Fallen Idols
In the ancient world, statues were not symbols of virtue and could take revenge on those who attacked them.
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.
The Temple of Artemis Burns
On 21 July 356 BC, the day Alexander the Great was said to have been born, the temple burned to the ground.
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.
The Parthenon is Blown Up
The Athenian temple was partly destroyed on 26 September 1687.
What Have The Greeks Ever Done For Us?
A reconsideration of our complicated relationship with ancient Greece, questioning how we view it through the lens of the 18th century.
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.