Odysseus will soon be on the big screen as part of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey. Recent images released of Matt Damon as the eponymous hero brought much commentary, not all of it warm. For many the look was drab and at best resembled a mash up of what Hollywood considered ancient Greek. This isn’t a new […]
Odysseus and the boar’s tusk helmet Read More »
The ancient Olympics were a pinnacle of physical performance but twinned with this need to succeed was something less noble, cheating. Perhaps it shouldn’t be that much of a shock – in Homer’s Iliad the chariot race at the funeral games for Patroclus has Menelaus seething at what he percieved was an illegal move made
Ancient Olympics and cheating Read More »
For the ancient Greeks love wasn’t a singular thing. It manifested in a number of types and to help illustrate this Aphrodite had a retinue which represented the variations. They were often referred to as Erotes and here is a bit about them. If you are interested in more Aphrodite related content there’s a podcast
Aphrodite and her Erotes Read More »
I hope you enjoyed the episode, here is some extra bits which you may find useful. In the episode I mentioned my discussion with LJ Trafford about Domitian, here’s the episode. I also spoke about the date of Vesuvius, here’s the episode for that as well. Pliny’s home. As you can see from the photos
Pliny the Younger – episode notes Read More »
The below figurine is of a Greek deity you will be familiar with, namely Artemis. But look closer and you might notice something unusual. The cap Artemis wears is a Thracian or Phrygian cap, this was an item of clothing which belonged to the neighbours of the ancient Greeks (this features in a previous article
As someone who was born and raised in Worthing it had been a while since I’d been back to its museum (I even worked there for a summer many years ago). They had a new exhibition with some Roman finds but there was plenty else to see. It’s free and there’s a great variety of
Worthing Museum – a visit. Read More »
In a recent Ancient History Hound minisode I spoke about a number of gifts which, well, didn’t go so well. Here’s a few instances of gifts from Mesopotamia and Greece which had the sort of outcomes which weren’t expected by the recipient. Mesopotamia. We have references to gifts and the situations behind them in cuneiform
Ancient gifts gone wrong. Read More »
I hope you have enjoyed the ancient Sicily miniseries – here is some supporting content! Don’t forget to rate and review – I forgot to mention that you can also find this podcast on Reddit. Maps In order to orientate the below map is very good. You can see Motya off the western coast, to
Ancient Sicily – Dionysius I: Countering Carthage. Episode notes. Read More »
In the recent Gladiator II film, much has been made about the naval battle in the Colosseum. Did this really happen and what about those sharks? Well let’s look at both elements and ancient Greece as well. Sharks and the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean is home to approximately 73 shark species (according to the Blue Marine
Sharks in ancient Rome & Greece Read More »
Thanks for listening and feel free to check out the other Halloween episodes I have done over the years. Images. I recently did a piece on the cursed sarcophagus of Ahiram in which I go into more detail. In the temple of Abu Simbel (13th cenury BC) in Egypt there is a relief showing prisoners
Curse Texts and Figurines – episode notes Read More »
