Ancient and modern
How would the Romans have defined Meghan Markle?
Meghan Markle has been urging women to define themselves as they see fit, with ‘your full, complete, whole-layered, sometimes weird,…
A lesson for Rupa Huq from the ancient Greeks
The Labour MP Rupa Huq, of Pakistani heritage, has been suspended for suggesting that Kwasi Kwarteng, of Ghanaian heritage, was…
Peta, Lysistrata and the comedy of a sex strike
The German branch of the ‘green’ organisation Peta (‘People for the ethical treatment of animals’) is demanding that, until men…
The police have learned to treat republican protests the Roman way
Public dissent, from riots to republicans objecting to homage to the Queen, is dealt with by the police, a force…
Augustus and a lesson in self-publicity
The death of Her Majesty raises the question of a commemoration of her extraordinary years of service. Augustus ruled the…
Does Cincinnatus have anything in common with Boris?
On retiring from office, Boris Johnson described himself as a sort of Cincinnatus, returning to his plough. This famous story…
The Roman roots of Tony Blair’s approach to education
Sir Tony Blair’s Tone-deaf suggestion that Stem subjects should dominate the curriculum of all schools would paradoxically take education back…
How the ancients treated gout
Medical problems come and go in the media, and at the moment the flavour of the month appears to be…
What Truss and Sunak could learn from Cicero
As Miss Truss and Mr Sunak spray policies around on a range of topics which they hope will appeal to…
The ancient problem of the man who threw away £150m in bitcoin
James Howells has spent years trying to persuade Newport council to allow him to spend millions digging up a rubbish…
Do we need a Roman-style Water Czar?
It is clear that the country will soon need a Water Czar. Augustus’s right-hand man Agrippa would be the one…
The unflattering truth about the battle for No. 10
The battle to be PM raises the question: in a functioning democracy, how should arguments be won? Surely, by persuasion.…
The Roman roots of ‘colony’
The word ‘colony’ meets with a sharp intake of breath these days, but ‘province’ raises no eyebrows. How very odd.…
The ancient Greek art of theatre criticism
Last week Lloyd Evans was wondering whether it was about time audiences started booing dramatic productions of which they disapproved.…
The ancient art of love spells
An Oxford don has raised the prospect of producing a cocktail of hormone pills that would help you to fall…
How the Romans dealt with mutineers
The RMT union is threatening strikes to bring the country to a halt. Such activities have a long history in…
The true birth of communism
Nostalgia wars are all the rage at the moment, but an extraordinary example appears to have been missed: a hammer…
30,000 gallons of wine, 2,000 golden bulls and a three-month party: how the ancients celebrated
The ancients certainly knew how to put on a celebration. Let us hope the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee comes up to…
Putin is repeating Emperor Vitellius’s mistakes
Given Putin’s less than triumphant operation in Chechnya, where the Russian army suffered catastrophic losses, it is hardly surprising that…
The ancient Greek ship that was too big for any harbour
The biggest cruise ship yet builthas just been launched, but in like-for-like terms, it comes nowhere near the Syracusia,built c.…
Putin’s emperor complex
Did Vladimir Putin ever use his infamous ‘historical’ account of Russia-Ukraine relations to consider how Ukrainians might react to his…
What Angela Rayner could learn from Hera
Whatever one thinks of her politics, Angela Rayner is clearly a pretty sporting party, and the joke she made about…
What makes a ‘just’ war?
What is a just war? Those who, from St Augustine onwards, have debated the question usually begin with Cicero, the…
Ukraine, the Roman army and why morale matters
Commentators talk much about the morale of the Ukrainian troops and the edge that this has given them over the…
The rise and fall of the Tsarist legal system
St. Petersburg University in Russia is (desperately?) inviting scholars worldwide to a conference in September celebrating Mikhail Speransky. It was…
