No, I don’t mean making fun of the elderly (get off my lawn!). I mean that, since the divine social media algorithms have finally figured I respond best to memes about antiquity, here are some of the funniest I’ve seen recently 😁 Quick aside: did you know that In Victrix, the third full-length Felix Mystery […]
Ancient Greece
Book Review: Ancient Magic: A Practical Guide to Spells, Potions, and Power, by Philip Matyszak
I love Matyszak’s way of non-fiction story-telling, making antiquity highly accessible. The subject of this particular work is also very dear to me, and I can’t believe I missed it. Come to think about it, looking at the publication date, I can’t help but wonder if he wrote it specifically for me after an online […]
Book Review: A Year in the Life of Ancient Greece, by Philip Matyszak
I adore Matyszak’s works for bringing daily life in antiquity to the modern reader. Our perceptions of life in the classical era are influenced so much by contemporary writers that were from and concerned with the 1% plus Hollywood’s misappropriation and misrepresentation, that Matyszak’s works are a breath of fresh air. What to Expect The […]
Book Review: Alexander at the World’s End, by Tom Holt
I loved Holt’s more fantasy works (especially under his KJ Parker pen-name), so was eager to try his pure historical fiction. What to Expect This is a story about the world Alexander the Great lived in (or left in ruins, depend on how you look at it), rather than about Alexander himself. It reads almost […]
Book Review: Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World, by Philip Matyszak
Matyszak is one of my favourite historians (because archaeologists and historians are much more deserving of celebrity culture than actual celebrities 😜), and I loved previous books of his. This books offers a review of people and nations you’ve probably heard of in passing, and promises to give you a deeper understanding of those forgotten […]
Ancient Discoveries to Rock Your Boat (you’ll get the joke later)
Welcome to your favourite collection of ancient oddities — where the plagues are firmly history 🙂 I won’t bother you with Stuff To Learn During Quarantine. I figured your social feed is chock full of that stuff anyway, and you would have seen it. Same with actual historical information about historical plagues, because, again, everyone’s […]
Book Review: 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, by Eric H. Cline
I watched Cline’s lecture on the topic (see below) and found it fascinating, so wanted to follow up with reading more details. This book should be required reading to anyone interested in the bronze age and antiquity. What to Expect Cline starts with an over-view of the collapse of the Late Bronze Age, and then […]
The Importance of Space
Today, we are used to seeing the ruins of ancient Roman and Greek building like in this picture: a few columns and a broken outer shell, the pieces erected back by modern archaeologists to give us a sense of the ancient grandeur. But what was it like, when those buildings were living, breathing spaces, used […]
Book Review: 24 Hours in Ancient Athens, by Philip Matyszak
I’ve read a couple of Matyszak’s fictional-non-fiction works before, and I find his style refreshing. 24 Hours in Ancient Athens doesn’t disappoint, and delivers an excellent education resources – packaged in easy to consume storytelling. What to Expect This isn’t fiction in the normal sense – no plot and characters as such. Instead, Matyszak reconstructs […]
Ancient Texts
Today’s post collects interesting articles on the subjects on ancient texts. From high-tech reading of ancient Roman scrolls to medieval books made now available (and down to some really pissed-off bronze age customers), we have an amazing selection for lovers of words. Protect yourself! First, let’s start with a bit of fun. Every author these […]