Spells, charms, erotic dolls: love magic in the ancient Mediterranean
Erotic spells were a popular form of magic. Professional magic practitioners charged fees for writing erotic charms, making enchanted dolls (sometimes called poppets), and even directing curses against rivals in love.
The Gymnasion in the Hellenistic East: Motives, Divergences, and Networks of Contacts
This thesis is a socio-cultural study of the Greek gymnasion in the Hellenistic period: its development, the factors that underpinned its adoption, and the role of native educational practices in that process.
How to climb the social ladder in ancient Rome
Roman society was, in fact, highly stratified throughout and people of all social levels went to great lengths to better their lot in life and climb the social ladder.
Beards of Bygone Eras
Beards of Bygone Eras By Dylan Siebert Labyrinth, Issue 92 (2005) Excerpt: One very important trendsetter from antiquity was Alexander the Great, who is…
Putting the Bride to Bed
The procreation of children was acknowledged as the purpose of a Roman legal marriage. So it is not surprising that the climax of the wedding was the moment when the bride and bridegroom went to bed together.
EXHIBITS – Defining Beauty: The Body in Ancient Greek Art
My review of the British Museum’s – Defining Beauty: The Body in Ancient Greek Art which explores daily life, gender, sexuality, athleticism, heroism, and the social and political ideologies the Greeks espoused through their views on the human form.
A Youth Organization in the Roman Empire
In Roman Egypt, 14-year-old boys were enrolled in a youth organization in order to learn to be good citizens.
Cultural memory and imagination: dreams and dreaming in the Roman Empire 31 BC – AD 200
This study explores the place of dream reports, and indeed dreams themselves, within the cultural memory and imagination of the Roman Empire.
REVIEW: Ancient Lives – New Discoveries at the British Museum
This is a review of the Ancient Lives: New Discoveries exhibit at the British Museum until November 30th, 2014.
A Lady of York: migration, ethnicity and identity in Roman Britain
Modern methods of analysis applied to cemeteries have often been used in our pages to suggest generalities about mobility and diet. But these same techniques applied to a single individual, together with the grave goods and burial rite, can open a special kind of personal window on the past.