Helen of: Did you mean...?

In Europe, in the 19th century CE, an interesting device began appearing in graveyards and cemeteries: the mortsafe. This was an iron cage erected over a grave to keep the body of the deceased safe from 'resurrectionists' - better known as...

Diogenes of Sinope (c. 404-323 BCE) was a Greek Cynic philosopher best known for holding a lantern to the faces of the citizens of Athens claiming he was searching for an honest man. He was most likely a student of the philosopher Antisthenes...

The gods of ancient Egypt were worshipped as the creators and sustainers of all life. People acknowledged their supremacy and intimacy daily through rituals, amulets, and their labor for the king. Everyone, from farmers to craftsmen to merchants...

The act of voluntary death was never condemned in antiquity. In fact, The English word "suicide" comes from the Latin for "self-slaying." The reason for a voluntary death had to be one that was honorable and necessary to remove any element...

The vacillating nature of Ancient Egypt's associations with the Kingdom of Kerma may be described as one of expansion and contraction; a virtual tug-of-war between rival cultures. Structural changes in Egypt's administration led to alternating...

The literary works of William Shakespeare (l. c. 1564-1616) are often regarded as some of the most important in the English language. Alongside his famous plays, he also wrote poems, including 154 sonnets. Included here are six of the best-known...

Antisthenes (c. 445-365 BCE) was a Greek philosopher who founded the Cynic School of Athens. He was a follower of Socrates and appears in Plato's Phaedo as one of those present at Socrates' death. He is one of the primary interlocutors in...

Join World History Encyclopedia as they chat with medievalist Katherine Pangonis, all about her new book Queens of Jerusalem, the Women Who Dared to Rule. Kelly: Do you want to start off by telling us what your book is all about? Katherine...

The Odyssey is the second epic poem, following the Iliad, attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer, a poem both epic in length and in content with the Hero Odysseus facing numerous monsters, goddesses, and even a trip to the underworld...

This fragmentary wall-paining depicts Phaedra with an attendant, probably her nurse. The story of Phaedra's tragic love for her step-son is depicted in other early imperial paintings, often in connection with similar Greek literary themes...