Welcome to our Essays and Commentaries section, below you will find our most recent articles. For a complete list of all the articles published, simply scroll to the bottom of this page and browse.
The Competitive Culture of Classical Greece
Competition is strife through Classical Greece, and Pleket argues that this is an “essential ingredient in the educational system” of the poleis, which given its high concentration within the society appears to be a given. However, there is scholarly debate over whether this competition crafted an agonistic culture. Pleket claims that competition underwent a “gradual…
The Unusual Case of Homosexuality in Classical Athens
When considering the ancient world, individuals either sway towards viewing it through a black-and-white, conservative lens, or through an anachronistic bias, both of which distort ancient evidence. Sexuality in Classical Athens is no different. Homosexuality is studied, unsurprisingly, when the case concerned two men, either because female homosexuality did not occur, in that they were…
The Caryatid in the British Museum
The Caryatid in the British Museum is one of the main objects dominating the challenges to museum curation. The group of Caryatids on the south porch of the Erechtheion temple in Athens are admired for their ‘full and sensual forms…[and] delicacy of their drapery,’ reappearing in the cathedrals of 12th and 13th century France, and…
