Peacock: Did you mean...?

The Christmas holiday has gathered around it customs and traditions for over two millennia, some of which even pre-date the Christian festival itself. From gift-giving to the sumptuous spread of a Christmas dinner table, this article traces...

Provence has inherited a rich legacy from antiquity, boasting some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in Europe. In the 2nd century BCE, the Romans began their conquest of the region and called it “Provincia Romana,” giving us the region's...

The emperor Aulus Vitellius (r. 69 CE) had never wanted to be Rome's emperor. Aulus was from a family of court flatterers to the first Caesars, and when his friend Nero (r. 54-68 CE) was dead, and there were no more Caesars to succeed, he...

How we celebrate Christmas today is largely shaped by a small group of authors who recorded festive traditions in the 19th century. These authors include Washington Irving (1783-1859), Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863), and Charles Dickens...

The Sky Beings: Thunder and His Helpers is a legend of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy of the Six Nations of the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. The story features the supernatural entities known as the Thunders...

Join World History Encyclopedia as they talk to Frank Holt about his new book When Money Talks: A History of Coins and Numismatics published by Oxford University Press. Kelly (WHE): Thank you so much for joining me today. Do you want to...

In this collection of resources we look at the origins of Christmas and the story of the Nativity, the pagan traditions that have influenced how the holiday has been celebrated ever since, and how different eras have found new ways to add...

Hindu goddess Saraswati (Sarasvati) by Raja Ravi Varma, 19th century. She is depicted with the classical Indian instrument the vina and a peacock, one of her vehicles. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

A 1st century CE bronze gladiator helmet of the Samnite class. Roman gladiator helmets were richly decorated and plumed with ostrich or peacock feathers. This relatively plain example has the embossed head of Hercules at the front. Provenance...

Zenobia Antoninianus coin reporting her title, Augusta and showing her diademed and draped bust on a crescent with the reverse showing a standing figure of Ivno Regina, holding a patera in her right hand, a sceptre in her left, a peacock...