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The Battle of Adrianople on August 9, 378 CE ranks among the worst military defeats in all of Roman history. Its estimated losses of over 10,000 are comparable to Roman defeats at Cannae (216 BCE) and Carrhae (53 BCE). The battle pitted the...

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was a Russian composer best known for his works for the stage, such as the ballets The Firebird, Petrushka, and the groundbreaking The Rite of Spring. The modernist composer lived in Switzerland, France, and then...

Pelops was a Greek hero and king of Pisa in Greek mythology. As the son of Tantalus, he was a member of the cursed House of Atreus, and was cruelly sacrificed by his father in a twisted way to test the gods – an act that backfired and led...

The play Agamemnon was written by one of the greatest Greek tragedians Aeschylus (c. 525 – 455 BCE), “Father of Greek Tragedy.” Older than both Sophocles and Euripides, he was the most popular and influential of all tragedians of his era...

Alexander Severus served as the Roman emperor from 222 CE until his untimely death in 235 CE. At the urging of his mother, aunt, and grandmother, Emperor Elagabalus named his cousin Alexianus (the future Alexander Severus) as his heir in...

Pindar (c. 518 to c. 448/7 BCE) was an ancient Greek lyric poet, probably the greatest of his time. His works have been divided into 17 books of different types of poetry, but only those containing 44 choral victory songs composed for the...

Dacia was a region inhabited by the Dacians in the north of the Danube (modern Romania). The kingdom of Dacia was the creation of Burebistas (c. 80-44 BCE), who conquered and united several other Dacian principalities. Burebistas practically...

Empress Irene was the wife of Leo IV and, on her husband's death, she reigned as regent for her son Constantine VI from 780 to 790 CE. From 797 to 802 CE she ruled as emperor in her own right, the first woman to do so in Byzantine history...

The Children of Heracles (Heraclidae) is one of Euripides' lesser-known and least popular works, as is the myth surrounding the tragedy play. Its date is also uncertain, possibly written in the late 430s or early 420s BCE. The play revolves...

The Argead dynasty, the ancient Macedonian house of Dorian Greek origin, lasted from the 7th century to 310 BCE. The mythological founder of the dynasty was King Caranus but it was under Philip II of Macedon (382-226 BCE) that the Macedonian...