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Lead book review

The sacred chickens that ruled the roost in ancient Rome

26 May 2018

9:00 AM

26 May 2018

9:00 AM

Even the most cursory glance at the classical period reveals the central place that birds played in the religious and political lives of the two key Mediterranean civilisations. Their gods, for example, were often represented in avian form, so that the Athenian currency bore an owl image, which was intended as a portrait of the city’s patron, Athene.

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