Season 3· Mythic Age - 146 BC

Echoes of OlympusFrom Troy to Alexander: heroes, gods and thinkers

The wooden horse at Troy, three hundred Spartans at Thermopylae, Socrates in the agora and a young king who marched all the way to India: discover the world of the Greeks, where myth and history flow into one another.

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Chapter 01

Myth, marble and mind

We ignite the fire: Journey into a world where gods walk among mortals and the human spirit breaks through the darkness.

Your journey leads from the burning walls of Troy through the philosophical schools of Athens to the edges of the known world under Alexander. Glory here means: Steeling the body like iron and sharpening the mind like a sword. Civilization or chaos – choose your destiny. Welcome to the cradle of the world.

Chapter 02

Six paths through the world of the Greeks

Troy

For ten years the Greeks besieged Troy, until a trick got them inside the city. Homer made the war immortal, and the ruins of the real city still lie in Turkey today.

Odysseus's ship with a red sail battles huge waves between towering sea cliffs as golden light breaks through the storm clouds

The wanderings of Odysseus

After the fall of Troy, Odysseus needed ten years to sail home to Ithaca. Cyclopes, Sirens and the sorceress Circe stood in his way while Penelope waited for him at home.

The oracle priestess of Delphi sits on a tripod in the temple as vapor rises and a beam of sunlight falls through

Gods and oracles

On Mount Olympus ruled Zeus and his family, moody, mighty and surprisingly human. At Delphi the Pythia spoke for Apollo, and even kings consulted her before going to war.

A Spartan hoplite with a crested helmet braces behind his bronze shield as arrows strike it, fellow Spartans fighting around him in the rocky pass

Athens against Sparta

In 480 BC, King Leonidas and his Spartans held back the Persian army at Thermopylae. Later, Athens and Sparta fought each other for almost three decades in the Peloponnesian War.

Socrates teaches young men in the agora of Athens beneath the intact, brightly painted Acropolis in golden morning light

The great thinkers

Socrates asked uncomfortable questions, his student Plato founded the Academy, and Aristotle taught the young Alexander. Their ideas still shape the way we think today.

The giant bronze Colossus of Rhodes stands at the harbor entrance at sunset as Greek ships with colorful sails sail into the harbor

Alexander and the wonders of the world

In just eleven years, Alexander the Great conquered an empire stretching from Greece to India. The world he left behind produced wonders such as the Colossus of Rhodes, a bronze statue of the sun god Helios over 30 meters tall.

Chapter 03

These and many more legends await you

Aeneas carries his elderly father Anchises on his back out of burning Troy, leading his young son Ascanius by the hand — Aeneas carries his father out of burning Troy

A pilgrim stands beneath the sacred oak of Dodona, its branches hung with bronze cauldrons and chimes swaying in the wind — The sacred oak of the Oracle of Dodona

Odysseus and his companions thrust a glowing stake toward the eye of the giant Cyclops Polyphemus in a dark cave — Odysseus blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus

Merchants, soldiers and citizens crowd among amphorae in the harbor of Piraeus as two lion statues guard the entrance — Trade in the harbor of Piraeus

A Spartan and an Athenian hoplite sit exhausted on a battlefield, surrounded by scattered helmets, spears and shields — Sparta against Athens – a war without victors

A warrior in armor is crowned with a laurel wreath while holding a palm branch as a crowd cheers behind him — A champion is crowned with a wreath

The philosopher Diogenes sits in his clay jar and speaks to Alexander the Great, who stands before him with his soldiers — Diogenes to Alexander: "Stand out of my sunlight!"

Epicurus sits beneath an olive tree in a blooming garden, teaching a circle of men, women and children — Epicurus teaches in his garden

Alexander the Great rides through the blue Ishtar Gate into Babylon as cheering crowds shower him with petals — Alexander the Great enters Babylon

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, crowned by a four-horse chariot, towers over the harbor city in the golden sunset light — The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

People in tunics stroll down a market street in Alexandria lined with Egyptian and Greek statues, temples and arches — Greeks and Egyptians in the streets of Alexandria

The moss-covered head and hand of the fallen Colossus of Rhodes lie among rubble as onlookers gaze at the remains — The fallen Colossus of Rhodes

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Chapter 04

What's inside the season

10h+of playtime

205lessonseach with its own collectible card

The whole picture · 205 entries across five categories

36 people50 places49 events35 ideas35 objects

Chapter 05

Ancient Greece: what you need to know

Ancient Greece is often called the cradle of Europe. Democracy, philosophy, theater and the Olympic Games all began here, and Greek myths are still told today.

When was ancient Greece?

Greek history stretches from the palaces of Mycenae in the Bronze Age through the classical period in the 5th and 4th centuries BC to the Hellenistic age after Alexander the Great. The era ended with the fall of the last Hellenistic kingdom in 30 BC.

Who were the Greek gods?

Mount Olympus was home to the twelve Olympian gods, led by Zeus. Among them were Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo and Aphrodite. The Greeks honored them with temples, sacrifices and festivals and sought advice from oracles such as the one at Delphi.

Was Troy real?

Yes. At the hill of Hisarlik in today's Turkey, Heinrich Schliemann began uncovering the ruins of a major city in 1870. Whether a war like the one Homer describes in the Iliad really took place there is still debated.

What was Athenian democracy?

At the end of the 6th century BC, Athens developed a system of rule by the people. All free adult male citizens could vote in the assembly. Women, slaves and foreigners were excluded.

How did the Olympic Games begin?

According to tradition, the first games were held at Olympia in 776 BC in honor of Zeus. Every four years, athletes from across the Greek world competed, and the winner received a wreath of olive branches.

Who was Alexander the Great?

Alexander was born in Macedonia in 356 BC and was taught by Aristotle. As king, he conquered an empire stretching from Greece through Egypt and Persia to India in just eleven years. He died in Babylon in 323 BC, aged only 32.

In HistoryBytes, you experience ancient Greece in short episodes: the people, places, events, ideas and objects of the era. Piece by piece, you build the whole picture, from Troy to Alexander the Great.