Daedalus – Who was he?
Daedalus was a famous character from Greek mythology, He was a skilful architect and craftsman, who mythology tells us was seen as a figure of wisdom, knowledge and power. Now as you may have guessed Greek mythology gets a little bit weird. It says that he is the father of both Icarus and Lapyx, as […]
Is the Trojan Horse a True Story?
There appear to be two sources for the story, There are even myths about the Trojan horse itself, some say: Therefore, the Trojan Wars could have been a myth, or at least a story made up of both myth and truth. Ultimately, it is unlikely we will ever know, which is why many suggest […]
Female Olympics in Ancient Greece, yes, there was one!
Do you enjoy the Olympics? Did you know that during the Ancient Olympics, which were held over 2,000 years ago, the competitors took part naked! Even more, in the long jump, they were not only naked, they had to hold weights in both hands to the rhythm of the music! The BBC would never have […]
Philippides feat, the first marathon. It killed him!
Could you run 140 miles, then go back over the same route for another 140 miles and after all that, just do a short run of 26 miles, and live? It is from this magnificent feat that the Marathon at the Olympics is based, fortunately in the Olympics they only do the last bit, the […]
Greek Influence on the US Constitution
Speaking in March 2019 in the White House, President Donald Trump said that“the U.S and the whole western civilization has been shaped by the achievements of the Greek people.” I think he was right. Especially, as it appears that the founding fathers looked at the way the Greek city states ran their democracy. You […]
What do you know of Pericles?
What do you know of Pericles? He was a prominent and influential Athenian statesman, and his story basically tells us that the world hasn’t changed in nearly 3000 years. Does it ever? In the years between 500BC and 400 BC he was the driving force as the Greek democracy was evolving. As it evolved it […]
How do you get out of a maze?
Greek mythology tells the story of Monster in the Maze. It tells of a frightening creature, with the head of a bull and the body of a man, yes, half man and half animal. Now this frightening creature lived in the centre of the Labyrinth, an elaborate maze, under the palace of King Minos of […]
The story of the Monster in the Maze
The Greek myth of the Minotaur inspires the story of Monster in the Maze. Theseus goes into a Maze and finds his way out, but how? Theseus was the son of Aegeus, the King of Athens, who went to Crete where King Minus, rumoured to be a son of the Greek god Zeus, had a […]
Athens where democracy started
While Churchill’s view is true, so is Abraham Lincoln’s, he described it as “Of the people, by the people, for the people”, a lovely dream. However, both men’s quotes led me to asking how and why did democracy ever get started? Why did it happen? On investigation I learnt that it was all because of […]
The canal of the Pharaohs
The Suez Canal blocked, what can they do? The Suez Canal became famous recently when the container ship Evergreen got stuck in the canal. The Suez Canal is today’s major route for goods coming from the Far East to Europe. When it got blocked, the world panicked. Today’s canal, which took ten years to build, […]