous opening of civil rights, elite power continues to fall aside. When people begin to abuse civil rights, it is easy to form mob politics) The Agora also became a place where people discussed issues or debates Socrates liked to meditate or debate under the colonnade next to the Agora The Stoics of the Hellenistic period also took their name from the colonnade. Agora is also a market place where people buy and sell goods

The democratic system also gives artists and writers freedom and competition. Artists are required to participate in public judging. Therefore, large-scale buildings and sculptures in Athens have become the public choice recognized by everyone. Democracy also brought a free ideological atmosphere, leading to the prosperity of Athenian thought and culture

There is no ruler with a higher status among the city-states. They follow separatism and rely on a unified culture to unite the city-states: The same language, the love of sports, the admiration of beautiful things, the yearning for intellectual activities, the worship of the Olympus gods

Trojan War-Greco-Persian War-Alexander's Eastern Expedition-Eastern Expansion of the Roman Empire-Western Invasion of the Arab Empire-Western Colonization-Modern East-West Confrontation The Trojan War became the beginning of the confrontation between East and West

The artistic style is a rough northern temperament: the walls of Cuckooby, Lion's Arch, and intense scenes on the utensils At the same time, it also absorbed some techniques from the southern Cretan culture.

With the help of Poseidon, Bolops made a promise to the son of Hermes, and finally won over King Elis and married a foreign daughter. But in the end he broke his promise and killed the son of Hermes, so he was cursed Agamemnon launched the Trojan War, killed women as sacrifices to the gods, and was eventually killed by his wife. Orestes, encouraged by Apollo, avenged his father and killed his mother. During the trial, Athena cast the deciding vote for Orestes. Theogony: Chaos - Gaia the Earth - Ulanlos (Celestial Universe), Pontos (Ocean) - Titan God System - Olympus God System (Poseidon, God of the Sea, Hades, God of Hell, Zeus, God of Thunder, Hercules Ra, Hestia, God of Kitchen, Demeter, God of Agriculture) - the next generation of gods (Ares, Athena, Apollo, etc.) The victory of Olympus reflected the victory of the northern invaders. From then on, the worship of Olympus by the upper class elite and the worship of the primitive gods by the lower class people were in the same mythological system.

The Royal Palace of Knossos, built in two phases, is a five-story, complex circular structure called the Minoan Labyrinth. The art of Crete began to be influenced by Egypt (thin waist, side face, print style), forming a delicate and exquisite style, which in turn influenced Egypt. The artwork reflects the worship of reproduction and the high status of women, which is different from the civilization of the city-state. Due to its relatively poor products and beautiful environment, Greeks have a romantic character and simple material requirements. Therefore, Greece is a nation that looks up to the stars and has created splendid literature, art, sports competitions and philosophy. But it has also led to Greece having always been a small country with a small population, and has not become a strong unified country.

Theseus killed the Minotaur and Theseus forgot to replace the white sail on the way back to Athens, so his father threw himself into the sea. The Aegean Sea was named after Theseus' father. Cretans worshiped bulls and snake-bearing goddesses, and later Cretan gods merged with gods from Olympus

Roman influence: For later generations of the West, among the intangible things created by the Romans, the most influential was Roman law, which was the crystallization of the Romans' pursuit of order. "Jews used religion to restrict behavior, Greeks used philosophy to correct behavior, and Romans used law to regulate behavior, thus determining different national characteristics." Roman law evolved from the "Law of the Twelve Tables" to various legislations in the civil struggle, and later became more and more perfect with the expansion, forming a legal system (Civil Law, Law of Peoples, and Natural Law), and compiled it into "Chassis" Tiny Code, which had an important influence on the modern Western civil law system. In addition, Rome's finance, taxation, currency, administrative management, military, writing, and urban architectural planning all formed a model for later generations to learn from. They also realized the integration of the Mediterranean and constituted the ideal pursued by later Western powers. Since the division of Rome in the 5th century AD, Europe has never been unified again. But later, European powers or ambitious rulers all tried to recreate the glory of Rome (the eagle emblems of various countries reflected the inspiration of Roman ideals), but to this day, it is still difficult for the EU to achieve integration through peaceful means. With the development and division of Rome, three main contradictions in the Western world were reflected: 1. The contradiction between east and west. Mainly manifested as the contradiction between Eastern Greece and Western Rome. Rome conquered Greece and the Greek-influenced Asia Minor, Western Asia, and Egypt, but in turn, Roman culture was deeply influenced by Greece. These influences actually existed before the Roman conquest of Greece. The cultural gap actually never disappeared. After Rome was divided into two empires, the East and West, the cultural gap and the political gap interacted and gradually drifted apart. Later, with the development of Christianity, two different sects, Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism, were formed on the east and west sides, which also caused religious barriers. After the barbarian invasion, it evolved into the confrontation between the Byzantine Empire-Frankish Empire, the Russian Empire-Holy Roman Empire, and Soviet Communism-Western European Capitalism in the Middle Ages. 2. Mortal and Saint Game. The Imperial City as the capital of the empire and the Holy City as the center of Christianity. Since the birth of Gidu, the church and the Roman Empire have been in confrontation, and the dispute between religion and secularity has continued throughout the Middle Ages to modern times. 3. North-South confrontation. The Roman Empire faced Germany across the Rhine and Danube rivers. By the 4th century AD, the Roman Empire declined, finally destroying the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. But the Germanic barbarian empire later converted to the Roman Catholic Church. In this way, the contradiction between the north and the south is complicatedly entangled with the contradiction between religion and secularity. The Germans controlled political power in the north, and the Romans controlled religion in the south. During the Middle Ages, the church had always been above the secular government until Martin Luther implemented the religious reform in the 16th century AD. The countries in northwest Europe converted to Protestantism and broke away from the control of the church. Countries in northwest Europe controlled by the Germanic peoples have risen one after another, while the Latin countries in the original Roman territory have gradually declined, and the glory of the Mediterranean has turned into the light of the Atlantic.

Roman literature and philosophy were both influenced by Greece, and they imitated Greece in literature and achieved certain achievements: Roman literature began when a Greek slave sold to Rome translated "The Odyssey" into Latin In the 1st century BC, Rome reached its peak in the process of internal strife: Caesar's "Gaul Wars" Cicero became the greatest writer of his time and was known as the dean of Latin prose. The writing style is unbridled, majestic and eloquent, creating a new style of rhetoric and beautiful diction.

Rome's construction technology has undergone many updates, such as the invention of cement, arches and domes, which are very majestic. Roman engineering architecture is represented by avenues and aqueducts. In 312 BC, the procurator Appelius began building the first avenues and waterways. Later, after hundreds of years of development, Roman roads formed a complete network, and all roads led to Rome.

Roman religious changes: early polytheism The oldest god, Janus: symbolizes the beginning and end of all things. The soldiers' expeditions and triumphs all started from the Janus Gate. Also symbolizes the beginning and end of the year, month and day (January also comes from Janus) The Romans originally worshiped Mars and the Sabines worshiped Quirinus. After the merger, the two nations jointly worshiped the main god Jupiter and built the Temple of Jupiter (a symbol of the Roman state) on the Capitoline Hill. Later, under the influence of the Etruscans, the Romans accepted Greek gods and rebuilt temples in the Republic. Jupiter, Juno and Minerva became the "three main gods". Other Greek gods also entered Rome, or interacted with them. The original divine fusion of the same function: Aphrodite-Venus, Ares and Mars merged, Poseidon-Neptune, Hermes-Mercury Roman gods were more utilitarian. Later, the gods of the East and the mythical rulers together formed the polytheistic worship of "all gods". Later, the Pantheon became the most important representative of Roman religion. From Caesar and Octavian to later emperors, they were all high priests and implemented the unity of politics and religion. Christianity: In 33AD, Jesus was crucified on the cross by Pilate, the Roman governor of Syria. Jesus’ disciples left their homes to serve as missionaries. Peter, one of the Twelve Apostles, was the first to come to Rome to preach and establish the first church. However, the monotheism of Christianity was incompatible with the polytheism of Rome, and Christians refused to perform civil duties such as military service. Therefore, Christianity at this time was regarded as a cult. In 64BC, Roman Emperor Nero was the first to kill Christians, including Peter. In the 3rd century AD, due to the decline of the empire, political chaos, economic decline, and the decline of social morality, the original polytheism could no longer arouse people's enthusiasm for belief. But the blood of Christians became the seed of the church, and a single spark turned into a prairie fire and flourished in Rome. Know that in 313 AD, Constantine I declared Christianity a legal religion. At the end of the 4th century AD, Theodosius I declared Christianity as the national religion, officially abolishing Roman polytheism for more than a thousand years.

Changes in Roman social spirit: From the Arch of Titus to the Arch of Severus to the Arch of Constantine, it reflects the Romans' worship of heroic stories. The heroic atmosphere of Rome affected the spiritual character of the Romans: bravery, seriousness, simplicity, piety It is also reflected in the Roman social system, family education, religious beliefs and military system The story of the Horace brothers versus the Curias brothers of Aruba, the first-generation consul Brutus' righteous murder of his relatives, the story of young Brutus assassinating Caesar, the story of Regulus's promise of gold, etc., all embody heroism. . This kind of heroism also influenced various noble behaviors of later Westerners. When Trajan pushed the territory of Rome to the Persian Gulf, Eastern hedonism also began to enter Rome with the wealth of the East, and even later developed into indulgence, especially the culture of the baths: Trajan's Baths, Caracalla Baths , Baths of Diocletian, Baths of Antony (North Africa), Baths of Bath (UK), etc. The Roman Baths are not only a bathing function, but also a comprehensive place integrating art and leisure. However, the bathhouse evolved from an early cultural place into a place for sensual and erotic indulgence. In addition, there were no moral constraints imposed by Christian religion in the early days, and the Romans had a relatively low bottom line for satisfying their instinctive desires.

Vespasian: Built the Colosseum on the ruins of Nero's Golden Palace The combination of Greek columns and Roman arches is a reflection of the grandeur of the Roman Empire in its heyday The many arenas in Rome staged gladiatorial battles between humans and humans and between humans and animals, which were a reappearance of cruel and bloody wars. The Romans’ passion for competition also reflected the interest of the wolf’s children. Trajan: Trajan's Column, Trajan's Forum and Agora, beginning of construction of the Great Road Hadrian: Walls between England and the Rhine and Danube, Hadrian's Villa The reliefs and sculptures of this period had more realistic and historical themes, and there were also many masterpieces: the reliefs on Trajan's Column and the reliefs on the Arc de Triomphe. Laocoön, the Farnese bull, the statue of Antinius, the equestrian statue of Aurelius, and the statues of the emperors, etc. Literature and art reached their pinnacle: Literature includes Virgil's "Aeneid", Horace's pastoral poetry, Ovid's satires and "Metamorphoses" (from which the legends of Roman gods later came) History includes Livy, Tacitus, and Appian Philosophy ranges from Servica to Mark Aurelius himself

After Octavian completed political centralization, he began to transform Rome and built the Pantheon, Augustus Square, and the Altar of Peace. Rome changed from a brick Rome to a marble Rome. The Pantheon was later rebuilt by Hadrian, using a fusion of Greek columns, eight-column porticoes and Roman rotunda arches. The vault has a 9-meter-diameter round hole for lighting, filling the hall with brilliance. It is a magnificent example of Roman architecture.

The Roman army was mainly composed of civilian farmers, but the long-term expansion war led to the desolation of the land, and the large landowners used slaves to farm and annexed the land of the farmers. The peasants lost their land, came to the city, and became urban poor, which further deepened the contradiction between the common people and the nobility. Marius' reforms solved the problem of settling down and living for the people who had lost their land, but the Roman army changed from the country's soldiers and yeoman farmers to mercenaries and proletarians. Caesar was born into a noble family, but his mother was related to Marius and his wife was the daughter of Cinna, so he had close relations with the common people. Therefore, during his tenure as consul, he also implemented many reforms that were beneficial to the common people.

Reasons why Rome finally defeated Carthage: Roman soldiers vs Carthaginian mercenaries Rome emerged as a new centralized unified state, while Carthage wanted to restore the city-state era

The unification of the three systems: Wang Zheng - the consul holds the administrative power of the country Nobles-the Senate controls power, elects officials, and makes proposals Democracy - the civilian assembly holds legislative power and votes on proposals Tribune: veto power over Senate proposals Dictatorship: taking power in a crisis, concentrating all power

The Republic begins with the story of a martyred woman committing suicide: Tarquin's son insulted Lucretia, Coradine's wife, and Brutus incited the uprising. Basic laws: Make yourself a king, and everyone will get it and kill him Anyone who holds an official position without selection shall be sentenced to death. The power to impose the death penalty rests with Parliament, that is, the people Persons sentenced to death have the right to appeal to Parliament When the consul comes to parliament, he should remove the "fascist" ax that symbolizes power.

Numa: Built the first temple of Janus in Rome and formulated the lunar calendar, which was popular for more than 600 years. Marcius: Construction of drainage works, construction of the Roman Forum Old Tarquin: important buildings, including the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill Servius builds the first city wall

"A fugitive was never handed over to his pursuer, nor a debtor to his creditors." The Latin tribes plundered the Sabine women, and the fusion of the two tribes through the mediation of women and children

The Etruscans were ingenious and good at engineering technology, which deeply influenced later Roman architecture. Through them Greek writing reached Italy and formed the Roman Latin writing greek religion Greek architecture The fighting formations of the Greeks, etc.

A nation looking up at the stars: romantic and transcendent

A nation that embraces the earth: perseverance