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ANCIENT HISTORY
View All PostsAncient Greek philosophy shows that thoughtful living and self-restraint can guide us away from excess towards a steadier, more grounded existence.
Alexander’s conquest of Sogdiana and Bactria was met with dogged resistance. Unable to face him on the battlefield, many locals retreated to the Sogdian Rock.
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HISTORY
View All PostsLess than five years after the United States dropped an atomic weapon on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet Union developed its own nuclear bomb.
This article ranks ten of the most effective diplomats in history by their tangible achievements—the treaties signed, the wars averted, and the geopolitical orders established.
PHILOSOPHY
View All PostsPeople often turn to Philosophy in order to seek answers to the most mundane questions. In Stoicism, there are guidelines for living a peaceful life.
While love builds worlds, strife breaks them apart. For Empedocles, everything in our lives moves between these two eternal forces.
ART & ARTISTS
View All PostsDiscover the enduring genius of Mary Shelley's great work of proto-science fiction: Frankenstein.
During the tumultuous 1960s, French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss was a rising superstar in the Western intellectual firmament. What made his name and achievements shine bright?
TRAVEL & CULTURE
View All PostsEurope’s big museums hold masterpieces, but the small ones hold the fun, from fake mermaids to hairballs. Discover some of the weirdest exhibits across Europe.
After a traumatic period under Communist rule, Albania is rapidly becoming a European tourist hotspot and welcomes travelers seeking to discover its diverse history.

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View MapsReligion
View All PostsMore than a simple phrase, “Jesus wept” carries far more significance than it seems.
Condemned as a heretic but hailed as a genius, Origen of Alexandria mastered Hebrew to create the Hexapla, a 6,000-page ancient masterpiece of the Bible.
Stories
View All PostsDiscover the life, legend, and literature of one of the Romantic era's greatest authors, Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley.
Widely referred to as the queen of textiles in the ancient world, silk helped to transform ancient China in myriad ways.




























