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Zephyrus
Zephyrus was the god of the west wind and the messenger of spring in Greek mythology. He was known as one of the four Anemoi, or wind gods, each of whom represented a cardinal direction and, except for Eurus, a season. Zephyrus was often...
Definition
Tiryns
Located on the fertile Argolid plain, Tiryns lies between Nafplion and Argos in the eastern Peloponnese in Greece. The site has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age (7th-4th millennium BCE) but reached its greatest period of importance...
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The Odyssey Summarised - Context, Themes and Importance
The Odyssey is the second epic poem, following the Iliad, attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer, a poem both epic in length and in content with the Hero Odysseus facing numerous monsters, goddesses, and even a trip to the underworld...
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Medieval Knights: 12 of the Best
The knights of medieval Europe were meant to be the finest fighting men of their age, even more important, they were expected to be pure in thought and deed, as exemplified in the chivalrous code which they (usually) followed. Here are the...
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The Minoans & Mycenaeans: Comparison of Two Bronze Age Civilisations
The Bronze Age Aegean in the eastern Mediterranean encompassed several powerful entities: the Minoans on Crete; the Mycenaeans on mainland Greece, and the Cypriots on Cyprus. These cultures are often examined separately, and thus the ample...
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The Invention of the First Coinage in Ancient Lydia
Money may take many forms, from the digital code of cryptocurrency to the woodpecker scalps favoured in early California. People have also used cattle, cacao beans, cowrie shells, chewing gum, grain, and giant stones as money. Early cultures...
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Boethius: First of the Medievals?
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (c. 477-524/525) was a scholar in Late Antiquity who was imprisoned and executed by Theodoric (r. 493-526 CE) but was later idolised by medieval intellectuals. His most famous work was De consolatione philosophiae...
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Greek Vase Painters & Potters
We know the names of some potters and painters of Greek vases because they signed their work. Generally a painter signed his name followed by some form of the verb 'painted', while a potter (or perhaps the painter writing for him) signed...
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Theogony's Elder Titans
An infographic illustrating the family tree of Greek mythology's 12 Elder Titans, offspring of primordial deities Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Sky), a golden race of immortal, pre-Olympian gods and their descendants. It is broadly accepted that...
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Tiryns
Tiryns was a major Mycenaean centre, the magnificent walled fortifications visible today date from the 13th century BCE. The large size of the stones of the walls led the ancient Greeks to believe they were the work of the Cyclopes.