The Greeks did not have a good track record on women’s rights in the ancient world. However, there was an anomaly in a strange place. The city-state of Sparta was not generally a tolerant place. Men were expected to give life long service to the military and boys were separated from their families to build […]
Category: Greece
Eclipses- Historical Harbingers
Americas, Ancient (pre BCE), China, England, ER, Greece, Korea, Northern Europe, Rest of the World, Southern Europe
If you’ve been anywhere near the news, you would have seen that a solar eclipse happened in the continental United States yesterday. I have to admit it was a pretty amazing experience as I was lucky enough to be in the path of totality. As the sky went dark and the crickets started chirping, I […]
Ancient Who Dunnit- The Death of Philip II of Macedon
Philip had been the ruler of Macedon for twenty-three years and was currently on wife number seven. He had turned Macedonia into a force to reckoned with by revolutionizing the army into a efficient fighting force. He subdued Greece and conquered the surrounding territories. Now he had a raft of children from his various wives. […]
Cassandra
Cassandra is a popular figure and made many appearances in Greek plays and poems. Her predicament even inspired a name for a present day problem- the Cassandra Syndrome. So who was this lady whose name inspires even today? Cassandra was born a princess of Troy, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba and the fraternal twin […]
Arrhichion – Olympic victor even in death
He was a champion pankratiast (martial art blending boxing and wrestling) in the ancient Olympic Games. He was the winner of the pankration at the 52nd and 53rd Olympiads. Little did he know that the 54th would be his last. His fatal fight was described by the geographer Pausanias and by Philostratus the Younger. Pausanias […]