In 406 BCE, Eteonicus was a trusted officer serving under the Spartan nauarch (or admiral), Callicratidas. Together, they campaigned against Athenian positions in the...
Around the year 587, three dukes formulated a dangerous conspiracy against King Childebert II of Austrasia (r. 575-595). Two of the conspirators were Berthefried...
Procopius, a 6th-century lawyer, historian, and secretary to the prominent general, Belisarius, claimed that Emperor Justinian of Constantinople (r. 527-565) had in his employ...
Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, who published the Malleus Maleficarum around 1487, believed that witches could weaponize weather, especially tempests and hailstorms. Naturally, if...
This image, created by the Norwegian artist Wilhelm Wetlesen (c. 1871-1925), was produced for an 1899 reprint of the Heimskringla—a medieval collection of sagas composed...
Chief Joseph
(Nez Percé/Nimiipuu leader, c. 1840-1904)
"I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more."
Chief Joseph’s Own Story,...
This painting, by the French artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (often shortened to just Camille Corot, c. 1796-1875), was inspired by the Biblical story of Sodom...
This drawing, by the French artist Sébastien Leclerc (c. 1637-1714), was inspired by accounts of Alexander the Great’s entrance into Babylon. The Macedonian conqueror...
This painting, by the British artist John William Waterhouse (c. 1849–1917), depicts one of the famous obstacles faced by Odysseus (a name Latinized to...
Around the year 587, three dukes formulated a dangerous conspiracy against King Childebert II of Austrasia (r. 575-595). Two of the conspirators were Berthefried...
This image, created by the Norwegian artist Wilhelm Wetlesen (c. 1871-1925), was produced for an 1899 reprint of the Heimskringla—a medieval collection of sagas composed...
This painting, by the British artist John William Waterhouse (c. 1849–1917), depicts one of the famous obstacles faced by Odysseus (a name Latinized to...
Ancient Egyptians long had an intense love and protective disposition toward their cats. It was a distinct cultural feature that intrigued visitors from other...
Geoffrey of Monmouth (12th century)
"I consider theat there is nothing better or more enjoyable than life itself."
From Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of the...
Benjamin Franklin (c. 1706-1790)
"A good Conscience is a continual Christmas."
From Poor Richard's Almanac by Benjamin Franklin (Seven Treasures Publications, 2008).
Dante Alighieri (c. 1265-1321)
"Of gold and silver ye have made your god,
Differing wherein from the idolater,
But that he worships one, a hundred ye?"
Dante Alighieri’s Divine...
The Buddha (c. 6th-5th century BCE)
"A comfort is virtue into old age.
A comfort is the establishment of conviction.
A comfort is the attainment of insightful...
Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE) was an Athenian general and historian who lived through the Peloponnesian War (c. 431-404 BCE) between Athens and Sparta. He...
This drawing, by the French artist Sébastien Leclerc (c. 1637-1714), was inspired by accounts of Alexander the Great’s entrance into Babylon. The Macedonian conqueror...
This painting, by the British artist John William Waterhouse (c. 1849–1917), depicts one of the famous obstacles faced by Odysseus (a name Latinized to...
This painting, by French artist Jacques-Louis David (c. 1748–1825), depicts the death scene of the famous Greek inquirer, Socrates. In 399 BCE, the seventy-year-old...
Bellona was an ancient Roman war-goddess, often likened to the similar Greek war-goddess, Enyo. As a goddess of war, Bellona was always associated with...
Tacitus (c. 56/57-117)
"Many insist that heaven is unconcerned with our births and deaths—is unconcerned, in fact, with human beings—so that the good often suffer,...
This illustration, by the French artist Claude Lorrain (c. 1600-1682), depicts the meeting of several legendary and mythological figures. On the left side of...
Jonathan Swift (c. 1667-1745)
"I dare engage, these creatures have their titles and distinctions of honour; they contrive little nests and burrows, that they call...
This painting was created by the American artist, Tompkins Harrison Matteson (c. 1813–1884), and is housed within the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts....
Margery Kempe (c. 1373-1439+)
"It is a pity that money should succeed before truth."
The Book of Margery Kempe (Book 1, chapter 25), dictated by Margery...
This illustration, created by the German artist Joseph Martin Kronheim (c. 1810–1896), depicts the final moments of King Edward the Martyr of England, who...
Emperor Shun
(legendary Chinese emperor, traditionally dated to have ruled c. 2285-2205 BCE)
"A leader should be loved. Who should be feared? The people."
A saying...
Procopius, a 6th-century lawyer, historian, and secretary to the prominent general, Belisarius, claimed that Emperor Justinian of Constantinople (r. 527-565) had in his employ...
This painting, by French artist Jacques-Louis David (c. 1748–1825), depicts the death scene of the famous Greek inquirer, Socrates. In 399 BCE, the seventy-year-old...
Chief Joseph
(Nez Percé/Nimiipuu leader, c. 1840-1904)
"I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more."
Chief Joseph’s Own Story,...
Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, who published the Malleus Maleficarum around 1487, believed that witches could weaponize weather, especially tempests and hailstorms. Naturally, if...
Tacitus (c. 56/57-117)
"Many insist that heaven is unconcerned with our births and deaths—is unconcerned, in fact, with human beings—so that the good often suffer,...
Callicratidas was a good-natured, but militarily inexperienced, Spartan officer. In 406 BCE, he was appointed nauarch (a one-year title similar to that of admiral),...
Virgil (c. 70-19 BCE)
"Since Fortune's got the upper hand,
let's follow her where she calls and change course."
From The Aeneid (Book V) by Virgil, translated...
