Antiquity
Encyclopedia
Antiquity and ancient (adjective) may refer to:
as a proper name
in popular culture:
- any period before the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, but still within the period of human history or prehistoryPrehistoryPrehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
. The term is most often used of Classical AntiquityClassical antiquityClassical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, the classical civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially Ancient GreeceAncient GreeceAncient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
and Ancient RomeAncient RomeAncient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
.
- "Ancient historyAncient historyAncient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
" generally, and may be used of any historical period before the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
- Ancient Near EastAncient Near EastThe ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
- Late AntiquityLate AntiquityLate Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
is used of the period between classical antiquity and the Middle Ages - African Antiquity
- Ancient Iran (Persia)
- Ancient China
- Ancient EgyptAncient EgyptAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
- Ancient GreeceAncient GreeceAncient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
- Ancient India (disambiguation)
- Ancient Japan
- Ancient RomeAncient RomeAncient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
- Ancient languages
- Ancient musicAncient musicAncient music is music that developed in literate cultures, replacing prehistoric music.Ancient music refers to the various musical systems that were developed across various geographical regions such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, India, China, Greece and Rome. Ancient music is designated by the...
- Ancient Near East
- AntiquitiesAntiquitiesAntiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...
, the term—almost always in the plural in modern usage, referring to objects or artefacts)Artifact (archaeology)An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
surviving from ancient cultures.
as a proper name
- Antiquity (journal)Antiquity (journal)Antiquity is an academic journal dedicated to the subject of archaeology. It publishes four editions a year, covering topics worldwide from all periods. Its current editor is Martin Carver, Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the University of York....
is a quarterly journal of archaeological research - Ancients (art group)Ancients (art group)The Ancients , were a group of English artists who were brought together by their attraction to archaism in art and admiration for the work of William Blake. The core members of the Ancients were Samuel Palmer, George Richmond, Edward Calvert...
, a group of English artists in the 1820s and 30s - Ancient (band)Ancient (band)Ancient is a Norwegian black metal band from Eidsvåg, Nesset, formed in 1992. The band has released six full-length albums released by Metal Blade Records and a variety of mini-albums, EPs and special releases. Ancient used to have the classic raw black metal sound, similar to Darkthrone's works...
, a melodic black metal musical group - Ancient (company)Ancient (company)Ancient Corp. is a video game developer founded on April 1st, 1990, and managed by the game music composer Yuzo Koshiro. The company was founded by his mother, Tomo Koshiro, while his sister Ayano Koshiro also works at the company as an art/character/graphic designer...
, a Japanese software developer
in popular culture:
- Antiquities (Magic: The Gathering)Antiquities (Magic: The Gathering)Antiquities was the fifth Magic: The Gathering set and the second expansion set. It was the first set to have an original backstory that explores the mythos of the Magic universe . The story is primarily about the brothers Urza and Mishra who are inseparable at first, but become sworn enemies over...
an expansion to the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game - Ancient (Stargate)Ancient (Stargate)The Ancients are a humanoid race in the fictional Stargate universe. They are called "Ancients" in the Milky Way, but are also known as Lanteans or Ancestors in the Pegasus galaxy and as the Alterans in their home galaxy, and they sometimes call themselves Anquietas in their language...
, a race who built the StargatesStargate (device)A Stargate is a portal device within the Stargate fictional universe that allows practical, rapid travel between two distant locations. The devices first appear in the 1994 Roland Emmerich film Stargate, and thereafter in the television series Stargate SG-1 and its spin-offs...
in the StargateStargateStargate is a adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly...
universe - Ancient (Traveller), a mysterious race that once dominated the galaxy in the Traveller role-playing game
- Ancients (Eternal Darkness), a god-like race in Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
- Ancients (Legacy of Kain), a race in the Legacy of Kain games
- Ancients, an advanced species in the FreeSpace space simulation computer game series
- Ancients, a race in the FarscapeFarscapeFarscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
TV series - Ancients or Cetra in Final Fantasy VII
- The Ancients, a race of highly-advanced worldcrafters in the Might and MagicMight and MagicMight and Magic is a series of role-playing video games from New World Computing, which in 1996 became a subsidiary of The 3DO Company...
universe
See also
- Age (disambiguation)
- Eon (disambiguation)
- Ancien (disambiguation)
- Orders of magnitude (time)Orders of magnitude (time)-Seconds:- See also :* Heat Death* Second law of thermodynamics* Big Rip* Big Crunch* Big Bounce* Big Bang* Cyclic model* Dyson's eternal intelligence* Final anthropic principle* Ultimate fate of the Universe* Timeline of the Big Bang...
- Old ageOld ageOld age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...
- senescenceSenescenceSenescence or biological aging is the change in the biology of an organism as it ages after its maturity. Such changes range from those affecting its cells and their function to those affecting the whole organism...