The classical tradition has long excluded anyone who wasn’t white. But a succession of Black female artists have attempted to broaden these ossified boundaries.
As they do today, threats of destruction loomed in ancient Pompeii.
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New technology mapped the buried ancient Roman site of Falerii Novi. Now archaeologists have started targeted excavation and soil testing to reveal details of life from more than 2,000 years ago.
The domed neoclassical Capitol building was inspired by European cathedrals and the Roman Pantheon – shrines to imperial power, not rule by and for the people.
The role of witches in society relates directly to the role of women in society. And during times of social upheaval and changes, witches represent access to women’s power.
Last year’s AFL premiers were definitely not socially distancing.
AAP/Michael Dodge
Crowds, albeit smaller ones, will again watch the AFL and NRL grand finals. Crowds can bring people together but, since the time of the Roman republic, they have also expressed political dissent.
An Egyptian winged scarab amulet (circa 1070 –945 BC).
Believed to possess magical qualities, amulets were once widely used. They range from amber pendants worn during Denmark’s Mesolithic age to wind chimes found at Pompeii.
Melbourne’s State Library under lockdown. The wisdom of Seneca can help us through this difficult time.
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Coins have always conveyed a message and, helpfully for historians, they are anchored to a specific time and space. Rome’s emperors used coins to push their political agendas.
Everything you ever wanted to know about the big G.
Model of Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, Italy showing the poikilé, the large four-sided portico enclosing a garden with central pool.
Carole Raddato/Wikimedia
The British prime minister is fond of a common form of political rhetoric especially loved by the Romans: the promise of a ‘new age’.
The Romans have been denounced for their reverie in ‘vice’ but their hedonistic approach to love and sexuality should be celebrated
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Grecian love is often idealised as an respectable model for queer love. However, there’s more pleasure and reality to be found in ancient Rome’s dirtier version
Trump hugs the American flag at a 2019 convention of political conservatives.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
President Trump’s impeachment defense that the will of the president is no different from the will of the state and the good of the people has echoes in the decline of ancient Rome’s democracy.
Lecturer in Classical Studies, Institute of Classical Studies, University of London; Honorary Fellow, Macquarie University, School of Advanced Study, University of London