Ancient and modern
What the next prime minister could learn from Cyrus the Great
As Tory hopefuls bid to become prime minister, they might like to reflect on Cyrus the Great (r. 557-530 bc),…
Boris Johnson may have found an advocate in ancient Greece
Boris Johnson is to be tried at the Crown Court on the grounds that, during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign,…
Plutarch’s advice for the Tory leadership candidates
The MPs wishing to replace Theresa May as prime minister have policies — but do they know what their electorate…
Roman entertainment was far more exploitative than Jeremy Kyle
The Romans were as aware as Jeremy Kyle was of the pleasure that people could get from situations in which…
How the ancients kept their minds young
In her cover story last week, Camilla Cavendish argued that we could keep mentally fit in old age through ‘physical…
Like Theresa May, Claudius struggled to know who to trust
After the sacking of Gavin Williamson, a former No. 10 insider said of Theresa May: ‘One of Theresa’s big faults is…
Lessons from the Greeks on rebuilding Notre Dame
As soon as the blaze that nearly brought down Notre Dame was extinguished, two questions were asked: how did it…
Celsus, St Peter and the curiosities of Christianity
Last week Tom Holland reflected on the ‘utter strangeness’ of Christianity’s claim that Christ’s death on the cross was a…
Marriage is becoming more like it was before Christianity
The Christian church ordained that marriage, a sacrament imparting divine grace, was for life. In 1857, the state enacted its…
What would Jon Snow have said about the Athenian assembly?
Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow announced at a recent ‘Leave’ rally that he had never seen so many white…
Can ancient Greek comedians tell us how to leave the EU?
Since comedians these days seem to be the authorities on all matters spiritual and temporal (puts on funny voice, knife-crime…
The fake names on the Remain petition are nothing new
The petition calling on the UK to remain in the EU has garnered 8,000 votes from Jacob Rees-Mogg and 700…
Unlike MPs, Cicero understood the meaning of sovereignty
The problem with Brexit is that parliament is not designed to do what the people have commanded it to. MPs…
As the Romans knew, eternal life is hopeless without eternal youth
A research professor has pointed out that lengthening human lifespan threatens to turn us into living zombies unless we can…
Can you really teach students to solve knife crime?
Next year the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) will offer one degree, in design, technology and the humanities, to teach students…
The aim of the Games
The Olympic Committee has added surfing, skateboarding and break-dancing to the events for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.…
May needs to get dramatic over Brexit – and fast
It is becoming clearer by the day that Mrs May was right not to consult her colleagues, let alone the…
![Opposition supporters take to the streets against Nicolás Maduro [GETTY IMAGES]](https://spectatorau.imgix.net/content/uploads/2019/02/A_M.jpg?auto=compress,enhance,format&crop=faces,entropy,edges&fit=crop&w=410&h=275)
How to get away with being a tyrant
Last week, in an effort to understand what that left-wing hero Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela, must be suffering, Hieron,…
Poor old Nicolás Maduro
However much he is heroised by left-wingers, the Venezuelan ‘tyrant’ Nicolás Maduro must wonder what is in it for him.…
Sick of award ceremonies? So were the ancients
All over the world, from Armenia (the Silver Apricot) to India (the Golden Conch) and the UK (the Shaftas, honest),…
The rejection of the people’s mandate – then and now
The Transport Secretary Chris Grayling may be quite right (not words one often reads) to warn that failure to deliver…
Those tempted to turn over a new leaf this year should remember Aesop’s fables
At this time of year the media urge us all to turn over a new leaf and believe that we…
How the year began
Why are our years structured as they are? Censorinus in his de die natali (‘Birthday Book’) for his chum Caerellius…
What would Jesus’s childhood have been like?
Around 1 ad a 14-year-old Jewish Arab girl called Maryam, almost certainly in Nazareth in Galilee, gave birth to a…
Socrates vs Steve Bannon
The country’s champions of free speech — the police — were recently out in force to ensure that the alt-right…
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