Pottery ostraka identifying Themistocles, 482 BCE. These were used in Athens to vote a particular citizen to be ostracised from the polis. From a well on the north slope of the acropolis of Athens. (Museum of the Ancient Agora, Athens) / Photo by Mark Cartwright, Creative Commons Ostracism was the supreme example of the power of the ordinary people, the demos, to combat abuses of[…]
The Homeric Multitext, Creative Commons Women’s discourse in Greek society has been traditionally controlled and restricted by strict sociocultural codes. By Olivia Dunham Art Historian and Classical Archaeologist Introduction Women’s discourse in Greek society has been traditionally controlled and restricted by strict sociocultural codes. Barred from participating in the exclusively male public political scene, women[…]
Examining the important role of music in ancient Greek cult practices. By Dr. Jana Kubatzki Research Associate in Musicology Freie Universität Berlin Abstract This paper deals with the important role of music in ancient Greek cult practices. It will explore the types of music that were played and research the effect music may have had on[…]
The Fountain of Peirene at ancient Corinth / Photo by Ploync, Wikimedia Commons The Greek peninsula and Greek islands were characterized by conflict and instability during the Archaic Age, and this instability was the context for the emergence of Greek city-states. The Rise of the Polis The territory of Greece is mountainous; as a result, ancient[…]
Discussing Ancient Greek women and their relationship to the visual arts solely on the evidence of the extant monuments. By Dr. Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway Professor Emeriti of Archaeology Bryn Mawr College Abstract Ancient Greek women and their relationship to the visual arts are here discussed solely on the evidence of the extant monuments, rather than on[…]
Detail of a cup currently on view in the new installation at the Getty Villa. The cup depicts a woman playing the drinking game kottabos. Attic Red-Figure Kylix, about 490 B.C., attributed to Onesimos. Terracotta, 3 3/8 × 14 1/2 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 82.AE.14. On the left is the painted image in normal light. On[…]
“Phèdre et Hippolyte” (1802), by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin / Wikimedia Commons Classical discussions often get caught between that problematic binary of social constructionism vs essentialism. By Dr. Chris Mowat / 05.17.2018 Visiting Fellow in Classics Newcastle University Myth was a great tool with which the ancient Greeks were able to think about themselves and their place[…]
Linguistic dating is in close agreement with historians’ and classicists’ beliefs derived from historical and archaeological sources. By (left-to-right) Dr. Eric Lewin Altschuler, Dr. Andreea S Calude, Dr. Andrew Meade, and Dr. Mark Pagel / 02.18.2013 Altschuler: Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, University Hospital[…]
The Hagia Triada sarcophagus at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion (photo: C messier, CC BY-SA 3.0) This sarcophagus is among the best of narrative-style representations of religious customs in ancient Minoa. By Dr. Senta German / 08,17.2018 Faculty of Classics Andrew W Mellon Foundation Teaching Curator, Ashmolean Museum University of Oxford A Coffin for Royalty? Hagia Triada sarcophagus, c. 1400[…]
Ostraka for Ostracism / Museum of the Ancient Agora, Wikimedia Commons Although the Greek city-states differed in size and natural resources, they came to share certain fundamental political institutions and social traditions. By Dr. Thomas R. Martin Jeremiah W. O’Connor, Jr. Professor of Classics College of the Holy Cross Introduction Although the Greek city-states differed in[…]
Hippocrates, the “father of medicine” / Public Domain By the 5th century BCE, there were attempts to identify the material causes for illnesses rather than spiritual ones. By Mark Cartwright / 04.11.2018 Historian Introduction In ancient Greek medicine illness was initally regarded as a divine punishment and healing as, quite literally, a gift from the gods. However, by[…]
Dated to the New Kingdom (c. 1570 – c. 1069 BCE), and specifically to c. 1200 BCE, the text is written in demotic script and is the oldest treatise on anorectal disease (affecting the anus and rectum) in history. / Photo by Ibolya Horvath, British Museum, Creative Commons The history of medicine is a long and distinguished one, as[…]
Ancient Athens was a remarkably peaceful and well-ordered society by both ancient and contemporary standards. By Adriaan Lanni, J.D. Touroff-Glueck Professor of Law Harvard Law School Abstract Ancient Athens was a remarkably peaceful and well-ordered society by both ancient and contemporary standards. Scholars typically attribute Athens’ success to internalized norms and purely informal enforcement mechanisms.[…]
Socrates teaching Alcibiades, by François-André Vincent, 1776 / Musée Fabre, Wikimedia Commons Would a more powerful Socrates have been able to procure Alcibiades’ ultimate allegiance? By Dr. José Daniel Parra Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Humanities Instituto Universitario de Cultura Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona Abstract The following essay presents a close reading of the Platonic[…]
The Sacred Way at Delphi with the remains of the Athenians’ Treasury The Delphic Oracle belonged to Apollo, and his priestess, called The Pythia, gave her oracles from inside Apollo’s temple. By Dr. Susan O. Shapiro (above) and Jessica Mellenthin Shapiro: Professor of History Utah State University Introduction The word, “oracle,” comes from the Latin[…]
A wall of the triclinium, traditionally interpreted to represent the stages of initiation to the cult. Silenus holding a lyre (left); demi-god Pan and a nymph sitting on a rock, nursing a goat (centre); woman with coat (right). Fresco of the mystery ritual, right, Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, Italy. / Photo by Yann Forget,[…]
Drunken Old Woman. Late 3rd century BCE. Hellenistic Sculpture / Photo by Evergreen State College, Creative Commons Remarkably little attention has been paid to Aristotle’s theory of aging, or gerontology. By Adam Woodcox PhD Student in Philosophy Rotman Institute of Philosophy University of Western Ontario Introduction Aristotle was the originator of the scientific study of[…]
The Temple of Apollo at Delphi / Photo by tamara semina, Wikimedia Commons The fact that the great majority of maxims on the list can still serve us today is itself worth further reflection. By Dr. Charlie Huenemann / 09.07.2018 Professor of Philosophy Utah State University We all know the most famous bit of ancient advice inscribed[…]
Bust carved by by Victor Wager from a model by Paul Montford, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia. / Wikimedia Commons Socrates proposed a new kind of citizenship in opposition to the traditional one that was based on the poetic conception of Homer. Lecture by Dr. Steven Smith / 10.14.2006 Alfred Cowles Professor of[…]
This ancient Greek fresco, known as The Toreador, was found on the Greek island of Crete. The ancient Greeks produced beautiful art and architecture. The Greeks were proud of the independence and individuality of their city-states. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 09.12.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction Many people believe that the greatest of all[…]
The Greeks failed miserably to see the need for the development of a discipline, economic science, devoted to the study of the spontaneous processes of social cooperation that comprise the market. By Dr. Jesús Huerta de Soto / 09.15.2010 Professor of Political Economy Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid Introduction The intellectual odyssey that laid the[…]
Association with Alcibiades was later part of the charge brought against Socrates for corrupting the youth. Who Was Alcibiades? Alcibiades was an Athenian who was influential in the creation of turmoil in his home city that went a long way to explaining the defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 b.c.e.). Alcibiades was a[…]
Athens agora / Photo by Andreas Trepte, Wikimedia Commons Ethics was a function of being and, as the guiding principle for dealings with others, it naturally applied as well to the sensitive areas of money and commerce. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 09.11.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief It would be hard to overstate the influence[…]
Bacchanalia (cut), on a frieze / Photo by Roland zh, Wikimedia Commons Practices intimately tied to the soteriological aspirations of their adherents. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 09.10.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction The Bacchanal by Peter Paul Rubens / Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Wikimedia Commons The term Bacchanalia describes the initiatory and celebratory[…]
The Triumph of Civilization / Photo by Grizzli, Kunsthalle Hamburg, Wikimedia Commons The enormous contribution of ancient Greeks to the progress of philosophy, natural sciences and arts, can’t be contested. Unfortunately, the role they played in the history of psychology is hardly mentioned. By Dr. Vlad Petre Glăveanu Associate Professor of Psychology Webster University Geneva[…]
If we take off the cloak of reason and instead clothe with that of madness, we may have the chance to penetrate deeper, more occult realms of the spirit, where essential truths may be revealed to us. At least so thought Socrates. There was however one condition: this madness must be of divine origin. By[…]
The Aristotelian Constitution of the Athenians / British Library (Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 131), Wikimedia Commons Solon’s new constitution was based on ownership of property. Introduction By the early 6th century B.C. social tensions in Athens had become acute, pitting the poorer citizens against rich and powerful landowners. Many citizens were reduced to the status of share[…]
Highlighting the evolution of corruption and represents the highlights of the phenomenon from the social, economic and religious perspective. By (left-to-right) Ciprian Rotaru, Dumitru-Alexandru Bodislav, and Raluca Georgescu Bucharest University of Economic Studies Introduction The phenomenon of corruption can be dated with the rise of mankind. Although it is not an act with[…]
A representation of Draco at the library of the Supreme Court of the United States / Photo by the Draconian Society, Wikimedia Commons Exploring rational and irrational procedural methods in Greek adjudication in archaic times. By Dr. Gerhard Thür Professor Emeritus of Roman Law Austrian Academy of Sciences Abstract The paper deals with what today[…]
By Dr. Michael Davis / 01.07.2016 Professor of Philosophy Sarah Lawrence College Abstract How is it possible that we can be so deeply affected by poetry even when we are not altogether sure what it is about? By way of interpreting a Platonic dialog, “Lies Like the Truth: On Plato’s Lesser Hippias” links this human[…]