Formidable Byzantine Roman Empress Theodora - Saint Or Sinner?
The hooded gaze of an inscrutable Theodora (c.497- 548 AD) greets hundreds of thousands of visitors each year as they pay their respects to her mosaic at the Read More
Fatally Disrupting The Thesmophoria: The Savagery Of Greece’s Citizen Wives
A dominant paradigm of ancient Greece was turned on its head when subjugated women were made autonomous by participating in a feminine fertility festival known as the Thesmophori...
The Bible’s Bedeviling Bad Girls: Delilah, Jezebel And Salome
It should come as no surprise to most that the biblical writers were unfair to the gentler sex. After all, ever since Eve bit into the forbidden apple, the Good Book has been long obsessed with the notion of bad girls. Over the millennia, the sto...
The Eleusinian Mysteries: Demeter’s Secret And Sacred Rites
Conjuring up mystical images of secret initiation rites held under cover of darkness, the Eleusinian Mysteries had a reputation as a dark and dangerous festival. In fact, it was surrounded by such an aura of deadly secrecy that the tragedian Aesc...
Loves Of The Lady Of The Labyrinth: Ariadne Powerful Minoan Goddess
In the Myth of the Minotaur, if not for the ministrations of the humble Princess Ariadne, Theseus—the Greek hero—would not have had a prayer. Althou...
Augustus’ Draconian Marriage Laws And The Banishment Of Julia Augusti
“Let her be banished for life,” Augustus (63 BC-14 AD) is recorded as saying about the harsh exile of his only biological child, Julia, to the barren and windswept penal island of Pandateria (present-day Ventotene). Banishment from R...
The Highest Altar: Human Sacrifice in Ancient Greece
In the Greek Peloponnese, high atop the summit on Arcadia’s Mount Lykaion (Wolf Mountain) lies an altar...
Thesmophoria: Feminine Consciousness in Ancient Greece
In the most highly anticipated religious festival of the year, women came from far and wide to gather in their cities to celebrate the Thesmophoria, the oldest and most widespread of all ancient Greek religious festivals. Comprising as many as 50...
Pithekoussai: Ancient Greek Colony of Nestor’s Cup
Celebrated for its thermal springs and verdant landscapes, the volcanic island of Ischia, called Pithekoussai during its ancient Greek days —located in the Read More
