Ancient and modern
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…
The Russians aren’t the first to rewrite history
Historians in Russia have a long and craven record, now going back centuries, of being economical with the truth about…
Could today’s Hollywood stars have made it in ancient Greece?
The Oscar frenzy spent, it is worth reflecting on how easy writers and actors have it these days. The ancient…
Patriarch Kirill, Archbishop Ambrose and a lesson for Putin
Patriarch Kirill is Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church; and one of his…
How John Bercow could have learned to control his temper
The ex-Speaker John Bercow has been found to be a serial bully and serial liar. The ancients would have had…
What Tacitus knew about tyrants
Last week Aristotle offered a lesson in tyrant theory. This week Tacitus (ad 56-c.120) offers one in tyrant practice. Tacitus…
Does Putin pass Aristotle’s tyrant test?
Is Putin a tyrant? Aristotle (384-322 bc) might well have thought so. Seeing the turannos as a deviant type of…
What the ancients would have made of Virginia Giuffre
Virginia Giuffre may well be a heroine among all those abused in their youth. Ancient reactions compare interestingly with ours.…
How the ancients approached the three Rs
German archaeologists have found ancient Egyptian tablets covered in repetitive writing exercises and ask — were they pupil punishments? But…
The ancient problem of unscrupulous ‘doctors’
Yet again ‘doctors’ with no qualifications have been found advertising dodgy but expensive products and treatments, in this case, injections…
Claudius, Messalina and how not to choose political advisers
The Prime Minister has been having some trouble with his inner circle of advisers. Tacitus supplies fine examples of how…
The ancients knew they couldn’t turn back time
The singer Cher, now 75, has announced that, because she refuses to appear old, she is not going to allow…
Boris wouldn’t be the first to be brought down by a party
Whatever the result of Sue Gray’s report on ‘gatherings’ in Downing Street, there is a political lesson to be learned:…
Will Colston’s statue wreak its revenge?
The statue of the Bristol merchant Edward Colston is apparently guilty of a hate crime. Let us hope that the…
Stranger than fiction
Saturnalia was a period of Roman fun and games held just before our Christmas. Macrobius (c. ad 430) composed a…
Was Penelope really a 'silenced' woman?
Problems about the misuse of history, especially on subjects such as race and colonialism, have been running for a long…
It’s time to settle the Great Omicron Question
Time to settle the Great Omicron Question. First, there is no word omikron (and no c) in ancient Greek. Second,…
Is Latin worth learning?
A teacher wanting to teach Latin has enquired whether it is worth doing because the subject has ‘such a bad…
The ancients would have approved of Durham’s prostitute plans
The ‘globally outstanding’ University of Durham has plans to help its undergraduates who pay their way by prostituting themselves. Three…
Greta and the gap between words and actions
Greta Thunberg and her supporters were loud in protest at COP26, but one wonders to what end. They demanded deeds,…
Could Cicero help MPs who can’t govern?
MPs are not exactly attracting plaudits for their recent attempts at governing. Perhaps Cicero’s three-book work On Duties (De Officiis)…
Would the ancient Greeks have agreed that children are born evil?
The ‘social mobility tsar’ Katharine Birbalsingh has suggested that children, born evil, ‘need to be taught right from wrong and…
The Globe, Plato and the corrupting force of art
The Globe theatre’s project to ‘decolonise’ Shakespeare, as if that would make plays like The Tempest ‘acceptable’ to them and…
