Ancient Greece

A Roman copy of a Greek bust of Pericles. Luisa Ricciarini/Bridgeman images.

Pericles and the Golden Age of Athens

Pericles lends his name to an entire era of ancient Greek history, but we know little about him for certain. Statesman, demagogue, or Athenian original: who was he really?

Marble head of Demosthenes, Roman, 2nd century AD. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.

‘Demosthenes’ by James Romm review

Demosthenes: Democracy’s Defender by James Romm looks for hope amid the sound and fury surrounding the great orator of ancient Athens.

Map of the world according to Strabo, by James Playfair, 1814. David Rumsey Map Collection. Public Domain.

Strabo: The First Geographer

As the father of descriptive geography, Strabo of Amasia provides a unique view of the early Roman Empire.

Odysseus returning to Penelope, from Homer’s Odyssey, terracotta plaque, c.460-50 BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.

The Heroic Remains of Homer’s Odyssey

For those living on the Greek island of Ithaka, The Odyssey is written all around.

Marble bust of Thucydides. Totontonian new/Alamy Stock Photo.

The Ancient Greek World at War

For the ancient Greeks, the Peloponnesian War was a conflict involving the entire world. For Thucydides, it was a lesson in the realities of human nature

Plato’s Cave, Flemish school, 16th century. Bridgeman Images.

Plato’s Last Word to Dionysius

How to reform an ancient Greek tyrant? Plato’s final advice to Dionysius the Younger was not well received.

Automedon with the horses of Achilles, by Henri Regnault, 1868. Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Public Domain.

‘Epic of the Earth’ by Edith Hall review

Epic of the Earth: Reading Homer’s Iliad in the Fight for a Dying World by Edith Hall sees the signs of environmental collapse amid the adventures of Achilles.

Statue of Euripides in the Vatican. Photograph by James Anderson, 1859. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Public Domain.

Euripides’ Lost Plays

One of Greek tragedy’s ‘big names’, Euripides survives largely in scraps and fragments. What can 78 new lines from Ino and Polyidus reveal?

Young Spartan Girls Challenging Boys, by Edgar Degas, c. 1860. Art Institute of Chicago. Public Domain.

‘Sparta and the Commemoration of War’ and ‘The Killing Ground’ review

Two very different volumes, Sparta and the Commemoration of War and The Killing Ground: A Biography of Thermopylae, grapple with the myth of Sparta.