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The materials mostly used by Greeks when it came to constructing their structures primarily consisted of wood, unbaked bricks, limestone and marble, and terracotta and metals. Today, these supplies are still used by contractors who build edifices, whether they are structures signifying religion, politics, or recreation

, three major systems have withstood the test of time and are today still used. These include the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles.

Doric style of architecture. This style is arguably th

To say that we owe a lot to the ancient Greeks is nothing new. Everywhere we look, we see echoes of that world in our own: democracy, philosophy, art, architecture, science, sport, to name but a few.

Our very sense of the ‘Classical’ from the Renaissance onwards, has been based on the ‘fact’ that ancient Greek temples and buildings were made out of marble and stood shining off-white in the sunlight. But ever since the first modern travellers visited Greece in the 17th century, we have discovered evidence that this is, in fact, completely wrong. Greek temples were painted bright blue, red, green: our very definition of the opposite of Classical!

By the seventh century AD, for example, the term 'democracy' had a ‘mob-rule’ feel about it, which made ancient Athens a very unpopular model for any society, right through until the until the late 18th century. In the English Civil War, for instance, Cromwell was encouraged to follow the example of the ancient Spartans, not the Athenians.

THE SCREW OF ARCHIMEDES Archimedes of Syracuse, when he was in Egypt, invented a machine for pumping bilge water out of the holds of ships.   . . .  A curious model of such an instrument, probably of the late Ptolemaic period, has been found in Lower Egypt. It consists of a terra-cotta cylinder with a screw inside it, 10 inches long and 4-1/2 inches in diameter.

Agriculture (also called farming or husbandry) is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life.

Modern agronomy, plant breeding, pesticides and fertilizers, and technological improvements have sharply increased yields from cultivation, but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects

Having set the background and gained a glimpse of just how thorny the subject could be it seems easiest to change tack and take the loosest of definitions. Listing some of the many things for which Ancient Rome might justly be remembered for....in no particular order: Advanced roads and road networks Milestones The standard width of our modern roads and tunnels is based on that of ancient Rome (there was a standard width for cart wheels, essentially based on the need of placing two horses side by side). The worn ruts in the roads made it virtually impossible to use any other measure. Triumphal arches Aqueducts (actually they learned much about structures from the Estruscans, but developed it to perfection) Bronze valves and water pumps. Huge numbers of instruments and tools for engineering, construction and measurement. The Romans were, after all, excellent engineers. For example you could purchase your access to water supply for set hours of the day or set quantities of water, which were dutifully metered and billed, pretty much as you would today, albeit with slighty different technology!. Medical and Surgical tools (mainly thanks to the Greeks actually but hugely developed as a consequence of the needs generated by Gladiatorial games and continuous war campaigns) Cesareans - sounds like Caesar doesn't it? Cesareans were often used to save the baby if the mother died during childbirth. Fast curing cement - hugely important discovery which allowed cement to cure and harden in short times and even under water. The ancient Romans realised that adding pozzolanic earth from volcanic regions (Eg Pozzuoli near Naples) to traditional mortar allowed a water proof and extremely solid mix. This could be used to waterproof the interior of aqueduct tunnels or extend the potentials of Roman architecture with impo

history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago

This is known as the classical period of Indian history, during which India has sometimes been estimated to have had the largest economy of the ancient and medieval world, controlling between one third and one fourth of the world's wealth up to the 18th century.

Hinduism has, however, spread to other parts of the world. It has spread as a result of Hindu kings conquering non-Hindu lands; it has spread as a result of colonization and then globalization; and in the modern period it has spread as a result of westerners adopting, and converting to, Hindu practices and beliefs. Hindu kings began to make forays into Sri Lanka and parts of southeast Asia as early as the 7th century C.E. Hinduism was a major cultural force in much of Southeast Asia

here were probably always slaves in India, but until about 1000 AD there were only a few slaves, and most of them worked as house servants.

Islamic conquerors reached India, they forced many more people to be slaves. They sold thousands of these slaves out of India to work in Persia (modern Iran) or Afghanistan. Many of these people worked in the mines. SIGN IN LOG OUT

Athens did not have a king, it was ruled by the people as a democracy. The people of Athens believed that no one group of people should make the laws and so citizens could choose the government officials, and vote for or against new laws. The people of Athens chose their ruler. They held a large meeting on the slopes of a hill in Athens where any citizen could speak, and tell the government what it should be doing. This was called the Assembly, and there had to be at least 6,000 citizens at every Assembly. Athenian democracy was not like modern democracy. Only citizens over 18 could vote. Women, slaves and foreigners could not become citizens. So democracy in Athens meant rule by the men of Athens. Slavery Slaves made up about a quarter of the working population on Athens. Most were people who had been captured in warfare and sold to slave dealers. They were then put on sale in the slave market.

The Birth of IslamA man named Muhammad was born around 570 CE in the city of Mecca, in what is modern-day Saudi Arabia. Muhammad's parents died when he was young, and as a teenager, he was forced to work as a caravan leader. He was very good at his job; when he was older, the owner of the caravan, an older woman whose husband had died, proposed to him. Muhammad was now wealthy and had plenty of time to think about his faith. The wickedness and greed of his people worried him. He also didn't like that the people were worshiping idols, or false gods, instead of Allah so he prayed for his people. Muslims believe that Muhammad received a revelation from Allah in 610 telling him to preach to his people. These were the first revelations of the Qur'an.