Browsing Category
4000BC-500AD
Saint Valentine: How Love’s Martyr Came to Dublin
Dublin’s Whitefriar Street Church is home to one of the most popular modern Saint’s: Saint Valentine. A shrine dedicated to the Saint has pride of place in the church and his remains are put on display every February 14th, but how though…
Clodius, King of the Streets of Rome
The last century BC is regarded by some historians as one of the most pivotal times in the history of the world. At the time the great Roman Republic was in its final decline, with the absolute power that had been wielded by Gaius Marius…
In the Beginning
In the beginning of every year we witness the same phenomenon. Sometimes something worth talking about happens. Here’s a lowdown.
“Blessed be God, at the end of the last year I was in very good health, without any sense of my…
Crassus, the richest man in Rome.
Marcus Licinius Crassus was, by any standard, one of the richest men who has ever lived. Given that when he lived was over two thousand years ago, it’s hard to translate his wealth into modern terms, and estimates vary by orders of…
Laughter in Ancient Rome: a squandered opportunity?
The Reith Lecture by CP Snow, in 1959, introduced the idea of the Two Cultures, those of science and humanities, and warned that this divide was damaging to the advancement of knowledge and understanding. More than half a century on and it…
The Tara Brooch: Gold and Jewels from the Ancient Irish Past
The Tara Brooch is justifiably among the most celebrated of all works of Celtic art. Dating to the early eighth century, the “Golden Age” of Celtic Irish history, this brooch has been called “The Book of Kells of Irish jewelry”.1 It is one…
Augustus: The First Roman Emperor.
Imperator Gaius Julius Divi Filius Caesar Octavianus
The future emperor is born.
The first emperor, commonly known as Augustus, was born Gaius Octavius in the year of the consulship of Hibrida and Cicero (63 BC or 691 Ab Urbe Condita). He…