Interpreting art

Take Roman family portraits, for example. Either they were on public display to advertise the social standing of the family, or they were objects of veneration in the cult of ancestor-worship; or both.…

Academic mass production

Every paper has to say something new. In the mass production of vehicle components, difference is defect. In the mass production of academic papers, difference is a requirement.…

Making a difference?

The wealth produced by Egyptian peasants was spent on warfare, monuments, and luxury. Egyptian artisans were despised as manual labourers. So Egyptian civilisation looked essentially the same in 30 BC as it had done in 3000 BC.…

The return of nature

Medieval people had a rather gloomy outlook: life was hard, the main thing was to avoid disaster, the future would probably be worse than the past.…

Unearthing a tyrant

And here is the weird thing. Polykrates is the greatest figure in Samian history. The Late Archaic age is the only time when the island could be considered a great power. And the archaeological imprint is truly awesome. Yet our local minibus driver didn’t even know the way to the…