History

Byzantine society was extremely diverse, encompassing Christian Greeks, Slavs, Armenians, Georgians, Coptics, and the Jewish populations, among others, but are the Byzantines considered Roman, Greek, or both? During the Byzantine Golden Age under Emperor Justinian, the Byzantine Empire stretched around...

According to the Gospel of John, Judas Iscariot received 30 silver coins, or in today's money, around $340, to betray Jesus and put him in the hands of Caiaphas. Before the Last Supper, Judas is said to have gone to...

On May 1, 1944, 200 Greek communists were executed by the German Nazi forces occupying Greece during the Second World War. The executions were initiated as a reprisal for the killing of a high-ranking German officer by Greek resistance...

According to 1950s legend on Ikaria island, an 117 year old woman naturally grew seven new teeth and a head of black hair.

The ancient Greeks named the Phoenicians the "purple people" because of the rare purple dye they made out of snail shells, but they were much more than that: they were the Mediterranean seafarers who created the first alphabet It was...

Around 11,500 years ago, farming started in the Middle East. It was a revolution for humans. Before that, people mainly hunted and gathered food, a lifestyle they followed for over 300,000 years since humans evolved in Africa. There are very...

According to medieval legends, there was a Trojan migration to Britain several generations after the Trojan War. For centuries, the British believed this legend wholeheartedly. Today, most scholars dismiss it as medieval fiction. However, a new book presents an...

Hades was the underworld of Greek mythology. As such, it was a purely mythical location. Yet despite this, the ancient Greeks associated it with a number of real-world places. This is particularly so regarding its entrance. Ancient Greek texts...

The Twelve Labours of Hercules occupy a special place in the pantheon of Greek mythology, exemplifying the ancient beliefs of the Greeks.

By Tony Cross It's fairly well known that the words to the US National Anthem were written by a 33-year old lawyer named Francis Scott Key, as he watched the British Royal Navy bombarding Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbour on...

Bactria, a huge area in todays' Afghanistan, was the eastern edge of the ancient Greek empire, established by Alexander the Great.

Many important ancient temples are located in Greece and other countries, such as Italy, which were then part of the ancient Greek empire.

A Greek Orthodox monastery, founded more than one thousand years ago is thriving just south of Rome, Italy in the epicenter of Catholicism. 

The Vikings were a seafaring people from Scandinavia. They most famously raided in and around the British Isles and the western coasts of Europe. However, what many people do not know is that they were active much further east,...

It was on Sunday, April 27, 1941, when German troops entered Athens. The capital's residents remained stubbornly locked up in their homes. The hoisting of the Nazi swastika flag on the Acropolis marked the beginning of the German Occupation. Soon,...