A statue and Sparta. As a piece of art, the Nike of Paionios is a wonderful thing. In its day it stood on a tall triangular column in front of the temple of Zeus at Olympia. Made of Parian marble it would have looked out across the thousands who would regularly visit the sanctuary for […]
Nike of Paionios, a statue with a story. Read More »
The Isle of Wight was subjegated by the general, and eventual emperor, Vespasian in AD 44. In the successive centuries a number of villas emerged, perhaps the most well known being Brading Roman Villa. Though started in the 1st century AD further buildings were added and by the 4th century the villa was well established
Brading Roman Villa and the curious mosaic. Read More »
I hope you enjoyed the episode on Archaic Athens and Democracy and here are the episodes notes I mentioned. I mentioned a few other episodes I have done – these can be found on my Ancient History Hound podcast. You should be able to find it on most platforms. Demes and Attica. In the episode
Archaic Athens and Democracy: Episode notes. Read More »
Back to school with the ancient Greeks. For several years I’ve volunteered at schools to help with their topics, until now it’s mainly been Romans. Recently I got the chance to change things up a bit and so I helped Year 5 at Steyning Primary School. The topic was Ancient Greece and it was great fun
Steyning School visit – the Ancient Greeks. Read More »
Etruscans – a fascinating people. If you are visiting Rome it’s easy to get overwhelmed with options. One place you need to make time for is the Etruscan Museum. The Etruscans were a formidable influence on Rome and it’s thanks to them that we have many Greek vases – these were found in tombs. Here’s
Etruscan Museum in Rome – a must visit. Read More »
Recently I passed through Cirencester, I’d loved to have stopped longer and visited the Corinium Museum which looked very interesting. However, I did managed to squeeze in a trip to the Roman ampitheatre there. It’s free, has parking and is wheelchair accessible. Be warned it is a bit hilly but the paths are well kept.
Roman Amphitheatre at Cirencester. Read More »
Lupercalia – some notes. I hope you enjoyed the episode on the Lupercalia. The promo I featured was with The Partial Historians – if you want to learn about Rome they are a great resource and you can find them on twitter and other locations (just check the link to their website). In the episode
The Lupercalia: Episode Notes. Read More »
In book 3 of his work Histories Herodotus refers to sheep which had big tails (3.113). So big in fact that the shepherds would make small carts which could carry the tails. Was it another Herodotus special? Well, probably not. The fat-tailed sheep is a real species. These are located in Arabia, which is a
Herodotus and a sizeable sheep tale. Read More »
Roman Scotland – a fantastic guest. To discuss Roman Scotland I was joined by the fantastic Dr Andrew Tibbs. You can find him on twitter @RomanScotland. He also teaches at Durham University Dr Tibbs has written a few books which you might be interested in. The one I bought is ‘Beyond the Empire’ which is
Roman Scotland: Episode Notes. Read More »
Aulos – for work and play. The aulos was a double-pipe played in ancient Greece and which features on a number of vases. The aulos was used for entertainment but also possibly to keep marching hoplites in step. In the below two images this is shown, the second image shows the aulos player to the
Aulos – double pipe playing. Read More »
