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It would be easy to discuss many of the ancient Greeks inventions that took place which were associated with warfare. Almost everybody is aware of the fact that Alexander the Great and his conquests were some of the most renowned throughout all history. In just a short period of time, he and his army overtook most of the then known world and if his life would not have been cut short, he would have continued his conquests. There were, no doubt, many ancient Greek inventions which helped to make his conquests successful. The one invention that I will discuss, however, is the canon.  It is thought that they were one of the first to use a Canon although it did not use gunpowder. By using compressed air, these canons were able to hurl a projectile over long distances.  One well-known ancient Greek invention is the Antikythera mechanism. Believe it or not, this was a type of calculator that is thought to have been invented some 2000 years ago. As a matter of fact, many people consider this to be the world's first computer, although it was nothing like the computers that we see today. Through the use of a complex system of gears, it was able to calculate the relative positions of the sun, moon and stars whenever a date was entered. This is one of the ancient Greeks inventions that was truly far ahead of its time. The ancient Greeks were also well known for their work that took place under water. Aristotle first described this type of contraption some 2400 years ago. It is thought that this is one of the ancient Greeks inventions that was used in order to salvage the floor of the ocean for various items. It is unknown what other applications this ancient Greek invention had but it was ingenious that they were able to come up with the concept.  Another one of the ancient Greek inventions that is rather interesting is that of the shower. Although nothing was known about germs at that particular time, the Greeks thought that it was a healthful practice to wash the body with water. The fact that there were showers during this time period is recorded in various art murals that have been excavated . It is hard to know what other ancient Greeks inventions were in existence during that time. One thing's for certain, they were a society that was rather enlightened and well ahead of their time. Perhaps with some more archaeology work on our part, we may be able to discover that they were behind some other ingenious ideas as well.

Many of Alexander's accomplishments were made possible by his father, Philip of Macedon.

In 338 B.C.E., King Philip of Macedon invaded and conquered the Greek city-states. Philip took advantage of the fact that the Greek city-states were divided by years of squabbling and infighting. Philip succeeded in doing what years of fighting between city-states had not done. He united Greece.

Alexander's the Great's tutor was the Greek philosopher Aristotle.

For years, the massive Persian Empire threatened the very existence of the Greek way of life

Alexander, took the throne in 336 B.C.E., he vowed to complete the plans of his father. In 334 B.C.E., Alexander invaded Persia, which lay across the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor

Alexander smashed the Persian armies at the Tigris River and conquered the mighty Persian Empire, including the legendary city of Babylon. For many Greeks, this victory marked a moment of sweet revenge against a bitter foe

at the age of 25, Alexander ruled an expansive empire

Alexander conquered Egypt and founded a city at the mouth of the Nile River.

ntil he reached India and the Indus River in 326 B.C.E. At this point, his exhausted troops refused to fight further.

Without the support of his army, Alexander had no choice but to turn back and begin consolidating and organizing his far-flung empire. On his way home, Alexander died from disease in 323 B.C.E.

First, his father was able to unite the Greek city-states, and Alexander destroyed the Persian Empire forever. More importantly, Alexander's conquests spread Greek culture, also known as Hellenism, across his empire.

Without Alexander's ambition, Greek ideas and culture might well have remained confined to Greece.

in 13 short years he amassed the largest empire in the entire ancient world

Alexander's reign marked the beginning of a new era known as the Hellenistic Age

An open question is likely to receive a long answer.

To get people to realize the extend of their problems (to which, of course, you have the solution).

Open questions have the following characteristics: They ask the respondent to think and reflect. They will give you opinions and feelings. They hand control of the conversation to the respondent.

To find out more about a person, their wants, needs, problems, and so on.

Example As a follow-on from closed questions, to develop a conversation and open up someone who is rather quiet.

Using open questions can be scary, as they seem to hand the baton of control over to the other person.

A closed question can be answered with either a single word or a short phrase.

that those soldiers would think for themselves.

 It hurt, but I did something that might not have changed anything, but now the people of Sparta were thinking and thinking leads to ideas.  Ideas that can change the world.

"dared to challenge me in public.  Tais, you are bound to the ground you are on."  The general raised his whip and struck.  And struck and struck again.

You remember how you said all those silly things about the geography and then your clothes morphed into those tights and a short toga?" Coriander laughed.  "You looked weird for about a second and then you started crying and you looked normal again."

 I took note of a very cute, broad-shouldered, blonde as he put away his gear.  

Why in the world would you wait until tonight? I thought.  What's wrong with right now? 

as I remembered Coriander was the "very cute, broad-shouldered, blonde" I noticed three seconds ago.  

suited for agriculture

volcanic ash made the soil near Rome some of the best in all of Europe. Rome attracted new settlers during its rise to power due to its agricultural potentia

The Roman population grew quickly, thanks to surplus production of grains, olives and other crops. The extra population later helped Rome's military expansion by providing a large supply of troops.

establish trade ties with other Mediterranean powers, enhancing the city's economic might.

position at the center of the Mediterranean Sea. As Smith notes, the Italian Peninsula is only 50 miles from Greece, while Sicily is less than 100 miles from Africa. Rome is also a short voyage by boat from Spain and only a few days' journey to France on horseback. Its central location made Rome a desirable trading post even before the city's rise to power. This centrality later helped the Romans administer their empire effectively by reducing communication times.

Several geographic advantages helped Rome to grow and ultimately dominate the known world.

Rome from its early days was a rich city

Romans fought against the Etruscans and the Samnite

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Ancient Rome