Ancient History Magazine

Ancient History looks at every aspect of the ancient world: you'll find articles covering politics, society, literature, language, religion, economics, and art - all in one magazine! Like its big brother, Ancient Warfare, Ancient History Magazine is a bi-monthly, 60-page magazine that relies on a thematic approach: each issue is centered around one specific subject. From ancient Egyptian trade and Roman family life to the lost city of Pompeii, there's sure to be something for everyone - all presented in a well-researched but accessible, fun manner.

ANCIENT HISTORY

ON THE COVER

PRELIMINARIES

THE BADBURY RINGS

SPECTANS ET FRIGIDULUS

A ROYAL TOURIST

GAMING THE EGYPTIAN AFTERLIFE

MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE

BEYOND WASHING

MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO • Mens sana in corpore sano: “a sound mind in a healthy body”. It is one of the most-quoted phrases from Classical antiquity. What formula could be more simple to comprehend? Good mental health comes with good physical health, and vice versa: as easy as that. And yet it is not a straightforward equivalence, still less a necessary connection.

THE SYMPOSIUM • At the ancient symposium (translating roughly to ‘communal drinking’), Xenophanes tells readers of his poetry that “song and festivity pervade the room”. Indeed, the stereotypical image that is most commonly associated with the event is that of a jovial and luxurious drinking party, complete with music, dance, and convivial conversation. However, to scholars of ‘sympotic’ events and literature, its reality and its conceptualization is far more varied and complex.

Kottabos – the original drinking game

A GAME OF SOLDIERS • When we think of the Roman Army, we tend to focus on their militaristic aspects – their ferocity and ruthlessness in war – or the busy-work that kept them quiet on duty: patrolling frontier areas, building roads, or manufacturing military equipment. Much less time is spent considering what the average Roman soldier did in his spare time for fun. Some of the popular pastimes seem to have been playing board games and dice games – perhaps not what we would at first associate with a Roman soldier at leisure. Yet there is plenty of archaeological evidence to suggest that playing games was a popular pursuit for Roman soldiers in their spare time.

A TRAIL OF CRUMBS • With the arrival of the Romans in the Netherlands in the first century BC, our diet and daily bread changed drastically and forever. The Roman army settled in various fortresses along the Limes Germanicus, the northern border of the Roman Empire that ran right through the Netherlands. Camp villages with craftsmen and merchants rose around these fortresses, and large cities were founded.

Panis Germaniae Inferioris

EVAGORAS I OF SALAMIS • In 374 BC, the reign of Evagoras I of Salamis – an obscure city-kingdom on the fringes of the Hellenistic world – came to a sudden end. King Evagoras I (or Euagoras) ruled Salamis, Cyprus from 411 until his sudden death in 374 BC. According to Isocrates, the Athenian rhetorician, Evagoras was the model ruler. He was endowed not only with strength and beauty, “but to them were also added manly courage, wisdom and justice” (Isoc. Evagoras 9.22). However hyperbolic, Evagoras’ reign was certainly remarkable.

REBUILDING ANCIENT ROME • Recreating “the grandeur that was Rome” has been the dream of artists ever since the ancient city fell into ruin. While traditional artistic techniques can produce images in two dimensions and physical models can add a missing third dimension, even the best of these fall short in allowing the viewer to explore the buildings inside, as well as out. Advances in computer-based modelling software and graphic processing technologies, however, are making that possible. Several organizations have created digital models of...