By Owain Williams The ‘typical’ areas of ancient history that readers are most familiar with, based on general trends in popular history publishing and on our own reader survey, are likely to be the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean (ca. 1600–1150 BC), Classical and Hellenistic Greece (ca. 500–30 BC), and the Roman imperial period (ca. 30 BC – AD 500), with each period having a particular emphasis on Greco-Roman cultures, whether that be the Mycenaeans or the Roman Republic. The 600 years between the Late Bronze Age Collapse and the Greco-Persian wars – the Early Iron Age – are rarely ..read more

By Owain Williams  One thing that I really love about reading history – not just ancient history – is delving into the intimate details about daily life, whether that be the jobs of the non-elites, such as sausage sellers and wood collectors, or clothing, and food. One such object that has taken my interest recently is the ancient Greek grater. It is surprising how much literature there is devoted to this one object type. However, this seemingly every day object is, in fact, connected to wider discussions of trade and interconnectivity in the Early Iron Age. Bronze graters are a commo ..read more

By Owain Williams As it is Women's History Month in some parts of the world, I thought I would review a recent book that examines the place of women in ancient Greek literature: Emily Hauser's How Women Became Poets: A Gender History of Greek Literature. Sappho, “the most famous woman poet of ancient Greece… had no words with which to talk about who she was, and what she did” (p. 1). This idea forms the basis of Hauser’s study of ancient Greek literature, from Archaic Greece to the Hellenistic period. According to Hauser, much like how there are gendered expectations surrounding occupation ..read more

Here are some options for further reading for the non-theme articles in Ancient History 48: Kelder (Bronze Age Cult Statues) Collins, B.J. “A Statue for the Deity: Cult Images in Hittite Anatolia.” In Cult Image and Divine Representation in the Ancient Near East, N. Walls (ed.): 13–42. Boston: American School of Oriental Research, 2005.  Güterbock, H.G., T. Kendall (1995), ‘A Hittite Silver Vessel in the Form of a Fist’, Carter, Jane, Sarah Morris (eds.), The Ages of Homer. A Tribute to Emily Townsend Vermeule, Austin: University of Texas Press: 45-60.  Koehl, R. A ..read more

In this episode episode we talk to Roger Gassman, the solo developer behind the game Pax Augusta, a city-building game set in ancient Rome, about what it takes to make a game set in the ancient world. You can also listen to the first episode on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon ..read more

By Owain Williams In the last few months, we have had plenty of people submitting proposals for Ancient History. I think it is fantastic that so many of our readers have turned their hands to writing history. Unfortunately, however, many of the submissions are not what we are looking for. So, I thought I would put together a little guide to writing articles for Ancient History. The first thing to consider when putting together a proposal is scope. The longest articles we publish are 2400–2500 words long. This is not a lot, not really. It is enough to cover plenty of topics ..read more

By Owain Williams I was reading Thucydides one weekend (as everybody does, of course...), when I came upon this passage:  “They established a garrison at Pylos, manned by the Messenians from Naupactus who sent their best men for this purpose to what they regarded as their fatherland (Pylos lies in what was once Messenian territory). These Messenians kept up plundering raids on Laconia and were able to cause a great deal of damage as they spoke in the local dialect” (Thucydides, 4.41, trans. Martin Hammond).  Upon first reading there is nothing inherently wrong with this passage, b ..read more

In this episode we talk to Briana Jackson about Archaeogaming, a relatively new academic field that combines Game Studies and Archaeology to investigate the representation of archaeology and the ancient world in video games, as well as the future of the discipline. You can also listen to the first episode on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon ..read more

By Owain Williams Welcome to the very first blog book review of 2024! For readers who don’t know, these reviews are part of an informal series that, by highlighting books that discuss cultures beyond the ‘big three’ of Greece, Rome, and Egypt, aims to help readers expand their historical perspectives, should they want to.  In this instalment, we are looking at Traci Arden’s Everyday Life in the Classical Maya World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023). Just like my understanding of ancient Africa, I have had very little exposure to the Maya prior to reading this book ..read more

By Owain Williams One of the most common resolutions people have every New Year is to lose weight – I know I repeatedly make the same resolution. Every January gyms see a rush of new people signing up to use their facilities. Considering the long winter nights after hearty, warming meals and holiday feasting, it is hardly surprising.  Today, many people turn to the ancients for guidance, regardless of their familiarity or interest with ancient history generally. The philosophy of Stoicism, for example, is more popular now than it has been for a long time. When it comes to exercise, the ..read more