Some reflections on ancient Greek attitudes to children as revealed in selected literature of the pre-Christian era
This study examines the ancient Greeks’ attitudes to children during the Classical and Hellenistic periods. The investigation is limited to literary sources in selected pre-Christian texts.
Alexander the Great and West Nile Virus Encephalitis
Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 323 BC. His death at age 32 followed a 2-week febrile illness. Speculated causes of death have included poisoning, assassination, and a number of infectious diseases.
Scapegoat Rituals in Ancient Greece
The Greek scapegoat rituals have often been discussed. The so-called Cambridge school in particular, with its lively and morbid interest in everything strange and cruel, paid much attention to it.’ Our own time too has become fascinated once again by these enigmatic rituals…
The Death of Cleopatra
This article, which focuses on the last days of Cleopatra and Antony, draws much of its evidence from the writing of Plutarch, a Greek who lived roughly a century after Cleopatra and based his information on contemporary texts which are no longer extant, and on the memoirs of Cleopatra’s physician, Olympus.
The Deadly Styx River and the Death of Alexander
Plutarch, Arrian, Diodorus, Justin, and other ancient historians report that rumors of poisoning arose after the death of Alexander in Babylon in 323 BC.
Medical theories on the cause of death in crucifixion
It has been used in many parts of the world and in many time periods; but is perhaps best known today as a cruel method of social control and punishment in the Roman Empire around 2000 years ago.
Causes of death among the Caesars (27 BC-AD 476)
This article investigates the causes of the deaths of the emperors who ruled the Empire from Rome over a period of 503 years.
Bioarchaeology in the Roman World
In particular, human skeletal remains, which can elucidate various past behaviors through careful scienti?c analysis, have largely been ignored as a credible source of information about the ancient Roman world of both the living and the dead.
Golden Verses: Voice and Authority in the Tablets
Golden Verses: Voice and Authority in the Tablets Richard P.Martin (Stanford) Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics: April (2007) Abstract This paper attempts to…
Epigraphy and demography: birth, marriage, family, and death
When it comes to ancient demography, documentary evidence takes center stage. Our present focus on epigraphy notwithstanding, it must be stressed that it is papyrology that has made the single most substantial contribution to our understanding of early populations.