
Africans in Bronze Age Crete?
The “Captain of the Blacks” fresco from Knossos
Small fragments of a fresco from Knossos were reconstructed by Arthur Evans as depicting an African warrior preceded by a figure with lighter skin designated the “Captain of the Blacks”. The reconstruction and the designation are, of course, not without their problems.

Competing for olive oil
A Panathenaic prize amphora
The Panathenaia was a festival organized in Athens to celebrate the city’s patron goddess, Athena. The prize for winning a competition was a large, black-figure amphora filled with olive oil.


The phallus and the Evil Eye
Phallic amulets in the Roman world
Phallic imagery was popular in ancient Roman society. In this article, Adam Parker explores their use as powerful amulets against malignant forces.

Studies in Bronze Age Aegean Archaeology
A book celebrating the career of John G. Younger
On the occasion of his retirement, Brent Davis and Robert Laffineur have put together a Festschrift to honour the life and career of Aegean archaeologist John G. Younger. Josho discusses the book and highlights some of his favourite chapters.

A face from the past
A plaster head from Mycenae
From the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae comes a plaster head of a figure with a penetrating gaze, white skin, and red rosettes on the forehead, cheeks, and chin. Who or what does this figure represent?

Challenging Zeus
The monstrous Typhon
Shortly after he had overthrown the Titans, Zeus was challenged by a monstrous creature: Typhon. The offspring of Gaia and Tartaros, Typhon was a monster with reptilian characteristics and the ability to breathe fire.

In memoriam
On the loss of one of Hercules’ fingers
The ancient Greek hero Hercules (or Herakles) might seem to have survived all of his encounters unscathed. However, one source suggests that his victory over the Nemean Lion came at a cost.


Body-armour of glued linen?
The origin of the idea of glued linen armour
Many people believe that the ancient Greeks used, among other things, armour that was made of layers of linen cloth glued together. But there is no ancient text linking linen armour and glue. No other culture made armour this way. So where does this idea come from?

Drink, talk, and praise the gods!
Cultural aspects of the Athenian symposium
The ancient Greek symposium was a drinking party in which the participants engaged in a number of activities. In this article, Daniel Woon focuses on cultural aspects of the symposium.

Exekias and the Aithiopis
Scenes from a lost epic on two black-figure amphoras
Following the action of the Iliad, the Trojan War continued in the Aithiopis, a lost epic in which Achilles fought and killed the Amazon Penthesileia and Memnon, king of the Ethiopians, before dying himself at the hands of the Trojan prince Paris. Two black-figure vases attributed to the potter and painter Exekias feature scenes from this epic.