the ancients

plural noun

: the people who lived in ancient times : the people of ancient Greece and Rome

a temple built by the ancients

the gods of the ancients

Examples of the ancients in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The explorer wanted his royal patrons to see his role in history as something foretold by the ancients. — Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026

Or is it made up of some ultimate, indivisible particle, like an atom as the ancients imagined it, only unimaginably smaller? — Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

Since the days of the ancients, the dog days of summer have promised heatwaves, bug bites and quantities of sweat no antiperspirant can contain. — Colin Dwyer, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026

Another notable thinker after the ancients who addressed this question was Hobbes. — George G. Szpiro, Big Think, 9 Apr. 2026