Plato would have been appalled by Newcastle University
Newcastle University is advertising for a Director of Academic Advising, which will offer guidance that is ‘inclusive, compassionate, and genuinely…
An Ancients’ guide to sexual incontinence
King’s College Cambridge has lost (according to the papers) a ‘famous’ classicist, who resigned because he slobbered wet kisses all…
Is the Pont-Neuf bridge the new Plato’s cave?
An artist, J.R., working with something called Snap Inc., has covered the Pont-Neuf bridge in Paris with a gigantic tarpaulin…
Welcome to Diocletian’s cashless society
Money is a pagan god because it has value only as long as people believe it does. Refuse to believe,…
Did Plato invent women’s lib?
One could go on endlessly about what the ancients have done for us, but one of the most interesting things…
Rome vs Jeff Bezos’s yacht
Rumour has it that Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is selling his agreeable little yacht Koru because it will…
The Romans would tax anything
When Nero committed suicide in ad 68, he left Rome deep in debt after military campaigns, building himself a fabulous…
Zack Polanski must dream of Athens’s radical democracy
A Greek essayist c. 420 BC argued that Athens’s radical democracy, giving the vote to every adult male citizen, resulted…
How to become a god: a user’s guide
Even the most Magaddicted Maga supporter might have had doubts about Donald Trump depicted as Jesus healing a sick man…
Space travel, ancient Greek style
Apollo, Artemis and Orion have not been named at random. The first two are brother and sister, and all three…
What do you do with a captured soldier?
What do you do with a captured soldier? In 255 BC, fighting the Carthaginians, the Roman consul and general Marcus…
The Trumpian appeal of a Trojan horse
Given the tonnage of missiles launched at Iran, it seems remarkable how relatively few Iranians have been killed. But the…
What does liberalism mean any more?
A discussion has broken out about the end of liberalism and emergence of the age of the tyrant. Our political…
The ancient Greeks are to blame for the Oscars
The Oscars mark the end of the awards season, with their annual rituals of self-applause to which actors are so…
How the poor survived in ancient Rome
Those for whom the welfare state does not provide as much welfare as they would like might care to reflect…
Greek tips on how to beat Iran
In 500 BC, Persia (modern Iran) was the most powerful state in the known world, ruling an area of more…
Is Al Carns rich enough for the Romans?
Some Labour MPs are demanding that Colonel Alistair Carns, a former Royal Marine who served in the military for 24…
How the Romans picked their friends
What a lot of friends Jeffrey Epstein appears to have had! But what did friendship mean to him? Was it…
Why not privatise tax collection?
Twice a year the taxman comes to call, exhibiting all the bossy incompetence one expects from the government machine. Why…
How Romans would have known how to deal with Epstein
To look through Jeffrey Epstein’s curriculum vitae on Google is to be left goggling at how this revolting creature could have…
Where Trump would have stood on Athens vs Sparta
In 416 BC in its war against Sparta, Athens instructed the fleet to break the small island of Melos’ alliance…
Only divine intervention can save Labour
A party that can foretell the future stands a very good chance of success. Given Labour’s record of U-turns, they…
The ancient case for a referendum on assisted dying
One rather hopes the assisted dying bill will be talked out in the House of Lords. We have no say…
What a shame Andrew Tate didn’t live in ancient Greece
Has any public figure of recent memory ever admitted to feeling shame for anything they have said or done? As…
How the ancients anticipated the apocalypse
What with the threat of global warming and nuclear war, the new year might start with a big bang. The…
