Ancient olympic games: Did you mean...?

If there was one thing the Roman people loved it was spectacle and the opportunity of escapism offered by weird and wonderful public shows which assaulted the senses and ratcheted up the emotions. Roman rulers knew this well and so to increase...

In the ancient Greek world, the word stadium or stadion referred to a measurement of distance, a foot-race, and the place where the race was held and observed by spectators. The Great Games Greek sporting events were closely connected...

Alexander I of Macedon, also known as Alexander I the Philhellene ('friend of the Greeks') or 'The Wealthy', was king of ancient Macedon from around 498 to 454 BCE. He is known for the role he played in the second Persian invasion of Greece...

Diogenes of Sinope (c. 404-323 BCE) was a Greek Cynic philosopher best known for holding a lantern to the faces of the citizens of Athens claiming he was searching for an honest man. He was most likely a student of the philosopher Antisthenes...

A Greek coin commemorating the Isthmian Games. Corinth, 117-138 CE. (Numismatics Museum, Athens)

The ancient Greeks are often credited with building the foundations upon which all western cultures are built, and this impressive accolade stems from their innovative contributions to a wide range of human activities, from sports to medicine...

Female gladiators in ancient Rome – referred to by modern-day scholars as gladiatrix – may have been uncommon but they did exist. Evidence suggests that a number of women participated in the public games of Rome even though this practice...

The monumental statue of Zeus at Olympia in Greece was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Created in the 430s BCE under the supervision of the master Greek sculptor Phidias, the huge ivory and gold statue was bigger even than...

The people of ancient Rome loved spectacles and, lucky for them, they could often be entertained by lavish public shows. The emperors of Rome knew of their people's love of spectacle so a way that they could garner popularity and prestige...

Pindar (c. 518 to c. 448/7 BCE) was an ancient Greek lyric poet, probably the greatest of his time. His works have been divided into 17 books of different types of poetry, but only those containing 44 choral victory songs composed for the...