Animals as Symbols: A Lion Attacking a Stag

Animals and Us The personification of animals in modern wildlife documentaries is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand it makes their lives relatable to us, helps us empathise with the ups-and-downs of a wild living, helps us appreciate the wonderful, safe bubble we have built around ourselves and makes an otherwise

Roman History in a Nutshell: The Pyrrhic Wars – Sicily and The Battle of Beneventum, 275 BCE

We left off after the (potential) defeat of the Romans after the Battle of Asculum and the role of Roman/Carthaginian relations in proceedings. Well those relations were about to be tested for the flimsy trans-Mediterranean partnership that it actually was. We have spoken how it seems Pyrrhus may have had eyes on Sicily. The Greek

Celestial Classics: Artemis

Another in our Celestial Classics series in which we look at aspects of astronomy, usually celestial bodies but also a NASA mission in this case, and the myths that inspired their names. Today is the turn of the Goddess Artemis, the Greek mythological goddess of the hunt, of chastity, of pregnancy and childbirth, of the wilderness, hunting and those aspects of brutality to which humans must accept their place or else be doomed to destroy the very world on which they live. She is my favourite and I won’t hear a word against her!

Roman History in a Nutshell: The Pyrrhic Wars – Carthage and the Battle of Asculum, 279 BCE

A look at the middle portion of Rome’s wars with the Kingdom of Epirus under Pyrrhus. The involvement of Carthage makes the whole affair very interesting, and while Rome appears to keep losing, they do so whilst giving Pyrrhus and his forces a solid effort and taking out some key troops and generals. How long can Pyrrhus hold out fighting the Romans? What exactly will Carthaginian involvement be and where will this lead?

Caturday Special: The Leopard, Panthera pardus

With this study of the leopard we have written about every extant pantherine. There are no more big cat species of that genus left to cover. The leopard is a beautiful, generalist, opportunist species adapted for a wide variety of habitats, explaining it’s wide distribution. It is a cat also associated with the Greek God Dionysus, the God of wine.