Simon Armitage explores Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and reflects on how he approached his own translation of the poem. By Simon Armitage / 01.31.2018 Poet and Playwright We know next to nothing about the author of the poem which has come to be called Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It was probably[…]
Puzzling out the meaning of monsters in Beowulf, comparing the hero with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon. By Dr. Victoria Symons / 01.31.2018 Honorary Lecturer in Literature University College London It’s no overstatement to say that Beowulf is – today – one of the most important surviving works of medieval literature. It is by[…]
A marble relief panel from Smyrna showing Roman slaves in chains. 200 CE. (Ashmolean Musuem, Oxford, UK) / Photo by Jun, Wikimedia Commons The revolt of the gladiator Spartacus remains the most successful slave revolt in the history of Rome. By Dr. Joshua J. Mark / 03.04.2016 Professor of Philosophy Marist College Introduction The revolt[…]
Page from a manuscript of the Bhagavata Purana. Three cowherds bring their cows to the river Yamuna to drink, then they ask Kṛṣṇa how to find food. Above, Kṛṣṇa tells a group of cowherds, all standing in a line to go and ask the brahmin ladies who were then offering Vedic sacrifices. c.1500 CE, India[…]
Map of Egypt showing the major sites and settlements Looking at the choices the ancient Egyptians made in the allocation of resources to different parts of the built environment. By Dr. Steven Snape Reader in Egyptian Archaeology University of Liverpool Introduction It is easy to think of ancient Egypt as a land filled with tombs and[…]
Mythical figurines from Nagada The rise of the city as an important institution can perhaps more confidently be identified as an aspect of ancient Egyptian civilization. By Dr. Steven Snape Reader in Egyptian Archaeology University of Liverpool Introduction Like the term ‘city’, ‘urbanism’ and ‘urbanization’ are not words that are easy to define in very strict terms.[…]