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 Magazine

EDITORIAL - THE TIMES THEY ARE A'CHANGING

PRELIMINARIES • RECENT DISCOVERIES, RESEARCH, AND NEWS IN THE FIELD OF ANCIENT HISTORY

PHRYNE UNVEILED • Phryne the hetaira is famous for her wealth and her beauty. Yet she is best known for her trial, when she was supposedly stripped naked by Hyperides. However, this popular anecdote reveals more about later literary inventions than it does about the reality of the law courts of fourth-century-BC Athens.

TIBERIUS SLANDERED • The writings of Tacitus, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio were among the first texts circulated in the Renaissance. These sources have informed the depiction of Tiberius in subsequent histories and various forms of entertainment, from plays to books and television series, in which he tended to appear as a vindictive tyrant or psychologically damaged, traumatized youth. As entertaining as they may be, these retellings of Tiberius’ story distort the truth and slander the man. The process of forming his Nachleben (‘afterlife’) had already started a mere two decades after his death.

AN URBAN REVOLUTION • The development of urbanism was a millennia-long, complex process. Historians and archaeologists continue to view ancient Mesopotamia, and Sumer in particular, as a crucial case study for comprehending the development of urban life.

A REVOLUTION IN WARFARE? • A widespread theory holds that a military transformation at the beginning of the Archaic period (ca. 750–490 BC) brought about a new style of fighting in Greece, characterized by the hoplite and the phalanx. They, in turn, triggered a political transformation that resulted in the emergence of the Greek polis. The hoplites simply used their military strength to force political changes, putting an end to the aristocratic monopoly of the early Greek communities. However, was there really a ‘hoplite revolution’ that led to the rule of more egalitarian ‘middle classes’ in Greece?

THE LAST PAGAN • The Roman emperor Julian (361–363) is often identified by the epithet ‘The Apostate’, reflecting both his conversion from Christianity to paganism and the dominant role of Christians in shaping his reputation after his death. During his short reign he attempted to restore the position and fortunes of paganism in the Roman Empire, a counter-revolution to the Constantinian Christian revolution.

A REVOLUTION IN WRITING • Perhaps one of the greatest revolutions of all time was the development of alphabetic writing. Traditionally thought to have been a Phoenician invention which was subsequently adopted, perfected, and disseminated by Greeks, recent discoveries and reinterpretations of old data are forcing scholars to revisit many widely shared assumptions about its origins, and the ways by which — and by whose doing — it spread.

AGIS, CLEOMENES, AND LYCURGUS • The third-century Spartan kings Agis IV and Cleomenes III pursued revolutionary reform programmes with ambitious, but patriotic motives: to enable Sparta to recover its former internal equality and external influence. The result of their actions, however, was political instability, as both kings pursued an illusory restoration of an ancient ‘Lycurgan’ model which had never, in fact, existed, or at least not in the form that they aspired to. The ultimate reward of...