Cities of Vesuvius
This volcano destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79.
What is Mount Vesuvius?
This Persian king invaded Greece in 480 BC.
Who was Xerxes I?
This class of people made up the majority of Sparta's agricultural workforce.
Who were the Helots?
This famous battle saw 300 Spartans delay the Persian army.
What was the Battle of Thermopylae?
This ancient historian wrote The Histories.
Who was Herodotus?
These two Roman towns provide the best archaeological evidence for everyday life in the Roman world.
What are Pompeii and Herculaneum?
This stretch of water was crossed using two pontoon bridges built by Xerxes' engineers.
What is the Hellespont?
Spartan boys entered this education and military training system at approximately seven years of age.
What is the agoge?
This naval battle forced Xerxes to retreat with much of his army.
What is the Battle of Salamis?
These eyewitness letters provide the only surviving contemporary description of the eruption of Vesuvius.
What are Pliny the Younger's Letters?
Examples of this type of evidence include graffiti, frescoes, mosaics, carbonised food and household artefacts.
What is archaeological evidence (or material culture)?
Revenge for Marathon, imperial expansion and maintaining royal prestige were among the reasons for this campaign.
What was Xerxes' invasion of Greece?
Membership of this communal dining group reinforced equality, discipline and loyalty among Spartan citizens.
What is the syssitia?
This alliance united many Greek poleis under Athenian leadership after the Persian Wars.
What is the Delian League?
This modern historian is widely recognised for his research into Spartan society and military culture.
Who is Paul Cartledge?
This lavish Pompeian villa is famous for its life-sized frescoes depicting the initiation rites of the cult of Dionysus.
What is the Villa of the Mysteries?
This Persian noble commanded the fleet at Salamis after replacing Ariabignes, who was killed during the battle, and later advised Xerxes to return to Asia.
Who was Mardonius?
This council of 28 men over the age of 60, together with the two kings, prepared laws before they were presented to the Assembly.
What is the Gerousia?
This Spartan king commanded the Greek allied forces during the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC and secured the final major land victory over Persia.
Who was Pausanias?
This Roman senator and biographer provides one of the most detailed surviving accounts of Lycurgus and Spartan customs.
Who was Plutarch?
Although developed nearly eighteen centuries after the eruption, this archaeological technique has become one of the most iconic sources for understanding the victims of Pompeii.
What are Fiorelli's plaster casts?
This elite Persian military unit was said to number 10,000 soldiers and served as the king's personal guard.
Who were the Immortals?
These five officials were elected annually and possessed the authority to supervise the kings and even bring them to trial.
Who were the Ephors?
This Greek victory in 479 BC, fought on the coast of Asia Minor, ended the Persian threat to mainland Greece by destroying the remaining Persian fleet.
What is the Battle of Mycale?
Unlike Herodotus, this Greek historian criticised supernatural explanations and attempted to explain events through careful investigation and cause and effect.
Who was Thucydides?