Michael Grant

Etruscan Jewellery

Michael Grant describes how, when Etruscan civilization burst into flower, among its most characteristic products was a wealth of splendid jewels.

Roman Portrait Busts

Michael Grant describes how, in their portrait-heads, which reveal an extraordinary grasp of the subject’s personality, Roman sculptors ‘created one of the outstanding arts of all time’.

The Hellenistic World

Michael Grant describes how, after the death of Alexander the Great, the classical world was divided into a system of contending super-states of which our twentieth century world is the heir.

Cleopatra

In the year 30 BC one of the most remarkable women who have ever lived, Cleopatra, the Ptolemaic Queen of Egypt, perished by her own hand.

The Gods of Light and Darkness

Michael Grant describes how, during the Roman and Byzantine ages, the co-existence of good and evil in the world led to a variety of dualist religious beliefs.

The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice

For two thousand years poets, writes Michael Grant, composers and painters have drawn upon the great archetypal myth of Orpheus—one of the myths that will always stir humanity.

Tiberius

Much malignant gossip has gathered around the enigmatic personality of the second Roman Emperor whose peaceful reign extended from AD 14 until AD 37.

Nero: The Two Versions

Michael Grant offers the tale of Rome's most infamous emperor from both his fans and detractors.