Ancient 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. 

Though originally set to music, we almost always encounter the Ancient Greek epics as mute texts. But now their songs can be heard again.

The priestesses of Delphi played a pivotal role in the religious life of the ancient Greek world, connecting the human to the divine. 

The survival of a recently discovered song by the early Greek poet is little short of a miracle, says David Gribble. How was it discovered and what does it add to our picture of a complex and elusive figure?

Aristotle is so synonymous with learning that he has been known simply as ‘the Mind’, ‘the Reader’ and ‘the Philosopher’. Admired by both Darwin and Marx, Edith Hall explores his life and legacy.

Paul Cartledge argues that all historiography can be seen as fictionalised and relishes the fact that novelists breathe new life into ancient worlds.

From sausage-sellers to suffragettes, questioning and puncturing our political leaders through satire has been essential for democracy ever since comedy was born in Ancient Greece, argues Edith Hall.

The romantic liaison between the great Amazon warrior queen and the conqueror of the known world has been much mythologised. But did such a pairing really happen?

Born in a period of discord and confusion, the Athenian historian looked forward to an age when the whole Greek world would be united under a single powerful leader.