By Tim Lambert The Early Olympic Games In Ancient Greece, the Olympic Games began in Olympia in 776 BC. They were held in honor of Zeus, the leader of the gods, and people from all over Greece and the Greek colonies came to participate in them. Wars stopped to allow everyone to take part. Greek… Continue reading A History of the Olympic Games
Category: Daily Life in the Past
A History of the Post Office
By Tim Lambert In the Ancient World, it was important for kings and emperors to be able to send and receive messages over long distances. Not surprisingly, many Ancient Civilisations had systems for delivering messages. In the Roman Empire, a service called the Cursus Publicus carried official messages using relays of horses. In the Middle… Continue reading A History of the Post Office
A History of Theatre
By Tim Lambert Ancient Greek Theatre The Greeks are famous for drama. Theatre probably began with a group of people called a chorus singing and dancing in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine. Then about 534 BC, a man named Thespis added a single actor to the chorus. A second actor was added and… Continue reading A History of Theatre
A History of Toilets
By Tim Lambert Toilets in the Ancient World In the ancient world, people were capable of designing quite sophisticated toilets. Stone Age farmers lived in a village at Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands. Some of their stone huts had drains built under them, and some houses had cubicles over the drains. They may have… Continue reading A History of Toilets
A History of Trousers
By Tim Lambert Early Trousers The Cro-Magnon people who lived in Europe during the last Ice Age wore trousers made from animal skins. In a cold climate trousers were practical clothing. Much later, about 3,00 BC people in Central Asia wore trousers because they spent much time riding horses. Again, trousers were a practical form… Continue reading A History of Trousers
A History of Underwear
By Tim Lambert Early Underwear The ancient Egyptians sometimes wore loincloths. The Romans also wore underwear. Both Roman men and women wore a loincloth or shorts called a subligaculum. Women also wore a band of cloth or leather around their chest called a strophium. During the Middle Ages, men wore linen shorts called braies, but… Continue reading A History of Underwear
A History of Vegetables
By Tim Lambert Artichokes Artichokes are native to the Mediterranean. They were eaten by the Greeks and Romans and later by the Arabs. However, after the fall of Rome, artichokes were rare in Europe until the 15th century when they were grown in Italy. From there, artichokes spread to the rest of Europe. Asparagus Asparagus… Continue reading A History of Vegetables
A History of Women
By Tim Lambert WOMEN IN THE ANCIENT WORLD Women in Sumer Sumer was the world’s first civilization. It arose in what is now Iraq at about 3,500 BC. Sumerian women could own property such as land and slaves. They could also own businesses. Women could be witnesses in court the same as men. Some Sumerian… Continue reading A History of Women
A History of Women Doctors
By Tim Lambert Early Women Doctors There were women doctors in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. There were also women doctors in the Roman Empire. One famous woman doctor was Antiochis of Tlos. She lived in what is now Turkey in the First Century. Another famous woman doctor was Metrodora. She wrote a textbook called… Continue reading A History of Women Doctors
A History of Women’s Clothes
By Tim Lambert Women’s Clothes in the Ancient World Not surprisingly, given the hot climate, Egyptians wore only light clothing. Women wore dresses with shoulder straps. Clothes were made of linen or cotton. Later in Egyptian history, clothes became more elaborate and colorful. Egyptians wore jewelry. Those who could afford it wore jewelry of gold,… Continue reading A History of Women’s Clothes