New book: Byzantine Secrets of Athens

Submitted by Admin on Thu, 06/05/2025 - 16:57

Byzantine Secrets of Athens is not just another general guide to Athens. It is focussed specifically on the city's Byzantine period of history – that stretched from the late antiquity to the Ottoman times, roughly from the 5th to the 15th century. However, the topics discussed on the pages of this book are not limited to the Byzantine buildings. These magnificent structures offer us the opportunity to look at Athens from a less usual angle. At the same time, you will not miss its iconic monuments such as the Acropolis or the Tower of the Winds. Their stories are also described, although from a less frequently applied perspective. I took an opportunity to look beyond the ancient period of their existence and discuss their later stories, for instance when they served as the Christian places of worship.

Aristides – "Milesian Tales" of Romance and Eroticism

Submitted by Iza on Sun, 06/01/2025 - 17:20

Text by our correspondent from Didim, Jay Jean Jackson.

In the 2nd century BCE, the ancient Greek author, Aristides of Miletus is said to have founded the Milesian School of Literature and developed a genre of writing style that is still used today. He was regarded as the father of "Greek Romance" and wrote six books of erotic Milesian tales, short stories, fables, or folktales of love and adventure with a titillating essence. It is unclear if Aristides was actually an inhabitant of Miletus or if he just based his stories there because of the luxurious, laid-back and easy-going lifestyle the ancient Milesians were reputed to have enjoyed during this time.

The Tepidarium by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1881, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight. Lounging next to the tepidarium, a curvaceous beauty takes her rest. She holds a strigil in her right hand. Public Domain

May 2025 in Turkish archaeology

Submitted by Iza on Sun, 06/01/2025 - 11:47

May 2025 brought some excellent news from the area of Türkiye. First of all, the ancient bilingual inscriptions of Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum in Osmaniye were officially inscribed into the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. Secondly, in a groundbreaking discovery, an archaeological team unearthed significant evidence of early settled life at Çakmaktepe, located in the Şanlıurfa province. Finally, the Directorate of National Palaces in Türkiye completed restoration works on two historic rooms within the Harem section of Topkapı Palace.

Karatepe-Aslantaş National Park inscription

Erythrae

Submitted by Iza on Tue, 05/27/2025 - 08:38

Erythrae was an ancient Greek city, one of the twelve Ionian cities in the Asia Minor. It was located on the Aegean coast of modern-day Turkey near the village of Ildır in the Izmir province, around 15 kilometres as the crow flies to the north-east of the famous holiday resort called Çeşme.

The Ancient Theory of Evolution – Anaximander

Submitted by Iza on Mon, 05/26/2025 - 18:21

Text by our correspondent from Didim, Jay Jean Jackson.

When we think about the ‘theory of evolution’ most of us automatically think of the 19th century biologist Charles Darwin and his amazing work, ‘The origin of species’, which was published in 1859. However, some 2400 years ago, before the birth of science, Anaximander, in the Ancient Greek city of Miletus was already pondering how humans and animals had evolved.