Greece’s Acheloüs (or Akhelóös) River, which flows well over 200 kilometers through Epirus to the Corinthian Gulf, is arguably the longest river in Greece....
Njal’s Saga (written anonymously in the 13th century)
"Money means less than life."
This quote, from the largely fictionalized Njal’s Saga, was attributed to anonymous...
According to folklore set in 10th-century Iceland, a man named Thrain Sigfusson was invited to attend the wedding feast of his prominent nephew, Gunnar...
Njal’s Saga (written anonymously in the 13th century)
"It's not breaking a settlement...if a man deals lawfully with another—with law our land shall rise, but...
Greece’s Acheloüs (or Akhelóös) River, which flows well over 200 kilometers through Epirus to the Corinthian Gulf, is arguably the longest river in Greece....
This print, by the Austrian-German artist Johann Wolfgang Baumgartner (c. 1702-1761), was inspired by the ancient myth of Momus, who judged an art contest...
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....
In many ways, the ancient mystery religion cults of the Greco-Roman deities served as a transition point between the detached, impersonal form of worship...
When Alaric was born somewhere in Romania around 370, the community of the Visigoths, like that of many other “barbarian” groups bordering the Roman...
Peregrinus of Parium, who evidently liked the nickname Proteus (and is therefore often known as Peregrinus Proteus), was a 2nd-century philosopher from the Cynic...
This painting, by the artist Benjamin Wolff (c. 19th century), was inspired by the death of a Carthaginian noblewoman named Sophonisba (also spelled Sophonisbe...
William Shakespeare (c. 1564 – 1616)
" anything can be amiss,
When simplicity and duty tender it."
From William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act...
Sir Winston Churchill (c. 1874-1965)
"How else are we going to marshal adequate and if possible overwhelming forces against brazen, unprovoked aggression, except by a...
William Shakespeare (c. 1564 – 1616)
"Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the...
The Buddha (6th-5th centuries BCE)
"If something is to be done,
one should proceed firmly.
The inattentive practitioner
is more scattered than the dust."
The Dhammapada (Verses on...
The two most widely recognized revolutionaries of the United States, save George Washington, are Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Jefferson was a reserved man,...
(Public Domain sketch of Apuleius)
The Roman author, and minor regional statesman, Apuleius (125-180), is best known today for his hilarious book, The Golden Ass...
Joseph E. Johnston (Confederate General of the U.S. Civil War, lived 1807-1891)
"The Southern infantry had great advantage over the Northern in their greater familiarity...
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE)
"Eloquence is the attendant of peace, the companion of ease and prosperity, and the tender offspring of a free and...
(“Examination of a witch”, c. 1853, from the Collection of the Peabody Essex Museum, originally by Author Thompkins H. Matteson, via Creative Commons)
Maria...
(Left:Apuleius, Center: Isis, Right:Donkey)
If you want to impress your friends and family with your knowledge of ancient writers, while also having a great time...
Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716)
"We could never be informed of anything whose idea we do not already have in mind."
From Leibniz's Discourse on Metaphysics (section...
