The name ``Renaissance''--meaning ``rebirth''--is given to a period of
broad cultural achievement spanning three centuries. The idea of rebirth
lies at the heart of all Renaissance achievements: artists, scholars,
scientists, philosophers, architects, and rulers believed that the way
to greatness and enlightenment was through the study of the Golden Ages
of the ancient Greeks and Romans. They rejected the more recent, medieval
past, which constituted the Gothic era. Instead of this, inspired by
Humanism, they looked to the literary and philosophical traditions,
and the artistic and engineering achievements, of Greco-Roman antiquity.