Within the context of the ancient Greek world, the Hellenistic period conventionally starts with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and ends with the Battle of Actium in 31 BC.

A neglected warrior
A new book on Pyrrhus
Rome fought many wars in its rise to Mediterranean dominance. One of the most important has been neglected in modern scholarship, in part because we have few sources for it. But Patrick Alan Kent has written a new book about the war with Pyrrhus.

The culture of ancient scholarship
A book review
The scholastic lifestyle is not a development of the modern world. It was a characteristic of the ancient world, and deserving of a detailed look. This article reviews a new book that studies how scholars operated in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

The city on the mountain
Exploring ancient Lato
The remains of the ancient city of Lato in Crete are well worth visiting. This archaeological site, located in the mountains, features the remains of houses, public buildings, and public spaces.

Battle of the Frogs and Mice
A new edition by Joel Christensen and Erik Robinson
This edition of the Batrachomyomachia (“Battle of the Frogs and Mice”) edited and translated by Joel Christensen and Erik Robinson, and published by Bloomsbury, is nothing short of exemplary.

Mercenaries in the ancient world
Experts Stephanie Craven and Hannah Ringheim join regular team members Joshua Hall and Josho Brouwers to talk about mercenaries.

Understanding Greek Warfare
A new book by Matthew A. Sears
It is not easy to summarise Greek warfare in a single work. Matthew Sears’ Understanding Greek Warfare pulls it off by not rattling any cages.

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

Arsinoe II Philadelphus
The archetype of Hellenistic Queenship
Arsinoe II, daughter of Ptolemy I and an enduring figure of the Lagid dynasty, became the model for succeeding Ptolemaic queens.

Was Cleopatra beautiful?
The idea that Cleopatra, the famous last queen of ancient Egypt, owed her powerful position to her beauty persist, but why does her appearance really matter?

The acropolis of Ialysos
An ancient sacred place
Throughout the centuries, the acropolis of Ialysos has been the site of a number of religious buildings. Let’s take a look at these structures.