Search
Search Results
Image
Apollo and Marsyas
National Archaeological Museum, Athens, 215. 330-20 BCE. This relief slab is one of four that made up the revetment of a pedestal (only three survive), and was found at Mantineia, Arcadia. The pedestal either acted as a base for a statue...
Definition
Ancient Greece
Greece is a country in southeastern Europe, known in Greek as Hellas or Ellada, and consisting of a mainland and an archipelago of islands. Ancient Greece is the birthplace of Western philosophy (Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle), literature...
Article
Love, Sex, & Marriage in Ancient Greece
Love, sex, and marriage in ancient Greece are portrayed in Greek literature as distinct, yet closely intertwined, elements of life. For many upper-class men, marriages did not take place for love, and other relationships, be it with men or...
Article
Wine Culture in the Hellenistic Mediterranean
The culture of drinking wine was enjoyed throughout the Mediterranean world, and what is true now was true in antiquity, too: wine is always good business. The Hellenistic Period (c. 335-30 BCE), between Alexander the Great and Cleopatra...
Definition
Orpheus
Orpheus is a figure from ancient Greek mythology, most famous for his virtuoso ability in playing the lyre or kithara. His music could charm the wild animals of the forest, and even streams would pause and trees bend a little closer to hear...
Collection
12 Great Composers
In this collection, we consider 12 of the great composers, from Bach to Rachmaninoff. Covering Baroque, Classical, and Romantic music, many of the works remain instantly recognisable even amongst non-classical music fans. The biographies...
Collection
Government & Society in Ancient Greece
In this collection, we examine one of the greatest contributions made by the ancient Greeks to world culture: their systems of government and, above all, the ideas of democracy and mass participation in politics. We also consider the society...
Article
Prostitution in Ancient Athens
Prostitution in ancient Athens was legal and regulated by the state. During the Greek Archaic Period (c. 800-479 BCE) brothels were instituted and taxed by the lawgiver Solon (l. c. 630 - c. 560 BCE), and this policy continued into the Classical...
Article
Wine in the Ancient Mediterranean
Wine was the most popular manufactured drink in the ancient Mediterranean. With a rich mythology, everyday consumption, and important role in rituals wine would spread via the colonization process to regions all around the Mediterranean coastal...
Image
Maenad, Red-Figure Cup
Greek red figure stemless cup from Apula, 330-320 BCE, depicting a dancing maenad - female follower of Dionysus - holding a bell and tambourine. (Archaeological Museum, Milan)