Roman swords (here shown is a type called Gladius Hispaniensis). One ancient writer described Ancient Roman training so difficult as to be “bloodless battles” and actual warfare as “bloody trainings.”
This painting, “The Soldier of Marathon”, by Luc-Olivier Merson (1869), shows a nude runner reporting a victory of the Ancient Athenians against the Persians. The…
My 700th post is another historically themed Christmas Carol. This painting is of the Islamic polymath, Ibn Abbad, who wrote many works of literature during…
Suicide has been met with approbation, criticism, horror, or distain, depending on the culture and circumstance of the act. In the Ancient Mediterranean world, elite…