Quote Originally Posted by konny
The entire Hellenisitic periode has no "lobby" when it comes to write school books. Ancient History is about 10% Egypt, 10% Greece (when you are lucky you are presented a map "Conquests of Alexander the Great") and the other 80% are on Roman history from the very start to the Empire, that somehow usually ends with Augustus or Nero. Next thing you hear is that Barbarossa was elected Emporer and started his crusade....
That's a broad over-generalisation. It really depends where you are; as far the French curriculum is concerned, Julius Caesar might as well have been the first of the Romans. You have to take Latin classes if you want to hear about the Roman Res Publica prior to the the First Triumvirate. The way the Roman Empire is taught is pretty much "Julius Caesar took the the declining Roman Republic and conquered the world (well, mostly he conquered Gaul after a heroic fight, the rest was a piece of cake afterwards) and started the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire slowly declined over the next five hundred years, becoming Christian along the way, and was beset by barbarians on all sides. Then came Clovis, the king of the Salic Franks. He was the real inheritor of Roman power, because he became a Roman Consul and a Christian..." then they have loads of stuff about the Franks you probably don't find out in other countries without taking advanced classes. Really, how history is taught depends alot on what country you are in. And your country will never look bad in your history classes.