The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the Sumerian story of creation. It was written circa 2,100 BCE It is notable for being the earliest surviving piece of human literature.

The most recognized aspect of Olmec culture are monumental heads carved from basalt that have been found at several sites in Mexico. The Mayan civilization created codices made out of birch cloth. The Nazca civilization in South America created the geoglyphs popularly known as the Nazca lines. The Aztec civilization built Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco.

The modern European alphabet arose from the alphabet of the ancient Phoenicians who ruled over a vast commercial empire approximately three thousand years ago.

The Babylonian ruler Hammurabi conquered most of Mesopotamia circa 1800 BCE. He then published a noteworthy set of laws and rules known as Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi’s Code is the earliest known uniform set of laws in a human society. It was designed to ensure order and justice in the Babylonian Empire, although it is worth noting it heavily favored elites and men over common people and women.

The Mahabharata is one of the two great epics of ancient India. It is written in Sanskrit and contains, among other things, the Bhagavad Gita. The Mahabharata is influential in the history of Vedism, Hinduism, and the Indian subcontinent in general.

The Forum would be located at the intersection of the two main roads in and out of a city, or municipum, where public events and open markets would take place. The Agora performed a similar function in ancient Greek city-states. The Basilica were open-air court buildings. The Temple refers to religious structures in ancient Jerusalem. The Horologium was a giant monument built by Augustus, which included a solar marker and was also known as the Solarium Augusti.

Legend holds that Helen of Troy was so beautiful that men pledged their loyalty to her with such fierceness that they would go to war for her hand in marriage. Such oaths reportedly led to the invasion of Troy and the Trojan War.

Thucydides is considered one of the fathers of modern history. Unlike Herodotus, whose tone was very familiar, Thucydides was more dry and tried to stick to objective facts. He was, however, an Athenian soldier during the war, which colored his account of the conflict.

Nero, seeking pleasure, paid for and built the so-called Bathes of Nero. The largest baths in Rome, they were still in use up to the 5th century. While other Roman landmarks came and went depending on economic and political stability, the longevity of the bathes, as well as their complexity, set them apart. 

The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the most impressive structures in the ancient world. Originally erected to celebrate a victory over the island of Cyprus, the Colossus stood over the island's harbor for thousands of years. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BCE, never to be rebuilt.