Mercury: Did you mean...?

In the first part of our new travel series devoted to the archaeological sites around the Bay of Naples, we shared some hints and tips as to how you can best prepare for your self-guided tour of Pompeii. In this second part, we look into...

The Moselle Valley is Germany's oldest winegrowing region. The Romans brought viticulture to this area and planted vines along the Moselle River 2000 years ago. After settling the region c. 50 BCE and establishing the city of Trier (Augusta...

Set within the Anti-Taurus mountain range in southeastern Turkey, beyond the borders of Adiyaman, is the archaeological wonder of Mount Nemrut. Forgotten for centuries, the spellbinding peak of Nemrut Dagi (its Turkish name) has since managed...

Aristippus of Cyrene (l. c. 435-356 BCE) was a hedonistic Greek philosopher who taught that the meaning of life was pleasure and that the pursuit of pleasure, therefore, was the most noble path one could pursue. Along with Plato, Xenophon...

A c. 1800 clinical thermometer and wooden case. Its design follows that of instruments made by the Scottish anatomist and surgeon John Hunter (1728-1793). Mercury, glass, and ivory, and with a scale in Fahrenheit. (Science Museum, London)

Niccolò Paganini, depicted in his most romantic guise, with tousled hair and gaunt cheeks, the product of his reliance on mercury and opium. Lithograph by Nicolas Eustache and Antoine Maurin, based on a painting by Pingret in Baden in 1831...