Sulak might not be an entity you’d have heard much about but it’s fair to say that he was very much in the mind of those visiting the toilet in parts of ancient Mesopotamia. Sulak and Mesopotamian mythology. The Mesopotamian view of the world included a range of what might be considered gods and demons. […]
Sulak – the Babylonian toilet lurker. 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
A question I was recently asked concerned the re-use of kit in the Roman army. What happened to the kit when a soldier either left (e.g. retirement) or died? Well when I visited the Legion exhibition I came across this helmet which gives a good example. You’d expect the Roman army to be efficient and
Roman helmet with a few careful owners. Read More »
One of the wonderful things about the work at Pompeii is just how much is adding to what we have understood so far. Aside from the topics which we strongly associate with the site there are other aspects, such as a Temple to Isis there. Also the fantastic work by Jashemski who set in play
An earthquake during the destruction of Pompeii? Read More »
I hope you enjoyed the episode, what was going to be a two-part episode is becoming an ongoing mini-series on ancient Sicily and I’m really enjoying researching writing and recording it. If you have any feedback get in touch! If you want to have a look at some coins from Himera, Acragas, Selinus and Syracuse
Ancient Sicily- Revenge & Ruin. Episode notes. Read More »
Warfare in Mesopotamia has been captured in Assyrian wall friezes, which detail some of the more unpleasant aspects. Along with defenders atop walls and siege engines there are prisoners led away and heads held as trophies. The wealth of detail can provide interesting asides such as that in the frieze below. It’s associated with Tiglath-Pileser
Moving gods in Mesopotamia. Read More »
Gladiators are one of the most popular topics when talking about ancient Rome. However, there are some misconceptions about the gladiator which have stuck around and so here are a few with an explanation as to what’s not exaclty true about them. Gladiators and the whole thumbs up or down thing. I’ll start with the
Mythbusting Gladiators. 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 »
