

The vastness of Rome
For the Romans, without modern modes of transport, the world must have felt like a much larger place. For many, however, this was no impediment to setting out.

Margaritas
Etymology for a summer-time drink in late autumn
Although the tequila-filled citrusy cocktail drank everywhere that the weather is warm got its name from a Spanish term for a flower, its etymology runs farther than the Iberian Peninsula.

Crouching Aphrodite
Sculptures featuring the goddess Aphrodite (Venus) crouching were popular in the Graeco-Roman world. Why would that be?

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
A look at the loading screen hints
On the loading screens, the game presents you with randomized “hints”, including historical tidbits. Let’s look at those for a moment.

Ancient Greek heroes at play
An Attic black-figure amphora by Exekias
A scene on an Attic amphora depicts the ancient Greek heroes Achilles and Ajax playing a game to while away the hours at Troy. But what kind of board game are they playing?

Together forever
Publius Aiedius Amphio and his wife
We take a closer look at a realistic portrait of a Roman Republican couple from ca. 30 BC, identified as Publius Aiedius Amphio and his wife.

Royal Game of Ur
Two gameboards from the Royal Tombs of Ur, a Sumerian city-state in what is now Iraq, date back to 2600–2400 BC.

Roman cataract surgery
The Romans possessed the knowledge and technical skill necessary to treat cataracts to a decent extent.

A Cypriot chariot in Amsterdam
The Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam features a reconstruction of a chariot found in a tomb on the island of Cyprus.

A visit to Pompeii
The ruins of Pompeii offer an unrivalled look at everyday life in a small Roman city of the first century AD.