Article archive
Research, stories and questions from the ancient world.
Browse every article on Spoken Past, or choose a category to explore the archive.
Did Ancient Soldiers Have PTSD? The Debate Dividing Historians
Greek, Mesopotamian and Roman accounts reveal combat fear and distress. Historians disagree over whether any can establish an ancient case of PTSD.
Why Byzantine Emperors Blinded Their Rivals
Byzantine blinding removed rivals from power without always killing them. See how it worked and what happened to Justinian II, Romanos IV and Isaac…
How Medieval Monks Preserved and Erased Ancient Texts
Medieval monks copied ancient books and reused others as palimpsests. The Archimedes and Cicero manuscripts reveal what survived and why.
Riace Bronzes: How Two Greek Statues Survived the Sea
Found off Italy in 1972, the Riace Bronzes survived the loss of their weapons and centuries underwater. Their casting, corrosion and conservation explain why.
Siege of Masada: Jewish Rebels’ Last Stand Against Rome
Rome captured Masada in 73 or 74 CE. Josephus described 960 deaths, but the siege works, skeletons and inscribed pottery leave the rebels’ final…
How Serapis Worship Spread Across the Roman Empire
Serapis rose from Egyptian and Greek traditions to win worshippers from Delos to Rome. Temples, merchants and emperors carried his cult across the empire.
The Parthenon: How Athens Built It and Why It Was Destroyed
Built from Pentelic marble in 447–432 BCE, the Parthenon survived as a church and mosque before a Venetian shell shattered it in 1687.
Temple of Hephaestus: How It Still Stands After 2,400 Years
The Temple of Hephaestus retains its Doric columns because generations reused and maintained it. Its roof and construction history are more complicated.
The Inca Labor Tax System That Built an Empire Without Money
The Inca mit'a was a rotating labor tax that supplied roads, fields, armies and storehouses. How the system worked and what it cost Andean…
5 Roman Epic Poets Beyond Virgil
Lucan, Statius, Valerius Flaccus, Silius Italicus and Cornelius Severus wrote Roman epics about civil war, Greek myth and the struggle against Hannibal.
Roman Quaestors: The Officials Who Managed Rome’s Money
Roman quaestors supervised treasury accounts, provincial finances and military supplies. Cicero’s case against Verres reveals the limits of their power.
Did Japan Really Ban Guns After the Samurai Wars?
Japan tightly regulated guns after its civil wars, but samurai, hunters and villagers continued to use firearms throughout the Tokugawa period.
