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Sparta

From ancient to modern times the abominable violation of human rights has occurred. Referred today as human trafficking, it is nonetheless, a form of slavery, of human exploitation for personal or commercial gain. Source: Rick/Adobe Stock

From Sumerian Gods to Modern Day: The Long History of Slavery and Lost Children

The recent film Sound of Freedom is a fictionalized account of the true story of Tim Ballard, a former US Department of Homeland Security agent who founded the nonprofit organization Operation...
Dimitrios Katsikis pictured with one of his Greek armor creations. Credit: Dimitrios Karvountzis / Dimitrios Katsikis / Hellenic Armors.

Forging Forgotten Ancient Greek Armor (Video)

Dimitrios Katsikis, a self-taught master of the forgotten art of forging ancient Greek armor, is a time-keeper for the relics of yore. With his handcrafted tools and keen understanding of history, he...
Spartan warrior. Source: serhiibobyk / Adobe Stock.

Debunking the Myths of Ancient Sparta (Video)

The enduring myths surrounding Ancient Sparta are under scrutiny, revealing a more nuanced reality. Contrary to popular belief, the Battle of Thermopylae involved more than just 300 Spartan warriors...
Socrates and Alcibiades by Kristian Zahrtmann  (1910) Statens Museum for Kunst (Public Domain)

Athens’ Alcibiades: Charming Playboy, Conniving Politician Or Treacherous Opportunist?

Pericles and Alcibiades were both descendants of the Alkmeonidai, an ancient Athenian aristocratic family. Pericles (495 – 429 BC) was an influential Athenian politician and general in the fifth...
Spartan warrior. Source: Deivison / Adobe Stock.

This is Sparta: Fierce Warriors of the Ancient World (Video)

In the annals of military history, few names command as much respect and admiration as the Spartans . These ancient Greek warriors were legendary for their courage, skill, and ferocity on the...
Spartan woman with warrior in the background (serhiibobyk / Adobe Stock)

The Slaveholding City-State Of Sparta’s Liberated Women

On the face of it, Spartans might have felt right at home living under the iron fist of the Third Reich given that this city-state—more than any other in the Greek world—- sacrificed individuality on...
Athens at sunset. Source: gatsi / Adobe Stock

Athens, Home of Democracy: From Antiquity to Modernity

We often think of ancient Athens as being the home of democracy, the place where it all started. And this is true. But the shocking truth is that Athens has spent the vast majority of its existence...
The Greek goddess Eris inspired fear in everyone	Source: Likozor / Adobe Stock

Eris: The Gleeful Greek Goddess of Chaos and Discord

Many of the Greek gods and goddesses enjoyed inflicting in pain, suffering, and destruction, but few took as much joy in it as Eris. Eris was the Greek goddess of chaos, strife, and discord...
‘The selection of the infant Spartans’ (1840) by Giuseppe Diotti. The origins of eugenics are traced back to ancient Greece. Source: Public Domain

The Shocking Ancient Greek Origins of the Eugenics Movement

Eugenics, the science of selectively choosing human genetics, is most synonymous with the modern world and the horrors of Hitler’s ‘final solution’, in which millions of Jews and other ‘undesirable’...
Antiquity’s Fierce Child Warriors Who Died For Their Tribes

Antiquity’s Fierce Child Warriors Who Died For Their Tribes

Standing at the spearhead of many of history's greatest battles were battalions of grotesque weapon wielding, combat-trained children, as ready and willing as their parents to die for their city-...
Medea of Greek mythology about to kill her children, which is what infanticide is, in a painting by Eugène Delacroix.		Source: Eugène Delacroix / Public domain

Ancient Greeks Did Not Practice Infanticide Widely, Says Latest Study

“Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth,” is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels. One such lie has been the notion that Ancient Greeks regularly practiced...
Leonidas at Thermopylae, by Jacques-Louis David (1814). (Public Domain)

Thermopylae A Speedbump for the Persian War Machine

If there is a single event that made Sparta ’ s military legend a seminal moment when the ‘Bronze Lie’ was forged, it is the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, fought 10 years after Marathon . Nearly...
King Menelaus, seen here finding Helen at Troy, is best known as her husband.

Why We Should Remember Menelaus, the King Lost in his Wife’s Shadow

Menelaus, the mythological king of Mycenaean Sparta, is perhaps best remembered as the husband of Helen of Troy. While lost in his wife’s shadow, his story is inexorably entwined with that of the...
Ancient Greek warrior. Source: breakermaximus / Adobe Stock

Agamemnon: Greek King, Trojan War Leader and Man of Power

Agamemnon is a major figure in Greek mythology. He was a king of Mycenae, and the supreme commander of the Greeks during the Trojan War. Therefore, he plays a significant role in Homer’s Iliad . As a...
Alcibiades: The Shrewd Athenian Opportunist Of The Peloponnesian War

Alcibiades: The Shrewd Athenian Opportunist Of The Peloponnesian War

The famous city states of ancient Greece were filled with capable leaders, statesmen, generals, and heroes. Athens, one of the world’s oldest named and inhabited cities, became the leading city state...
The Story of Kyniska: The Spartan Princess Who Became An Olympic Hero

The Story of Kyniska: The Spartan Princess Who Became An Olympic Hero

The Olympic Games in ancient Greece were a true celebration of a healthy spirit. Originally held to honor the god Zeus, these sport festivities became one of the cornerstones of Western civilization...
Left: Modern man wearing a face mask to protect against coronavirus.

What Can the Plague of Athens Teach Us About Today’s Coronavirus?

The coronavirus is concentrating our minds on the fragility of human existence in the face of a deadly disease. Words like ‘epidemic’ and ‘ pandemic ’ (and ‘panic’!) have become part of our daily...
Statue of ancient Athens statesman Pericles

Pericles: The Charismatic and Powerful Politician of Ancient Greece

On the eve of his conception sometime in 495 BC, Pericles’ mother Agariste dreamed of giving birth to a lion. It was then, months later, Pericles was born. Pericles (495 BC – 429 BC) was a legend...
Spartan woman in foreground with her warrior husband in the background.   Source: serhiibobyk / Adobe stock

What Makes Spartan Women So Different From Other Ancients?

In Sparta , the individual did not matter. Everything was for the preservation and continuous strengthening of the state. They built no walls since they welcomed any to challenge invasion. They lit...
What Went Wrong? The Real Story of the Battle of Thermopylae

What Went Wrong? The Real Story of the Battle of Thermopylae

In 480 BC, an enormous Persian army under the chief command of Emperor Xerxes (son of Darius the Great) campaigned against Thessaly in central Greece. Mainly they fought against the southern mostly...
Spartan warrior.

Spartan Soldier From Birth: Growing Up In A City of Warriors

The Greek city-state of Sparta is famous for being a city of soldiers. Its entire society was oriented towards warfare. The Spartan phalanxes were unstoppable on land and known for their...
King Leonidas by David Baldo

After 300: The Posthumous Vengeance of King Leonidas of Sparta

Mythologically descended from the hero Herakles, the Agiad dynasty of ancient Sparta reigned alongside the Eurypontids almost since the beginning of the city-state. When war was on the borders of...
The fall of the Athenian army in Sicily during the Peloponnesian War in 413 BC as depicted in an 1893 illustration by J.G.Vogt.

Thucydides Gave Amazing Insight into War That Shook The Aegean World for Decades

Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War breaks off before the story is over. After detailing the armed conflict between the Athenians and the Spartans (and their respective allies) between 431...
The Chariot race. Cynisca was a Spartan princess and the first women to win the chariot race in the ancient Olympic Games.

How Did She Do It? Cynisca, a Spartan Princess Who Won the Ancient Olympic Games

Since the beginning of time, women have liked to surprise men with their extraordinary power, strength, and skills. Few are shocked by female success in these areas nowadays, but in ancient times...

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