Is Latin worth learning?
A teacher wanting to teach Latin has enquired whether it is worth doing because the subject has ‘such a bad…
The ancients would have approved of Durham’s prostitute plans
The ‘globally outstanding’ University of Durham has plans to help its undergraduates who pay their way by prostituting themselves. Three…
Greta and the gap between words and actions
Greta Thunberg and her supporters were loud in protest at COP26, but one wonders to what end. They demanded deeds,…
Could Cicero help MPs who can’t govern?
MPs are not exactly attracting plaudits for their recent attempts at governing. Perhaps Cicero’s three-book work On Duties (De Officiis)…
Would the ancient Greeks have agreed that children are born evil?
The ‘social mobility tsar’ Katharine Birbalsingh has suggested that children, born evil, ‘need to be taught right from wrong and…
The Globe, Plato and the corrupting force of art
The Globe theatre’s project to ‘decolonise’ Shakespeare, as if that would make plays like The Tempest ‘acceptable’ to them and…
Twitter has taken the place of the ancient curse-tablet
Twitter and other easily accessible means of online communication have encouraged the public to believe that Their Voice Will Be…
Aristotle’s account of hatred perfectly fits Sussex University students
Professor Kathleen Stock of Sussex University is accused by a group of students of being transphobic and a danger to…
What James Bond and Aristophanes have in common
So James Bond is back, doing exactly what he always does, inviting the audience into a fantasy world for the…
How the ancients handled refugees
Hardly a day goes by without headlines about immigrants, asylum-seekers and refugees. In the ancient world, movements of people were…
The ancients knew politicians were powerless
Why are cabinet ministers Liz Truss and Dominic Raab squabbling like children over access to grace-and-favour Chevening? Because they know…
Could Emma Raducanu be the new Marcus Rashford?
The extraordinary sporting achievement of Emma Raducanu and the response it has received from royalty and politicians alike makes one…
Why trees mattered to the ancients
A ‘State of the World’ report warns that a third of the world’s wild tree species are threatened with extinction.…
How the ancients showed their true colours
In the 18th century, art historians’ admiration for the beauty of white-ish ancient Greek marble statuary led people to draw…
The Romans would not have made the same mistakes in Afghanistan
‘No one is stupid enough to choose war over peace. In peace sons bury their fathers; in war, fathers bury…
The ancient Athenians knew how to soak the rich
Oxfam is arguing that if all billionaires forked out 99 per cent of their profits made during the Covid pandemic,…
The timeless appeal of Latin
The government’s promise to fund a pilot scheme promoting the teaching of Latin in secondary schools is music to the…
Simone Biles, Plutarch and an Olympic trial
The outstanding gymnast Simone Biles has pulled out of several Olympic events, saying: ‘I just don’t trust myself as much…
The Cambridge Greek Lexicon is an eye-opener for classical scholars
The great Latinist D.R. Shackleton Bailey was once said to have been pinned into a corner at a party and…
The Greeks had their reservations about the Olympics
Winners at the Olympics were thought to have come as close to a god as any man could. But that…
The ancient Greeks had no time for losers
Every red-blooded Englishman has believed that exercise in the open air is the finest prophylactic against popery, adultery and the…
How the ancients kept people behaving responsibly
The Prime Minister is urging citizens not to throw caution to the winds when lockdown ends on 19 July but…
What the Romans would have made of Diana’s statue
The recently unveiled funerary monument of Princess Diana prompts comparison with Greek and Roman archetypes. To many, Diana was a…
Tacitus and the hypocrisy of cancel culture
The delicious hypocrisy at the heart of today’s cancel fraternity is that it is strongly opposed to censorship. Romans grappled…
What the EU could learn from the Athenian Empire
The EU has regularly been likened to the Roman Empire. But its current direction suggests that the Athenian Empire (478-404…
