The most studied aspect of the ancient world is its political history. Whether it’s a critical narrative of Roman history or a detailed look at the structure of the polis, politics are central. But how we understand politics and its ostensibly substantive equivalent, the state, is no less subjective than any other aspect of historical analysis. However, this subjectivity is often overlooked.

The Greek-mythology themed game Hades was fully released by Supergiant Games in September 2020, and has since been named “Game of the Year” by several gaming publications. What is it about this story of the son of Hades fighting his way out of the underworld that appealed in a year from hell?

Following the assault of the Capitol Building in Washington DC last week, comparisons with past events have been made that are generally facile and fruitless. Instead, we should seek to explain how violence worked in the past to understand and change the present.

J.R.R. Tolkien described The Lord of the Rings as a fundamentally Catholic work. But a close reading of the epic novel reveals many more influences, including a connection between Mithras and the wizard Gandalf, whose Elvish name is Mithrandir.

Immortals: Fenyx Rising is a very entertaining video game set in an open world inspired by Greek mythology, created by the same team who brought us Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey.

While 2020 has been a difficult year for most of us, it was also a very successful year for Ancient World Magazine, and we are filled with hope for the future.