History

Debt in Ancient Athens and Solon’s Reforms

As long as people have been trading with each other, they have created debt. And as long as people have created debt, some have been unable to pay what they owe. This was as true in ancient Athens as it is today. Before about the 6th century BCE in Attica, among a population consisting primarily of peasants and small farmers, borrowing occurred among members of local communities in the form… Read more

Open House | The End of the Histories, with Scarlett Kingsley and Timothy Rood

We were excited to welcome Scarlett Kingsley and Timothy Rood for an Open House entitled “The End of the Histories.” The event took place on Friday, March 19 at 11:00 a.m. EDT and was recorded. To get ready for the event, you might like to read these handouts: Bolingbroke On Luxury (PDF) Kosmos Society Readings (PDF) You can watch the recording on our YouTube channel, or in the frame below.… Read more

Everlasting Glory in Athens

The Parthenon is part of our collective imagination as an exceptional monument. It is interesting to note that, according to Douglas Frame, the name Parthenon was officially given to it later. §3.44 In concrete form it was of course the Parthenon that displayed Athena parthénos most impressively to the city and to the world. Paradoxically this building, constructed between 447 and 432 BC, did not begin to be called the… Read more

Open House | Lysias, his Funeral Oration, and Collective Memories in Classical Athens, with Julia L. Shear

We were excited to welcome Julia L. Shear for an Open House entitled “Lysias, his Funeral Oration, and Collective Memories in Classical Athens.” The event took place on Friday, March 5 at 11:00 a.m. EST and was recorded. To get ready for the event, you might like to read: Lysias 2, the Funeral Oration Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War 2.34, description of the burial of the war-dead. You can… Read more

The Battle of Sybota | part 2: Aid and succour for the Corcyraeans

In part 1: The siege of Epidamnus, and embassies to Athens, we left the forces gathering after the Athenians sent ten ships to assist Corcyra against the assembled Corinthians and their allies. The Corcyraeans positioned their fleet of 110 ships, under the command of Meikiades and two others, near the Sybota Islands, where also the ten Athenian ships were present. The land forces that were posted at Leukimme included a… Read more