Author Biography: Craterus

The Greek Dark Age(hereafter the "Dark Age") is generally thought to have occurred about 1200-800 BC. It was a time of civilizational collapse--with the loss of writing and cities. Test your knowledge of this nearly unknowable time.

Tiberius and Caius Gracchus were two of the most influential Roman politicians of the Late Republic. Their years would bring class conflict and mark the beginning of the end for the Republic. Try your hand at this quiz.

We have all heard of the Spartans at Thermopylae in 480 BC, but by then the Sparta that we know from history was nearly 500 years old. Fewer have heard of Hysiae, the Fetters and Thryeatis. Test your knowledge about the rise of Sparta as a Greek power.

Historian William V. Harris wrote that the Roman Republic was continuously at war. The Early Republic were the years when Rome conquered Italy. Test your knowledge of the period.

See if you can answer the questions about these random snatches of poetry.

The Roman Republic experienced increasing political upheaval as the first century BC wore on. Test your knowledge of the civil wars of 49-31 BC. It helps to read the information in between the questions.

In Homer's "The Iliad", the writer always gives the geographic place from which his characters came. Match these major actors from Homer's opus with their home.

In 425 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, an Athenian general saw a weak spot in Sparta's defenses and sought to exploit it. Even by ancient standards it was a small affair--but with big potential consequences. Test your knowledge of these battles.

The Anglo-Irish William Butler Yeats lived from June 13, 1865 to January 28, 1939. Considered one of the great modern poets, Yeats lived in a time of great national and international upheaval. It found its way into his poetry.

Xenophon was a soldier of fortune, biographer, historian and philosopher, whose life encompassed a time of turmoil in the ancient Greek world. Test your knowledge of this remarkable man's life and times.

Plutarch of Chaeronea wrote a series of moral biographies on ancient Greek leaders in the First Century A.D. to provide good examples of how statesmen should and should not conduct themselves. Test your knowledge of Plutarch.

In the last quarter of the third century BC, Republican Rome began to eye Greece and those lands to the East for influence. Test your knowledge of Roman expansionism in the East from 229-146 BC.

The Age of Greek Tyranny was c.700-500 BC. Test your knowledge of how the ancient Greeks felt about "tyranny." You might be surprised. Based on the lectures of Donald Kagan and the writings of Thomas R Martin and others.

The First Punic War between Rome and Carthage was mainly over who would control the island of Sicily. Test your knowledge of the origins of this conflict.

Test your knowledge of these random questions from Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War.

The Great Peloponnesian War started with a series of mistakess and miscalculations by both the Spartan and Athenian Alliances. Take this quiz and see how much you know.

Philip II of Macedonia was not just the father of Alexander the Great. He had an extraordinarily successful life of his own. Read the information between questions to fill in his life and learn some more about Philp II

The class conflict at Corcyra in 427 BC, as narrated by Thucydides in his History, is emblematic of the violent civil strife that shook many cities throughout the Greek world after the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. Quiz yourself.

Demetrius continues his quest for power in the post-Alexandrian World. As you take the quiz, you may want to read the information after each answer. It should help fill in the gaps. The quiz closely follows Plutarch's Life of Demetrius.

Demetrius the Besieger participated in the Diadochi Wars after the death of Alexander the Great,to determine who would rule his empire, and knew great fortune and many reversals.

Everybody has heard of Scipio Africanus, Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar. But see if you can identify these somewhat lesser known, but still exceptional, Roman military men of the Republic.

In 334 BC Alexander the Great had a much smaller navy than the Persian Empire. Test yourself on how Alexander overcame his relative lack of naval power. Read the information between the questions as it helps to understand the historical flow.