Hemlock Poisoning and the Death of Socrates: Did Plato Tell the Truth?
It is a remarkable account, rich in emotive power and in clinical detail. But is it true?
Did Alexander the Great read Xenophon?
Did Alexander read Xenophon while being tutored by Aristotle? I
Muscularity and the Western Medical Tradition
If muscularity is then a uniquely Western focus, how did this emphasis arise? The prominence of fantastically muscular figures in Western art suggests that muscularity was seen as essential to human identity.
Who's Your Daddy? Explaining the Rise of Roman Criminal Law
As a staunchly patriarchal society, it can be said with confidence that Ancient Rome firmly adhered to the adage that ‘father knows best.’
A Persian Influence on the Greeks?
In the latter half of the sixth century B.C. parts of the Greek world came under the control of Achaemenid Persia through its conquests, such as the Greek cities of Asia Minor in 545.
Can Atoms Make You Happy?
The Greek philosopher Epicurus established his school in Athens in 306 BCE. He was a prolific writer; the one biography that survives, that of Diogenes Laertius, claims that the full body of his writings occupied around 300 books…
Quidam Cicero : the indebtedness of Augustine's doctor Christianus to Cicero's orator
When I set out to examine the relationship of Augustine and Cicero, I could not even
imagine the magnitude of such an undertaking. The connexion between these two authors and authorities of antiquity is not easy to gauge, possibly two of the greatest authors and authorities of Latin antiquity (they certainly count among the most prolific, with the majority works presreved).
The musical revolution of fifth-century Greece
Through a study of the ancient literature, most of which deals with music only incidentally, we will be able to understand how the New Music movement was encouraged by Greek culture, given an incentive by fifth-century society, and studied by some of the most brilliant philosophers and musicians Greek history has known.
Mapping the Crisis of the Third Century
The Greek philosopher and sophist Protagoras would surely not mind this reuse of one of his most famous statements. “Concerning the crisis of the third century, I have no means of knowing whether there was one or not, or of what sort of a crisis it may have been.
Was Pythagoras Ever Really in Sparta?
Did he really go to all of these places in person or did the Pythagorean movement make such claims in order to bolster their own credibility? Did others make similar claims for political and/or propagandistic reasons? Let us consider the sources as we have them.