Romans
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…
The Romans would have been baffled by the Gaza protests
Why are people in the UK protesting about the situation in Gaza? Surely it should be because the helpless Gazans…
The Romans wouldn’t have put up with Thames Water
It is embarrassing to compare Thames Water’s efforts even to the Greeks, let alone the Romans. Most Greek cities got…
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…
Our new MPs should read Cicero
It would make a pleasant change if every elected MP was to make it their ambition to be honestus, Latin…
What British voters could learn from the Romans
When the forthcoming election result is announced, the triumphant party will presumably proclaim: ‘The British people have spoken!’ That will…
What we could learn from the classical courts
This year, in its annual Supreme Court moot trial of a famous ancient figure, the charity Classics for All charged…
Sic transit gloria mundi
Katherine Pangonis also traces the histories of Tyre, Antioch, Syracuse and Ravenna, once proud centres of government, trade and culture
Blowing hot and cold
A ‘Ghost Shop’ has appeared between Domino’s Pizza and Shoe Zone on Sunderland High Street. Look through the laminated window…
Skins in togas
I’ve been looking at the reviews so far of Sky’s new Romans series Domina and none seems to have noticed…
Pure genius
Of all the times and places to have been on the wrong side of history, I can’t imagine many worse…
Roman pop-up hospitals
The speed with which ‘model’ Nightingale hospitals have been designed and erected across the UK reminds one of the experts…
Roman funerals had real ‘emotional intelligence’
Today’s funerals, featuring shiny black hearses and top hats, lack (we are assured) ‘emotional intelligence’. Colourful coffins featuring pictures of…
Roman plebs would have known how to tackle Corbyn’s cabal
Jeremy Corbyn’s refusal to take serious action against Labour’s anti-Semitic members is no surprise: Marxists know who their friends are.…
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…
What did the Romans ever do for London?
When Bishop Guy of Amiens looked across the Channel in the 11th century he saw ‘teeming London [which] shines bright.…
The Roman road that came to define Britain
All roads lead to Rome, the saying goes. Well, all roads except for the Roman road of Watling Street, which…
A matter of life and death
Before he died, the former Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, reassured his diocese that he was ‘at peace and…
