Ancient Greece

The Discovery of Sparta

Warriors in red cloaks battling against the odds at Thermopylae is the image usually associated with Sparta. But a richer and more contentious tale lies in the ancient city’s stones.

Thebes: The Forgotten City

The city of Thebes was central to the ancient Greeks’ achievements in politics and culture. For many centuries it has been largely – and often deliberately – forgotten.

Theft is Property

Antiquities were high stakes and high profit in 16th-century Rome, and no one was above breaking the law for loot.

Inside the Ancient Bull Cult

King Minos and the Minotaur remain shrouded in mystery and mythology, yet evidence of a Bronze Age ‘Bull Cult’ at the Minoan palaces abounds. Were bulls merely for entertainment or did they have a deeper significance?

Tyrants and Robots

Autocrats have deployed automatons as weapons since antiquity, not just in myth but in reality. 

Point of No Return? Britain and the Elgin Marbles

Britain’s ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures has caused controversy since they were first brought to London in the early 1800s. Keen to keep the Greeks onside, the debate became highly charged during the Second World War.

The United States of Greece

The urge to create a Greek nation state goes back millennia. Its success depended on a shared notion of ‘Greekness’ across widespread city states.