How are you? And your wife? And what has become of XY? The private letters written in Egypt over 2,000 years ago are not very different from today’s. Official documents also show few differences, as they address topics such as land purchases or a wife’s possessions in the event of separation. Carolin Arlt holds a […]
Hellenistic period
Golden Tongues and Nails in Mummies from the Ptolemaic Period, Found by Archaeologists from the University of Barcelona in Egypt
The joint Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission has revealed a series of unique discoveries from the Ptolemaic period in the archaeological region of Al-Bahnasa, in the Minya governorate of Egypt. This work, led by the University of Barcelona and the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies, has uncovered tombs decorated with colorful inscriptions and ritual scenes, as […]
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, […]
Sacred tunic of Alexander the Great identified in one of the Macedonian tombs at Vergina in Greece
A recent discovery in Tomb II at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece, has revealed what appears to be the sacred “chiton” or tunic of Alexander the Great, a finding that could change the historical understanding of artifacts associated with the famous conqueror. A group of archaeologists, led by Antonis Bartsiokas from Democritus University of Thrace, identified a […]
Ai-Khanoum: The Lost Greek City in Afghanistan
At the confluence of the Kokcha River and the Amu Darya, in northern Afghanistan’s Takhar province, lie the ruins of Ai-Khanoum (which means “Moon Princess”). This ancient settlement was home to a major Hellenistic city from the late 4th century BC to the mid-2nd century BC, whose original name remains unknown (some researchers propose Estobara, […]
Termessos, the Impregnable Mountaintop City Alexander Never Conquered
Located about twenty kilometers from Antalya, in the Güllük Dağı National Park, there is a place called Karabunar Kiui, where the Archaeological Site of Termessos is located. It hosts the well-preserved remains of the ancient city of Termessos, a city-fortress that mythology attributes to the founding by the Homeric hero Bellerophon, and whose location at […]
The Frenzied Life of Ptolemy Ceraunus, the Man Who Ended the Last Successor of Alexander the Great
He was disinherited from the Egyptian throne, organized an expedition to overthrow his brother-in-law in Thrace, murdered the ally who helped him, married his own stepsister, killed her children, briefly ruled in Macedonia, and ultimately lost his life because, in his reckless impetuosity, he did not wait for reinforcements in his last battle, ending with […]
A Small Hellenistic Gold Ring with a Garnet Found in an Exceptional State of Preservation in Jerusalem
A stunning piece of ancient jewelry, a small gold ring adorned with a precious red gemstone, believed to be a garnet, has been uncovered in archaeological excavations in the City of David, part of the Jerusalem Walls National Park. This remarkable find dates back approximately 2,300 years to the early Hellenistic period. The gold ring, […]
Tomb of a Macedonian Hetairoi and his Wife Discovered in Aigai
During the construction of a sewage network, another tomb of a local noble, buried with his wife, was found in the area of Aigai, the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom. It is the 14th tomb discovered at the site. This and other significant findings unearthed by last year’s archaeological excavations at the Aigai necropolis […]
The Canopus Decree, the Inscription that Attested to the Existence of Ancient Heracleion and Created the Leap Years
The famous Rosetta Stone, which enabled the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphs, was found by Napoleon’s troops who invaded Egypt in 1799. It wouldn’t be long before many other similar steles and inscriptions began to appear, all with texts in two languages (Egyptian and Greek) and three writing systems (hieroglyphs, demotic, and Greek). The Rosetta Stone […]