Lovers in Arms. The story of how Athens formed its democracy is a complex one, it’s a tale of tyrants, opportunists and unlikely allies (I recorded an episode on Archaic Athens and Democracy for my podcast if you want a wider and more in-depth discussion). One story which was linked to the foundation of democracy […]
The Tyrannicides – a democratic myth? Read More »
I’ve long been a football fan and as such when I heard that there was an Italian football team embracing a greek myth I had to learn more. Circe, the myth. The character of Circe is one of the famous visits which Odysseus makes, you may remember how she turned Odysseu’s men to swine and
Circe and Calcio! Read More »
I hope you enjoyed the episode. It was tricky not to go too much into how Thucydides framed the expedition from the get go, but I did an episode on this titled ‘Wish you weren’t here: The Sicilian Expedition‘ which you can find on the podcast. I also hope you got my hand-map, as you
The Sicilian Expedition. Episode notes Read More »
The Isthmus of Corinth. Mainland Greece is connected to its southern Peloponnese, a peninsula, by a narrow isthmus. This is a narrow strip of land, approximately 6km, rising to 80 metres above sea level. To the east of it is the Saronic gulf and the west is the Gulf of Corinth. When viewed from above
The Diolkos, a Corinthian curioisity. Read More »
In his Constitution of Athens Aristotle named Nicias as one of the three best citizens of Athens (28.5). His character loomed large over key events during the Peloponnesian War with a peace treaty named after him and two bluffs made in debates which backfired and had very different outcomes. Of the first, it resulted in
Nicias and a tragic eclipse. Read More »
I hope you enjoyed the third episode. As mentioned this was going to cover way too much and I had to leave quite a bit out to accommodate this topic. A shoutout to Sistory History who did a promo swap – check out their podcast. Don’t forget you can contact me directly (and if you
Democracy & Ducetius – episode notes Read More »
Boreas and bad weather. In his Works and Days, the poet Hesiod, writing in the 8th century BC, noted how bad the weather could be in the month of Lenaion (January/February). This was largely attributed to one character, Boreas the god of the north wind. According to the poet his winds would pierce the hides
Boreas, Greek god of the north wind. Read More »
Boeotia – the basics. When it comes to art and ancient Greece Boeotia doesn’t get much of a discussion. However, there are some fine examples of this which I was able to see during my recent visit to the British Museum. In case you aren’t aware Boeotia was a region in central Greece, perhaps the
Boeotian art, women and a goose. Read More »
The Brygos painter is a celebrated name attached to a number of Athenian pieces dating to the early 5th century BC. On occasion artists might sign their pieces, but this was something potters might do as well. As such Brygos could be the name of the potter, and to complicate things further it could even
The Brygos skyphos- what’s he hiding? Read More »
Sometimes an object give us an insight into the past which isn’t initially obvious and here is one such example. The helmet below is a bronze Etruscan one, it dates to circa 500 BC and is doubtless a fascinating object purely on this basis alone. However, as you can see there’s an inscription on the
An Etruscan helmet with a message. Read More »
