before we get started

First listen to the introduction to this unit.

Classical antiquity

Exploration of new worlds

Humanism

Individualism

Renaissance

Secularism

Many of the ideas defining the Renaissance Period (14th to 17th century) have their origin in ancient Greece and Rome. In fact, the word renaissance means rebirth, meaning the revival of ideas from classical antiquity in new forms, suited to the growing cultural and scientific knowledge of the time. These ideas came to influence all levels of Renaissance society. When comparing the Renaissance to society today, it is evident that the two eras have many things in common.