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Detail of ‘Solitude’ (circa 1890) by Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton.
14 February, 2018 - 22:56 ancient-origins

Alone Need Not Be Lonely: What Joyous Solitude of Early Hermits Can Teach Us

Kim Haines-Eitzen / The Conversation In today’s world, loneliness seems to have reached epidemic proportions. Countless studies have highlighted the serious and negative impact that loneliness has on...
Detail of a relief of Herodotus by Jean-Guillaume Moitte, 1806. Cour Carrée in the Louvre Palace, Paris, France.
5 November, 2017 - 12:49 dhwty

Picking Apart the Words of Herodotus: Was He a Father of Histories or Lies?

“I owe it to tell what is being told, but I by no means owe it to believe it”. Herodotus, [Book 7.153-2] Herodotus was an ancient Greek writer who lived during the 5th century BC. He was born in what...
Scene of destruction in the film “Pompeii 3d” (2014). (La Stampa/CC BY NC ND) Insert: Remains of a skull attributed to Pliny the Elder from the Museo di Storia dell'Arte Sanitaria in Rome.
8 September, 2017 - 14:04 Alicia McDermott

Researchers Look to Crowdfunding to Identify the Skull of Pompeii Hero Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Elder, was an influential administrator, officer, and author in ancient Rome. His life ended suddenly with the deadly eruption of Mount Vesuvius in...
Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi (1785) by Angelica Kauffman.
19 February, 2017 - 01:59 Natalia Klimczak

Who was Cornelia Africana and How Did She Become the Prototype of the Virtuous Roman Woman?

The life of Cornelia Africana could be the basis for a fascinating Hollywood super-production. Since the beginning, her tale was nothing but an adventurous story about a woman whose extraordinary...
Deriv; Marco Polo travels by camel caravan and a modern re-imagining of Marco Polo
5 November, 2016 - 02:15 Ken Jeremiah

Is Marco Polo a Fictional Character? Challenging the Historical Tale of the Merchant Traveler

Based upon historical analyses, it is unlikely that a person named Marco Polo who visited China in the 1200’s existed. Before presenting this argument, here is an analogy: if people do not know that...
The "Disk of Enheduanna" at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.
17 July, 2016 - 03:47 Natalia Klimczak

The Poetry of Gods by Enheduanna - The First Known Female Writer

It is not always easy to read the stories of real people from the artifacts they left behind. This is especially true if they lived 5,000 years ago. However, the story of a remarkable woman from that...
A 17th century painting of Heraclitus, by Johannes Moreelse.
27 March, 2016 - 22:42 dhwty

Heraclitus: The Pre-Socratic Weeping Philosopher and His Most Eminent Doctrines

Heraclitus of Ephesus was a Pre-Socratic philosopher who lived during the 6th century BC. Heraclitus wrote a book which recorded his philosophical thoughts. This book, which was deposited in the...
Charles Fort: Pioneer in the Search for Scientific Anomalies or Anti-dogmatist who Collected Bizarre Stories?
25 March, 2016 - 13:50 dhwty

Charles Fort: Pioneer in the Search for Scientific Anomalies or Anti-dogmatist who Collected Bizarre Stories?

Charles Hoy Fort was an American “self-educated newspaperman, modestly-successful short story writer, unsuccessful novelist and inventor, and eccentric natural philosopher,” regarded by some,...
Thucydides: General, Historian, and the Father of Scientific History
24 February, 2016 - 03:48 dhwty

Thucydides: General, Historian, and the Father of Scientific History

Thucydides was an Athenian general and historian, most notable for his work known as the History of the Peloponnesian War . Whilst Herodotus, a near-contemporary of his, is often hailed as the Father...
Fresco of Dante and the Divine Comedy (1465), Domenico di Michelino, Florence cathedral, Italy
20 August, 2015 - 23:57 Riley Winters

A Pilgrimage of Thought: the Politician, Poet, and Pilgrim called Dante Alighieri

Born in Florence in the late thirteenth century, Dante Alighieri would grow up to become one of the most famed and well-read authors of the Italian Middle Ages. The scope of his political and...
Two 26th dynasty Egyptian mummies
21 April, 2014 - 04:01 aprilholloway

Two 26th dynasty tombs unearthed in Egypt containing mummies and fascinating grave goods

Two ancient Egyptian tombs have been discovered by a Spanish – Egyptian team at the Al-Bahnasa archaeological site located in Minya, Egypt, according to a new report in Ahram Online . The ancient...