Greeks had first settled round the coasts of Sicily during the colonising period and in 480 they had united to

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Alcibiades was the nephew of Pericles. As well as being rich and handsome, he was amusing, clever, insolent and unreliable.

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Socrates was short, ugly and brave. He served as a hoplite in the Peloponnesian war and on one occasion saved

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Lorenzo de’ Medici was far from handsome. His skin was sallow, his eyes had a short-sighted squint and his nose

Read More Florence in the Golden Age 1469 -1498

Milan’s most important business street had no displays of velvet cloaks, bright bolts of silk, or cloth-of-gold. It was a

Read More Milan, City of Splendour and War 1277-1515

One day in the fifteenth century, the Turkish potentate of Babylonia decided to send gifts to the greatest ruler in

Read More Gentlemen, Scholars and Princes 1400 – 1507

Zealots, for sixty years or more, had formed the “resistance’’ against the Romans in Judaea and their ideas were shared

Read More Zealots and the Destruction of Zion(70 A.D.)

A. D. is not meant to imply a time when fires were burning continually from 312 A.D. to 1204 A.D.

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Constantine’s victory at the Milvian Bridge, ensures the spread of Christianity, throughout the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire, at the

Read More In This Sign Shalt Thou Conquer (312 A.D.)