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- Maria Pretzler on Remembering Thermopylae – ARGHHHH
- Er is geen jaar nul – Xerxes in Griekenland on Remembering Thermopylae – ARGHHHH
- John Leake on Remembering Thermopylae – ARGHHHH
- Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #463 – Hub Politic on On the Freedom to Travel and Unified Continents
- Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #463 on On the Freedom to Travel and Unified Continents
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Author Archives: Maria Pretzler
Remembering Thermopylae – ARGHHHH
Right. Long time, no blog. But this one is going to be a heartfelt post that may well put some noses out of joint. But it needs saying. The Greek government is issuing memorial coins for the battle of … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema, Current events, Europe, Greece, Inventing the Past, Peloponnese, Politics
Tagged Greece, Persian Wars, Sparta, Thermopylae, White Supremacists
3 Comments
Ben-Hur (2016) – a few first thoughts
Well, I could hardly not go and see the new movie version of Ben-Hur which opened today. Films set in the ancient world, if they are successful, such as Gladiator (2000) and 300 (2007), make a difference to how people think … Continue reading
Caster Semenya and women at the Olympics
I just came across this excellent article about gender and Olympic disciplines or competitive sport more generally, starting with the case of gold-medal winning runner Caster Semenya who has faced so much controversy over whether she should be allowed to … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Greece
Tagged Caster Semenya, Olympic Games, Pausanias, Women
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Olympic Superstars – ancient and modern
Some of yesterday’s papers (for example the New York Times and the Daily Telegraph) have a report that Michael Phelps has just beaten a 2167* year-old record which had been held, for all that time, by Leonidas of Rhodes, who … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Greece
Tagged Leonidas of Rhodes, Michael Phelps, Olympic Games, Pausanias, Pulydamas of Scotussa, Usain Bolt
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On the Freedom to Travel and Unified Continents
I admit it. When it comes to politics I will always remain a dreamer. I put it down to the fact that I grew up so close to the Iron Curtain, and that 1989 was the most formative year of … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Europe, Roman Empire
Tagged Aelius Aristides, Borders, EU, Europe, Roman Empire, Tacitus
2 Comments
What’s a person’s REAL name?
As Iceland is playing another game in the European championship we shall yet again see the international media struggle with Icelandic names. The typical newspaper article talks of say, Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (Sigþórsson) or Aron Gunnarsson, and then just call them Sigthorsson and … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Greece, Roman Empire
Tagged Greek names, Icelandic names, Names, Plutarch, Roman names
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Why Boris should have remembered the Ostracism of Hyperbolus
UK Politics is just too distracting these days. Today we arrived at a point where both main parties are in the middle of differently shambolic leadership contests. These last few crazy days have brought to mind quite a few ancient parallels … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Greece, Politics
Tagged Alcibiades, Ancient Athens, Democracy, Hyperbolus, Nicias, Ostracism
1 Comment
How to make history historical…
Yesterday, an entirely farcical event took place on the Thames in London, as a stunt by the Brexit campaign, designed to highlight the concerns of fishermen, turned into a scuffle carried out with water hoses, sound systems and rude gestures. … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, History, Inventing the Past
Tagged Brexit, campaigns, historiography, history, maps, referendum, Wikipedia
3 Comments
Why we should all get our roofs from Sparta*
Work on my Peloponnesian League book is finally starting to happen, so it’s time to dust off the blog again. I hope odd little things like today’s discovery will go here. At the moment I am working on what might … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeology, Greece, History, Peloponnese
Tagged Olympia, Ottoman Greece, Peloponnese, Temples
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