In the heart of the Attica region in Greece, nestled among the majestic hills of Mount Hymettus, lies an enigmatic place that has witnessed the passage of time and the devotion of ancient peoples. The Cave of the Nympholyptos is an archaeological site of exceptional historical and cultural importance. Surrounded by myths and sculptures carved […]
Ancient Greece
Posted inAncient Greece, Art
The Roman Mausoleum of Episkopi, which contained the sealed tomb of a woman named Neiko, has reached our times almost intact
In the heart of the Aegean Sea, on the quiet and solitary island of Sikinos, stands an architectural jewel that has witnessed two thousand years of history: the Mausoleum of Episkopi. This monument, dating back to the 3rd century AD, is not only a reflection of the grandeur of ancient Rome but also a window […]
Posted inAncient Greece
Agathocleia, the Greek Queen Who Ruled Northern India
Women were relegated to secondary roles in Ancient Greece, which is why most queenly names belong to mythology: Jocasta, Leda, Pelops, Gorgophone, Aglaea… A few historical ones could be added, but they ruled only as consorts, such as Stratonice of Cappadocia, Philistis, Nereis of Epirus, or Stratonice of Pergamum. However, during the Hellenistic Period, things […]
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Philopoemen, the “Last of the Greeks”, Who Finally Ended Sparta’s Power
In the same year, 183 BCE, two great figures of ancient military history passed away. One was the Roman Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus; the other, a Greek whose body was cremated in a ceremony of great solemnity, attended by emotional Achaean warriors, where the historian Polybius had the honor of carrying the urn containing the […]
Posted inAncient Greece
The Jaxartes River, the Battle Where Alexander Defeated the Scythians Using Catapults, Wounded and with Nearly His Entire Army Sick with Dysentery
As its name indicates, the Spanish Cape of Finisterre (finis terrae) was considered in Antiquity as the westernmost limit of the known world. But where was the eastern border located at that time? It was Alexander the Great who, in 329 BCE, established this boundary—at least in its northernmost part—of the Greco-Roman world, which remained […]
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Damo, the Philosopher Daughter of Pythagoras, to Whom He Entrusted All His Writings and Who Never Wanted to Sell Them, Preferring Poverty Over Gold
According to tradition, Damo was born in Croton, a prosperous city of Magna Graecia, around the year 535 BCE. She was the daughter of the renowned philosopher Pythagoras, founder of an influential philosophical and religious sect, and Theano (according to some sources, daughter of the famous athlete Milo of Croton), who was also a prominent […]
Posted inAncient Greece
Aristoxenus of Tarentum, the philosopher who authored the oldest known treatise on music, and healed by playing the flute
What was music like in antiquity? Today, we will explore the story of the man who is our primary source of knowledge about the music of Classical-Hellenistic Greece. He was a Peripatetic philosopher, a student of Aristotle, who was displeased when Aristotle chose someone else as his successor to lead the school. He healed by […]
Posted inAncient Greece
The Revolution of Time in the Hellenistic World: How Clock Time Spread in the 3rd Century BCE
At a time when the passage of time was dictated by the movement of the sun and the seasons, the introduction of “clock time” in Hellenistic Greece, around the 3rd century BCE, marked a radical shift in people’s daily lives. Historian Sofie Remijsen, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam, has delved into this phenomenon, […]
Posted inAncient Greece
The Laws of Charondas, the Greek-Sicilian Legislator Who Wrote Them in Verse
Legal language is harsh and convoluted for most people, a sentiment that law students who have to memorize laws would surely agree with. Would it be easier if these laws were written in verse? This was the belief of Charondas, a legislator from Antiquity, who applied it to the legal corpus he created for the […]
Posted inAncient Greece
Orsippus of Megara, the First Athlete to Compete Naked in the Olympic Games
A quick glance at any artwork from Ancient Greece gives an idea of the almost religious importance of nudity, and if we interpret the images literally, how widespread its practice was in many aspects of daily life. One of these, surely the most well-known, is sports; athletes competed naked in the games from the 8th […]
