Describe Ancient Greece, from its Minoan-Mycenaean origins, its emergence from the “Dark Ages,” to the period of its domination of the Aegean Region and the Persian Wars. Describe the roles of men and women of different classes, the military, early philosophy, lyric poetry, same-sex sexuality in Greece, and the reasons for the emergence of Greek democracy
Considering the Athenian/ Greek Golden Age, describe the advances in Greek intellectualism as expressed through theatre, history, medicine, and philosophy, describing its main thinkers, and their influences on Alexander the Great of Macedon, including the spread of Hellenism overall, and its effects on Jews of the Maccabean Period.
Describe the emergence of the Roman Republic, its mythical identity, social and governmental system and laws, its growth throughout the Mediterranean region, and the reasons for its decline during the civil wars. Describe the new direction for Rome under the Empire and the reasons for its success.