By Jess Taylor – Mapping the Greek Polis (Poleis in plural) Where were the ancient Greek cities located? What was their sphere of influence? And what did it mean to be a polis? A pioneering body of work analyzed 1,035 ancient Greek settlements from the archaic and classical periods (c. […]
The phenomenon of unscrupulous politicians stoking tensions in society for their own ends is as old as democracy itself. By John Leonard – “[T]he main cause of the overthrow of democracies is the outrageous behavior of demagogues.’ Aristotle, Politics I.1304b.20 As ancient Athens moved away from kingship and Archaic-era tyranny […]
By Chelsea Glickman – The rise of nationalism in Egypt is often associated with the political agenda espoused by President Gamal Abdel Nasser in the fifties and sixties, yet it may also be possible to view the politically-charged artistic practices that transpired in Cairo in the preceding decades as attempting […]
By P. F. Sommerfeldt – Admittedly, I’m a tough nut to crack in terms of political theory – my castle has a hard and high wall and I’m difficult to impress – but Michael Anderson has done it yet again. His newest book THE CONSERVATIVE GENE: How Genetics Shape the […]
By Andrea M. Gáldy – Until recently, many of us were used to considerable mobility. Weekends away, summer holidays, conferences: all of those were part of our lives; we were modern and cosmopolitan. When we think of the past, however, “mobility” is not really the keyword coming to our minds […]
By Ismayil Güracar – Nearly a decade ago I took a solo road and hiking trip along the Likya Yolu or Lycian Way where I encountered the main subject of this article. The Lycian Way is a nearly 500 km (300 mile) marked trail between Fethiye and Antalya along the southwestern […]
By John Roman – “I have learned that even the smallest house can be a home.” Henry David Thoreau Although Henry David Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond is his most famous residence, historians also credit several other sites that served as “home” to this American literary figure. Looking into Thoreau’s […]
A section of the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, ca. 1550 BCE. It consists of reference tables, arithmetic, algebraic and geometric problems including volumes, and fractions (Courtesy of British Museum. London) By Susanne L. Houfek – The ancient Egyptians may not have taken trigonometry in school for entry level to a good university […]
By Patrick Hunt – One of the oldest and respected domaines in Alsace, already known for some of the oldest continuing wineries in the world, is Domaine Albert Seltz in Mittelbergheim from 1576, with fourteen generations of wine production for highly sought-after wines. The current patriarch Albert took over from […]
By Walter A Borden, M.D. – “Character is destiny”, simple, enigmatic, written by the Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus in the 6th to 5th century BCE. It is a powerful message for all peoples, a message for then—and now. The ancient Greek word for character was Ethos, meaning ideals, but derived from and related […]