Rome: 8 cities, 500 gold, large number of military units
Carthage: 18 cities, 1000 gold, strong fleet, Hannibal
Macedonia: 14 cities, 250 gold, good fleet, Alexander, strong tech and govt
Persia: 17 cities, 400 gold, largest land area, strong tech and govt
Egypt: 5 cities, 80 gold (not recommended for new players)

SCENARIO SETTINGS

-Locked alliances (Rome vs. Carthage, Macedon vs. Persia).

-relaxed shallow water rules: deep draft vessels move slowly in shallow water.

-no plagues

-cultural conversions are allowed

-All playable civs start the game in contact with each other. All civs have embassies with everyone.

-barbarians: raging

-length: 450 turns (450 years: 350 bc - 100 ad).

-Victory conditions: total conquest, high score, or domination via 30% terrain and 60% population.

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

There are many units in this scenario, so it is not recommended for slower computers.  Turn off unit animation to increase speed.

Half of the deepwater squares are still undiscovered. They are unmarked but functional if you find them.

Make deals during the first turn when your allies are most agreeable.

The immobile Praetorian Guard unit can't leave Roma (but make sure it's fortified).

Aggressive tech trading can get you ahead.

Locked enemies Carthage/Rome and Macedonia/Persia can create a lot of unhappiness due to war weariness. There are many things you can do to eliminate war weariness including building the heroic epic, temples, amphitheaters etc...

Careful use of diplomacy is a must at higher levels. Keep your enemies fighting with each other while you grow stronger. Beware of vanquishing an enemy too soon and create a power vacuum that you are not prepared to fill or else someone else will become twice as strong.

CIVILIZATION STRATEGIES

Rome

Make some deals in the first turn to build up your treasury and support the massive armies you have in the field. Work to improve your economy or else kill off some off your troops. Be prepared for Hannibal's initial onslaught (quickly build a northwestern city that gives you a defensive advantage and stock up with your legionaries). If you can kill Hannibal early that will take a lot of pressure off you. Consider launching attacks on the Carthaginian islands to the west and southwest, but be prepared for a vicious counterattack should you take these cities. Also consider letting these islands go in favor of attacking the Greeks before they get too powerful and while Alexander is occupied with Persia. Flex your political muscle by building a spy network and plant spies when you are at war with civs. Use these spies to investigate cities you intend to attack to make sure you always have the forces to win. Use your expansionist ability to build a Summer Palace in a far-flung region of your empire. Make a quick grab of the open territory north of Macedonia before the Greeks get up there, then when Macedonia wants a fight, give the northern tribes right of passage and incentivize them to attack Macedonia.  Remember that you are a late-comer and your real strength comes late in the game when you acquire Imperialism and can build armies, so build up good infrastructure with libraries and universities and get your tech up as quickly as possible. You are in a good position for a domination or conquest victory. Take advantage of your cheap and effective Garrison units. Don't forget to use your Legionaries as workers.


Carthage

Can grow unmolested if you use naval strength to keep Rome away. Watch out for an early attack by Rome on your island cities. Keep good relations with Macedonia and you can easily blockade the central Mediterranean as your personal playground. Beware of interior cities that don't give sea bonuses (you are a seafaring civ), and focus on infrastructure rather than expansion because you are already quite spread out. You enjoy having an army at the beginning but don't be too bold with it. Careful and patient use of Hannibal to wear down outlying Roman cities can result in the eventual defeat of Rome. You are in a good position to win on points or a domination victory. Take advantage of your elephant units which next to armies are the most powerful attack units with a movement of two. You are in a good position to begin building armies before Rome can build armies.  Use your armies to capture Italy.


Persia

First you must find a way to survive Alexander's onslaught (get Rome and Scythia on your side early). Remember that Alexander can't travel over mountains that don't have roads, so if you destroy mountain roads as you retreat you can somewhat direct Alexander's movements and funnel him into a trap (perhaps killing him with a group of Immortals). If you lose only 5 cities to Alexander you are doing well. Consider destroying your own frontier cites and moving those units to defend cities closer in).  You start the game overextended and lightly defended, so shore up defenses and infrastructure. Use diplomacy to keep everyone at war with Macedon. Build a road to an iron square as soon as possible in order to produce Immortals. Also, get access to another gold square as soon as possible so you can continue to build Numidian Mercenaries if Alexander should capture your solitary gold square).  Get walls built in outlying cities you intend to hold. Build more cities in your undeveloped interior lands but save building in outlying areas until Macedonia is no longer a threat and you have used your expansionist power to build a Summer Palace. Flex your political muscle by building a spy network and plant spies when you are at war with civs. Use these spies to investigate cities you intend to attack to make sure you always have the forces to win. Leverage your vast size and access to resources to seize control of trade and the political landscape. Don't defeat the Macedonians too early because they present a buffer to Rome. You are in an excellent position to win on points, a domination victory, or surge ahead in tech and go for a conquest victory using armies and parthian cavalry.


Macedonia

Take advantage of your well developed cities to get an early jump on the wonders; try to get the Artemis/Oracle combo. You start the game with great military strength. Use Alexander to wear down the outlying Persian cities over time. Harass Persia and don't allow it to expand. Use your sea power to blockade Persian ports and cut off their trade. Get Tactics as soon as possible and you will have the first armies in the game. Consider taking out Rome before Persia because Rome presents the greater long-term threat and you can more easily expand into Roman territory. You are in a good position for a conquest victory.


Egypt

Difficult to win. A good challenge for a finesse player.  You may have some success by letting Macedonia raze Persia, and quickly filling in the gaps with your own cities.