
No time like the present
Things aren't as bad as you might think
It’s the end of the year. You might think the world is awful and getting worse. But that isn’t the case. In fact, it’s great and only getting better.

Odysseys in space
A cornerstone of world literature, the main idea behind Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey has been recycled as the basis for a few science-fiction TV shows.

Ancient science fiction
The Verae Historiae (“True Histories”) by Lucian of Samosata is widely considered the world’s oldest known work of science fiction.

Colours of the ancient world
Modern museums more and more emphasize the fact that the statues of the ancient world were originally painted in vivid colours.

Recycling old glory
The Arch of Constantine
Located in the Forum Romanum, the triumphal arch of Emperor Constantine is, like the ruler himself, a mixture of the old and the new.

An accidental centaur?
Most of the Late Geometric Greek vases in the popular consciousness are precise and finely decorated. But sometimes, even Greek vase painters made mistakes.

Inside the Red Pyramid at Dashur
The Red Pyramid is one of the pyramids constructed by King Sneferu (ca. 2600 BC), located at Dashur. In ancient times, Dashur was the location of an ancient necropolis.

Caracalla's scowl
With the death of Commodus in AD 192, a new family, the Severans, came to rule the Roman Empire. One of them was Caracalla. Looking at his portraits, one has to ask: why the angry face?

A note on the “Dark Age”
Matthew Lloyd’s recent article on why he studies the Greek “Dark Age” elicited comments about his use of that phrase that deserve to be dealt with briefly.

The ancient Greek hoplite
Roel Konijnendijk, Joshua Hall, Matthew Lloyd, Owen Rees, and Josho Brouwers talk about the ancient Greek hoplite.