Ancient Greece

A gilded unicorn atop a silver baton from the regalia of Scotland's Usher of the White Rod

How the Unicorn Became an Enduring Symbol—and Scotland's National Animal

The Perth Museum's inaugural exhibition examines the mythical creature's long history

An aerial view of the Palace of Aigai following 16 years of restoration

Greece Reopens the Palace Where Alexander the Great Was Crowned

The 2,300-year-old Palace of Aigai—the largest building in classical Greece—had been under renovation for 16 years

As many as 23,000 tourists visited the Acropolis per day last summer.

You Can Soon Take a Private Tour of the Acropolis—For a Steep Price

Scheduled to begin April 1, the off-hours visits will cost €5,000 ($5,500) per group

Volunteers repairing and refreshing the 180-foot-tall giant in 2019

This Mysterious Hillside Carving Is Actually Hercules, Researchers Say

England's 180-foot-tall Cerne Abbas Giant may have served as a landmark for gathering troops

Close examination of drill marks on the sculpture shows how carvers created surfaces to evoke the textures of the represented elements, such as skin, wool or linen.

Vibrant Paint Once Decorated the 2,500-Year-Old Parthenon Marbles

New research has revealed that ancient artists used color to create highly detailed designs

The letter “x” often symbolizes something unknown, with an air of mystery that can be appealing.

A Brief History of the Letter 'X,' From Algebra to X-Mas to Elon Musk

A math historian explores how "x" came to stand in for an unknown quantity

Crowds gather outside the front gate of the Acropolis.

The Acropolis Adopts Crowd Control Measures for the First Time

The increasingly popular tourist destination in Greece is becoming overwhelmed with tourists

The titular "Dial of Destiny" in the new Indiana Jones film is based on the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient device used to chart the cosmos.

The Real History Behind the Archimedes Dial in 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'

A device called the Antikythera mechanism is the true-life basis for the object at the center of the franchise’s latest installment

Dogs sunbathing at the Acropolis

Pets Will Soon Be Welcome at More Than 120 Archaeological Sites in Greece

The new policies won't apply at certain high-traffic destinations like the Acropolis

Did lions once live in ancient Greece?

Did Lions Live in Ancient Greece? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Examples of classical influences include Heracles' assimilation with Vajrapani, one of the Buddha's most faithful attendants, and illuminated manuscripts created in the Byzantine style by Christian monks in Ethiopia.

The Myth of the 'Dark Ages' Ignores How Classical Traditions Flourished Around the World

The author of a sweeping re-examination of Western history reveals the global reach of Greek and Roman antiquity

A depiction of the Scorpio zodiac sign at the Temple of Esna in Egypt

See Colorful Paintings of the Zodiac Signs From an Ancient Egyptian Temple

Newly restored, the Ptolemaic era reliefs were previously covered by a layer of dirt and soot

The coin was one of 29 antiquities returned to Greece

Rare Gold Coin Celebrating Julius Caesar's Death Returned to Greece

Minted in 42 B.C.E., the looted coin broke auction records in 2020 when it sold for $4.2 million

A view of the more than 2,000 mummified ram skulls found at the temple in Abydos

Archaeologists Discover 2,000 Mummified Ram Skulls in Temple of Ramses II

The skulls were likely left as offerings about 1,000 years after the pharaoh's death

Pancakes—or at least early versions of them—have been a culinary staple for tens of thousands of years.

A Brief History of Pancakes

From ancient Greece to Shrove Tuesday celebrations, the sweet or savory flat cakes have long been a culinary staple

Instead of transitioning between Latin and English, spoken Latin keeps the cognition all in one language.

Spoken Latin Is Making a Comeback

Proponents of the teaching method argue that it encourages engagement with the language and the ancient past

Pope Francis with Archbishop Ieronymos II in 2021

Pope Francis Will Return Parthenon Sculptures to Greece

The fifth-century B.C.E. artifacts have been at the Vatican Museum for 200 years

After 30 years of research, a Greek archaeologist can tell today’s fishery biologists how bountiful the Mediterranean Sea once was.

Unearthing the Original Mediterranean Diet

An archaeologist works to find out how much fish ancient Greeks ate

If Yonatan Adler's theory proves correct, then Judaism is, at best, Christianity’s elder sibling and a younger cousin to the religions of ancient Greece and Rome.

Is Judaism a Younger Religion Than Previously Thought?

A new book by an Israeli archaeologist makes the stunning claim that common Jewish practices emerged only a century or so before Jesus

The archaeological site at Himera in Sicily

Mercenaries Were More Common in Greek Warfare Than Ancient Historians Let on

New research finds that many soldiers who fought in the fifth-century B.C.E. battles at Himera were born outside of the empire

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