What's your favorite Ancient Culture/Civilization?

Aztecs

 

I really like the nomadic steppe cultures. the scythians, the mongolians, the huns...

persians are a close second though.

 

It's a tough choice but I vote Greek.

 

I love the Romans, only for their lovely designs in buildings...

 

What, no Egyptians? They were doing things we still can't figure out.

 

I voted Roman as well.

I would love to go back and see Rome how it really was, just sort of walk around for a while without being able to be noticed or seen.

 

I love ancient history, and studying the ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek and Briton cultures especially. I'm just not going to vote since I can't make up my mind.

LittleJedi

 

I can't believe you people would discount the idea of Atlantis so quickly. Not only has it been proven to have existed, but at least three civilizations have been positively identified as being "Atlantean", all of which have contributed to the present day myth of Atlantis.

There was the Cretian civilization, once the most powerful in the world, which was technologically, socially, and politically advanced even for many modern-day countries. Thanks to them, we have the concept of the advanced civilization. There were the Cyprians (sp?), a Greek city-state until its island was destroyed in a massive volcanic eruption which merged its home island with another nearby island. This island originally had rings of water and land surrounding it, which is where the concept of the rings of water and land surrounding Atlantis came from. They were also a somewhat advanced civilation during their time. The Turkish government will not allow a full excavation of those islands to reveal just how advanced the people were...makes one wonder...

Then there was the large island/continent in the middle of the atlantic, which is now the Azores and the Canarie Islands. This area never developed a highly advanced civilization, so we do not have many artifacts which have survived since this time in the North Atlantic ocean. This "Atlantis" was more of a stepping stone for the post-neolithic people who were migrating around Europe. The North European group (which eventually became the Scandinavians, Teutons, Celts, and other inhabitants of Britian, and descended from a pre-Slavic stock of humans) migrated down the northern coasts of Europe, eventually reaching this Atlantis. This group mixed with the darker-skinned southern humans, who had wandered through the Caucuses, all through Greece, into Italy and southern France and the Iberian, and eventually settled in Atlantis.

The result of the interbreeding was a stock of humans who were described as being red in complexion and red-haired (even though this probably was meant to be a light-brown haired) This group moved again, this time into North Africa, and spread quickly across the Southern Medeterranian. These people were inherently violent, and were extremely warlike and desired conquest and blood (adding to their being labeled as Red people)

8000 years ago, in 6000 BCE, a large earthquake originated in Iran, spread through Turkey and Greece, across the central medeterranian sea floor, through gibraltar, and ending in the center of Atlantis, which is now the Azores. This earthquake destabilized the entire European and African continents, causing sea levels to rise and land to fall. Most of the continent of Atlantis caved in upon itelf and collapsed into what still is the most volatile and active fault line in the world. This particularly large earthquake was caused by the effects of the ending of the ice age, the recession of the large and weighty glaciers which had held the continents in place for millenia, the increased amount of water in the ocean, and the climatic changes occuring around the world. This earthquake was so large that it reached into Ethiopia, Central Africa, and even the Indian Ocean, changing weather patterns and the monsoon seasons. The next year after the earthquake was the first year in which the Nile flooded, allowing the primordial inhabitants of the region the ability to farm the now-fertile Nile delta (even though this was not to occur for many years)

The Red people of Atlantis who escaped the catastrophy became the native inhabitants of the Canarie islands, who had one of the only physical records from the people who inhabited Atlantis, and were all killed by Spanish Conquistadores on their way to the new world. The Atlantian tablets, the physical records, were destroyed in the name of Christianity.

Those Red people who moved across the tropical savannas of North Africa, which we now know as the Sahara Desert, eventually came into contact with the Egyptian people and were the source of countless wars, raids, invasions, conflicts, and h

 

all of them!

that's why I'm a history major

 

I have always thought Greek culture was the most interesting, with Roman culture behind it.

 

atlantins, depending on whether or not it existed.

 

I also like greek and a few others but i have to stay with my background history(viva la south america)

 

Other:

Egyptians

 

I had to go with Roman. We still use their ideas today!

 

Roman

 

I'm surprised you didn't include the Egyptians. As over-rated as they are, I think the Egyptians are fascinating.

 

Greeks, Chinese, or Native Americans

 

The romans are pretty cool but man they had a lot of issues.

 

Chinese.

 

Roman

 

Other... Celtic!

 

The Mongolians get my vote.

 

Greece. I love reading about Alexander's conquests as well as about the Persian and Peloponessian Wars.

 

I was going to vote Incan, but then someone mentioned the Trojan Horse...

Tayschrenn

 

Greek