Peloponnese

Pylos: From princes to a palace in Messenia

Over the last century, Messenia in Greece has produced an extraordinary range of archaeological riches. Together, these finds showcase sumptuous burials and flourishing settlements, and shed vivid light on life during a pivotal period for the Mycenaean world. To find out more, Matthew Symonds spoke to Claire Lyons, Jack Davis, and Sharon Stocker.

Michael Ventris

Michael Ventris' decipherment of a mysterious ancient script, Minoan Linear B, was dubbed by The Times as ‘the Everest of Greek archaeology’…

Olympia mosaic

This week: Olympia

As fans of the world's most celebrated sporting contest know, the modern Olympic Games are no stranger to accusations of cheating. Things were no better, however, at the Ancient Olympics, the four-yearly panhellenic Games, which were first recorded in 776 BC and held at Olympia in the northwestern Peloponnese.

ABOVE The Altis, the sacred area of Olympia, was home to many monuments, such as here (in the foreground) the curving Philippeion, set up by Philip of Macedon after his victory over an independent Greece. Beyond is the Temple of Hera, built before the Temple of Zeus at the site.

The Changing Faces of Olympia

One of the most celebrated works of ancient Greek sculpture, Phidias’ statue of Zeus, was once housed in a temple at Olympia. Though this lost wonder was much admired by ancient visitors, it was not the only attraction at the site, for centuries the home of great panhellenic games. A new book by Judith Barringer explores the many transformations Olympia experienced, even before the creation of Phidias’ masterpiece, as David Stuttard reports.

Olympia: a cultural history

Review by Paul Christesen Olympia is not an especially large archaeological site (the entire excavated area measures less than 1km on a side), but it is nonetheless a particularly complex one. Activity at the site began in the 4th millennium…

The Spartans

Ancient historian Paul Rahe, whose monumental history of Sparta is just out, analyses the origins of the feared Spartan hoplite phalanx.

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This week: Ancient technology

One of the exciting things about archaeology is that, just occasionally, something truly extraordinary comes along which radically changes the way we think about the past. One such moment came in 1900, when sponge divers working around the Greek island of Antikythera happened upon a shipwreck containing the single most important object of high technology ever recovered from the ancient world.

BELOW A reconstruction of the 4th century Temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus.

Accessibility at ancient Greek sanctuaries

A study of the architecture of ancient Greek temples and sanctuaries dedicated to healing has determined that these spaces were deliberately made accessible to individuals with impaired mobility. Individuals with mobility impairments were relatively common in ancient Greek society, as…

ABOVE Persian warriors of the Great King, as depicted on a frieze formed of glazed brick in the Pergamon Museum. The Persian Empire was the largest yet known, with vast resources of manpower and treasure. But the Greek military system, based on the hoplite phalanx, proved superior to the Persian army.

The Persian Wars

In his second article, Paul Rahe analyses Sparta’s response to the mortal challenge posed by the Persian invasions of the early 5th century BC.

Timeline: the Spartans

Traditional foundation date for Olympic Games c.776 BC Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey composed c.750 BC Sparta conquers Messenia c.700 BC Messenian Revolt followed by Spartan Reconquest c.650 BC At this time, radical changes took place in Sparta,…

Above and right A bronze shield from Scotland and a bronze trumpet from Denmark. Fine metalwork of this kind heralds the existence of a Europe wide warrior elite in the Late Bronze Age.

The Land between the Oceans: ships, metals and warriors (Part Two)

In the second part of our mini-series based on Barry Cunliffe’s new book Europe between the Oceans, our focus is the period c.2800-140 BC. We see the rise and fall of great civilisations, and a looming clash between a Mediterranean-based superpower and the Celtic peoples of Iron Age Europe. Once again, it is the movement of people, goods, and ideas that is central to Cunliffe’s vision of Europe’s distinctive history.

Olympic link on Antikythera Mechanism

In CWA 30 we reported on recent research to understand the 2,000 year old scientific instrument salvaged from a Roman ship that sank off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera in the 1st century BC. Since then, Mike…