Ancient Rome
What the newspapers reported in ancient Rome
Nero’s personal amphitheatre, recently discovered near the Vatican, was praised to the skies in the ancient Romans’ ‘newspaper’. The historian…
Gothic lives matter: BBC2’s Civilisations reviewed
Anybody growing weary of the debate surrounding the BBC’s unexamined assumptions and biases about modern politics might have expected to…
The golden thread between Donald Trump and Nero
Donald Trump has knocked down the east wing of the White House and is turning it into his Golden Ballroom.…
How to succeed, Roman-style
Whatever Prince Andrew has done, the succession to our throne is secure. How envious the Roman emperor Augustus would have…
What would the Romans have made of Trump’s state visit?
The Roman historian Tacitus commented that the visit of an Armenian king to Rome to clinch a deal in ad…
How Athens handled asylum seekers
Since, in the absence of border posts, people in the ancient world could come and go at will, refugees and…
The ancient dangers of ‘proscription’
‘Proscription’ appears to be the current word of the month. But what does it mean? The Latin scribo means ‘I…
Pope Leo XIV – lion or a pussycat?
Will Pope Leo turn out to be a lion or a pussycat? That depends on what he has to confront,…
Why won’t Hitler conspiracies die?
Eighty years ago, as Red Army shells rained down over Adolf Hitler’s Reich Chancellery garden, a group of his remaining…
How Roman emperors handled hair loss
Donald Trump’s obsessive ‘awhairness’ makes one wonder: why is it so important to him? The topic was of some interest…
Trick or treat
A Today programme presenter used the term imperium (cf. ‘emperor’) with reference to Donald Trump’s desire to annex Greenland. To…
Do Gen Z really want to be ruled by a dictator?
Generation Z(oomer), aged roughly between 13 and 28, have expressed a desire to be ruled by a dictator. That term…
Lessons for Keir Starmer from Cicero
The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and his chosen Attorney-General, Baron Hermer, both professional lawyers, seem to take the view…
Elon Musk is wrong about the Roman Empire
I was in Washington D.C. during The Election, living halfway between the Capitol and White House. Concerned friends suggested I…
The Roman roots of the Dulwich Wood Penis Gang
If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise… in Dulwich Wood – a charming…
There was more to real-life gladiators than fighting
Many commentators have criticised the film Gladiator II on technical aspects of the fighting. But there was so much more…
They weren’t all scheming poisoners: the maligned women of imperial Rome
Joan Smith criticises the distortions of Robert Graves in particular, whose villainisation of the empress Livia had no historical basis whatever
What would the Romans have made of Keir Starmer’s freebies?
An ancient Greek, counting up the value of the gifts that Sir Keir Starmer had received over his spotless political…
The lessons of Grenfell
We have been told that committees will meet, urgent discussions will be held, the guilty will be punished, and steps…
Should Labour be messing with the school curriculum?
Labour’s new education secretary wishes, as usual, to change everything. She might consider the advice of the Roman educationist Quintilian…
A fiery examination of the damage wrought by internet culture
Historically, when a woman was giving birth, she was attended by the women she trusted most, including her child’s prospective…
Love it or loathe it – the umami flavour of anchovy
The anchovy is everywhere now, lacing salads, pizzas and appetizers. But in the past it was often denigrated in the West as bitter, putrid and ‘a worthless little fish’
