Ancient Rome
They weren’t all scheming poisoners: the maligned women of imperial Rome
Joan Smith criticises the distortions of Robert Graves in particular, whose villainisation of the empress Livia had no historical basis whatever
What would the Romans have made of Keir Starmer’s freebies?
An ancient Greek, counting up the value of the gifts that Sir Keir Starmer had received over his spotless political…
The lessons of Grenfell
We have been told that committees will meet, urgent discussions will be held, the guilty will be punished, and steps…
Should Labour be messing with the school curriculum?
Labour’s new education secretary wishes, as usual, to change everything. She might consider the advice of the Roman educationist Quintilian…
A fiery examination of the damage wrought by internet culture
Historically, when a woman was giving birth, she was attended by the women she trusted most, including her child’s prospective…
Love it or loathe it – the umami flavour of anchovy
The anchovy is everywhere now, lacing salads, pizzas and appetizers. But in the past it was often denigrated in the West as bitter, putrid and ‘a worthless little fish’
What would the Romans think of assisted suicide?
What a song and dance about the end of life! Historians assure us that, among human beings, there is a…
Why some men are obsessed with the Roman Empire
Why do men think about the Roman Empire so much? That’s the subject of a new social media trend, where…
Rumour-mongers
The ancients were as fascinated by rumour as, to judge by recent events in Russia and the BBC, we are.…
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…
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…
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…
Which monarchs have had the longest reigns?
Long to reign over us The Queen is the world’s current longest-serving monarch, but two in history have had longer…
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…
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 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…
