Ancient World — Important Questions

Aristotle

Aristotle was the famous Greek philosopher who tutored Alexander the Great. Aristotle was a student of Plato, who in turn was a student of Socrates, forming the famous chain of Greek philosophers. Democritus was known for his atomic theory but was not Alexander's teacher.

Two

In 395 AD, the huge Roman Empire was divided into two halves for better governance - the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. The Eastern part had its capital at Byzantium (later Constantinople) and survived much longer than the Western Empire, which fell in 476 AD to barbarian invasions.

Zoroaster

Zoroaster was the religious preacher who founded Zoroastrianism in ancient Persia. He taught about Ahura-Mazda, the Lord of Heaven and Light, and presented life as a constant struggle between good (light) and evil (darkness). Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes were Persian kings, not religious founders.

Rig Veda

The Rig Veda was the first Veda to be composed and is our main source of information about the Early Vedic period. The other three Vedas - Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda - were composed during the Later Vedic period along with their commentaries called Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads.