As Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world in the fourth century BCE, he left behind thoroughly Hellenized rulers in all of the places he conquered. In Egypt, he left behind the Ptolemaic dynasty, named after its progenitor Ptolemy I Soter, which replaced the traditional Pharoahs and then demanded to be called the Pharoahs themselves. The Ptolemies ruled Egypt until it was conquered by Rome under Augustus in 30 BCE.

All of these men were ancient or classical historians. Thucydides famously wrote about the Peloponnesian War that was fought between Sparta and Athens; Herodotus is often considered “the Father of History” and wrote extensively on the history of wars between Greece and Persia; Livy was a Roman historian who wrote a colossal history of the Roman Empire; and Liu Xiang was a Chinese historian who lived from roughly 75 BCE to 6 BCE.

Darius and Xerxes were Persian emperors who were more concerned with destroying Greek culture and influence than spreading it. Julius Caesar was a Roman General and then later, briefly, an emperor. Leonidas is the man immortalized in the story of the battle of Thermopylae who lead a small force of Spartan soldiers against the seemingly endless might of the Persian Empire. Of the provided answer choices, only Alexander the Great was both Greek and a conqueror. Alexander the Great lead Greek and Macedonian forces on a massive campaign across North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia that did not end until he reached Northern India. He is often partly credited with the overwhelming influence that Greek culture has had on the world’s languages, cultures, religions, philosophies, and politics.

Of these famous ancient Greek individuals, only Sophocles is famous for his dramatic, specifically tragic, plays. Socrates and Aristotle are both famous for their philosophical and scientific writings and teachings (Socrates taught Plato, who taught Aristotle, who taught Alexander the Great). Pericles was the most famous political figure in Republican Athens. Finally, Thucydides is remembered for his historical writings, particularly hisHistory of the Peloponnesian War, a chronicling of a war that was fought between Athens and Sparta in the fifth Century BCE.

The First Triumvirate of the Roman Empire was formed between Julius Caesar, Pompey Magnus, and Marcus Crassus. The Triumvirate had no legal authority and was formed solely to consolidate the power of these three men against the legal authority of the Roman Senate. Following Crassus' death, a civil war erupted betwen Pompey and Caesar that ended with Pompey's defeat and Caesar assuming the role of dictator of Rome until his assassination ten years later.

Draco and Solon are somewhat enigmatic figures in Ancient Athenian history. They were both lawmakers. Draco came first and extended democratic rights to those Ancient Greeks who were wealthy enough to afford armor (not the arbitrary distinction this might seem now, as these were the men who fought for/funded the defense of Athens). However, his laws were extremely harsh - prescribing punishment by death for just about every crime. It is from his name that we get the English word “draconian.” Draco’s legal system did little except pit the poor against the rich in Ancient Greece and so the Athenians turned to Solon to revise the political system in Athens. Although neither Draco nor Solon themselves created the institution of democracy in Athens, their legal codes and political reforms were the foundations upon which the original Athenian democratic society was able to grow.

Thucydides is probably the most famous classical era historian. He is most famous for his writings on the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century B.C.E.

Euripides, Sophocles, and Aeschylus are the three Greek tragedians whose work has survived. Sophocles is probably the most famous of the three, although this is somewhat subjective, and he gave us the story of Oedipus.

Hippocrates is often considered to be the "Founder of Western Medicine." Among other things, Hippocrates is credited with advancing physiological and anatomical understanding. He also proposed the Hippocratic Oath which continues to influence doctors to this day.