War at Sea in the Second Punic War
by Christa Steinby Abstract: Steinby provides an account of the Second Punic War which shows that whilst there were relatively few direct naval engagements in the Second Punic War, events at sea should not be…
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In Our Time – ‘Carthage’s Destruction’
By Melvyn Bragg (host), Mary Beard, Jo Quinn and Ellen O’Gorman (guests) Abstract: Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Destruction of Carthage. The North African city of Carthage was rich and powerful, but in the…
Faithful unto Death: Militarism, Masculinity and National Identity in Victorian Britain
By Rosemary Barrow Abstract: In this chapter, Barrow uses Poynter’s Faithful unto Death and other Victorian artistic works such as Bulwer-Lytton’s The Last Days of Pompeii to explore the way in which the golden-age…
Roman attitudes to empire and imperialism: the view from history
By Hannah Cornwell Abstract: In this article, Cornwell examines the place of imperialism in the Roman mindset. She shows that the extension of Roman influence abroad was conceived of by some as a profoundly ethical…
Pliny in Bithynia – And What Followed
By Barbara Levick Abstract: In this article, Levick discusses Pliny the Younger’s posting to Bithynia, a Roman province south of the Black Sea. She contests that this sought to address the mismanagement of urban…
Mythbusting Ancient Rome: did Christians ban the Ancient Olympics?
by Shushma Malik and Caillan Davenport Abstract: Malik and Davenport dismantle the idea that the Theodosian Code banned the Olympic Games on grounds of paganism. Instead, they show, the infrastructure necessary for the…
Mythbusting Ancient Rome: the truth about the vomitorium
By Shushma Malik and Caillan Davenport Abstract: Malik and Davenport argue against the idea that some Roman buildings had purpose-built ‘vomiting rooms’ intended for use after particularly intense feasting sessions.…
Mythbusting Ancient Rome: throwing Christians to the lions
by Shushma Malik and Caillan Davenport Abstract: Malik and Davenport show that the allegation that Roman Emperors were fierce persecutors of Christians is unjustified by the evidence, which indicates that ‘haphazard’…
Mythbusting Ancient Rome: the emperor Nero
by Shushma Malik and Caillan Davenport Abstract: In this article, Malik and Davenport scrutinise the major allegations which have brought the Emperor Nero infamy: his supposed setting alight of the city of Rome in 64AD…
The First Emperor and the Queen of Inscriptions: Augustus in his own words
by Alison Cooley Abstract: This podcast provides an account of Octavian’s rise to power and his adoption of the title Augustus. It examines the res gestae in terms of its context, content and surviving evidence.…