Does the 'a' in 'Ancient Greece' need to be capitalized?

Great question - technically, no. The A in ancient doesn't need to be capitalised, as it is an adjective and not a name (per-se). read more

While the word “ancient” normally does not need to be capitalised, it does need to be capitalised if it is the name of the country or the name of a specific era of that nation’s history. In the case of the question, yes, ancient needs to be capitalised because it’s the name of a specific period of a nation’s history. read more

So, it is ancient Greece and ancient Egypt, just like it is modern Greece and modern Egypt. “Ancient” is only ever capitalized at the start of a sentence, like in this one. read more

However, in specific usage, enlightenment is capitalized: “The Russian Enlightenment is a period in the eighteenth century in which the government in Russia began to actively encourage the proliferation of arts and sciences.” Adjectives preceding names of political entities are often erroneously capitalized. read more