Reading time: 5 minutes
When we read about the Greco-Roman world, we often hear the stories of famous and wealthy men and women. But the letters of ordinary people, preserved on papyri in Egypt, show us what they were thinking and doing. Human nature, their contents suggest, hasn’t changed much.
Reading time: 5 minutes
In modern times, democracy is the word we use to refer to a system of government where the people elect representatives to push for their interests in the national assembly. Unlike in ancient times, in most modern countries with democratic forms of government most adults are eligible to take part in politics and vote for representatives.
Reading time: 7 minutes The Battle of Greece is a story of grit, determination, and sheer...
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This year is the 84th Anniversary of the Battle of Crete. The fighting around Rethymno will be...
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Reading time: 5 minutes
There are few geographical areas that have seen as much military action as the Gallipoli region, the site of the Anzac landings in 1915. The conflicts in the region include some of the most renowned wars from Greek antiquity.
Reading time: 6 minutes
With its oldest known version penned around 400 BCE, the Hippocratic Oath has a long and illustrious past. However, despite its age, the document remains very much alive, and new perspectives surrounding its language and purpose are constantly emerging.
Reading time: 6 minutes
When the small Greek town of Kuturla burned in 1943, teenage Sara Fortis had been on the run from German occupying forces for two years already. From the raw age of fourteen, she had hidden her Jewish status and worked for underground resistance movements as a nurse and teacher. But when her sanctuary burned, when she was separated from her mother, Fortis was no longer willing to hide. She was no longer willing to limit her resistance to ‘women’s work.’
Reading time: 5 minutes
Thucydides and Plato lived through the crisis of Athenian democracy and, not unlike Trump, informed posterity that the fate of their beloved Athens resulted from the systematic misinformation and mis-education of the citizens.
Reading time: 6 minutes
While in antiquity instances of bribery remained the exception – and were heavily punished – there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that attempts to manipulate the outcome of the competitions are as old as the Games themselves.
A skilled and determined soldier, Reg Saunders rose through the ranks to become Australia’s first Aboriginal commissioned officer. This podcast tells his story.
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Reading time: 5 minutes
Alexander the Great was a successful conqueror, but a poor planner. He died without an acceptable heir to inherit the empire, just a soon-to-be-born baby son, and a half-brother not quite up to the task.
Reading time: 7 minutes
I learned a lesson when conducting research for my book, “Family Papers: a Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century.” I had discovered the story of a young Jewish man forgotten to history until now, a story that taught me that neither cultural affiliation nor family history is a reliable predictor of future behaviour. In short, identity is not destiny, and all of us can fall prey to the tides of history.
