Illustration of ancient Greek market with Acropolis in background

Economics in Ancient Greece

The modern term “economics” comes from the Greek word “oikonomia,” but the ancient Greeks had a very different way of thinking about material life.
Cicero Denounces Catiline in the Roman Senate by Cesare Maccari

Political Corruption in Athens and Rome

Bribery was widespread in the ancient world. That didn’t mean it was considered acceptable.
The Erechtheum

The Unusual, Unexpected Erechtheion

The Parthenon embodies the ideals of perfection Classical Greeks sought from architecture. The neighboring Erechtheion offers something else.
Geraint Lewis by kind permission of the Egypt Exploration Society

Pieces and Bits

What does it take to stage Cresphontes, a lost Euripides tragedy, when all that remains of it are a few fragments of papyrus?
A promotional image for Yellowjackets

Girls Gone Greek

The most influential character on Showtime’s Yellowjackets is the one who goes unnamed: Dionysus.
John Addington Symonds, 1889

Putting Gay Men Back Into History

In the late nineteenth century, historian John Addington Symonds fought back against his colleagues’ refusal to acknowledge historical same-sex relationships.
Odysseus und die Sirenen by Alexander Bruckmann, 1829

From Ancient Greece to a TikTok Trend

We know the sirens of Homeric Greece sang a seductive song, but what did they look like, and why are they going viral on social media?
Two Horsemen, Elgin Marbles at the British Museum

Wait, Why Are the Parthenon Marbles in London?

Lord Elgin went beyond his original mandate, amassing a vast store of treasures, one scholar notes.
The Feast of Achelous by Peter Paul Rubens, circa 1615

Feasting Tips From Ancient Greece

Many of us strive to avoid talking politics at a big holiday feasts. But in Homer's Greece, feasting was all about politics.
Martha Nussbaum interview

Martha Nussbaum: Overcoming Fear, Embracing Democracy

The American philosopher Martha Nussbaum’s new book, The Monarchy of Fear, examines the politics of primal fear in the 2016 election.