All good things must come to an end. I wrap up this series on Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey with a look at the associated books.

Few Greek vases have spawned as much discussion as one found in Cerveteri and dating to the seventh century BC.

Were the Spartans really so great in war? What are the roots of their image as invincible super-soldiers? A deep dive into their history and institutions shows that there is some truth, but also a great deal of distortion.

A well-known legend of early Rome describes Horatius Cocles almost single-handedly defending a bridge against Etruscan aggressors.

One of the plaster casts currently in the Allard Pierson in Amsterdam is of a relief that depicts a group of warriors engaged in a dance.

The last king of Egypt’s New Kingdom managed to stave off threats from without before being brought down by a conspiracy from within.

After the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces in ca. 1200 BC, there is little evidence for destruction on this scale until the late eighth century.

Our idea of the Greek way of war is changing. My book sets out a new interpretation of the iconic hoplite’s battle tactics.

“Hoplites” of the seventh century BC were “men of bronze”. A few centuries later, they had shed most of their armour, as a marble lekythos in Leiden shows.

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