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ANCIENT HISTORY
View All PostsGreek culture did not end with Roman conquest. From the 1st to 3rd centuries AD, Greek culture flourished in what is known as the Second Sophistic.
The Library of Alexandria (c. 295 BC–AD 642) was the ancient world’s greatest intellectual hub. It rose quickly and decayed gradually over centuries due to war and neglect.
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HISTORY
View All PostsIn 1376, an illiterate laywoman persuaded a pope to abandon the past 70 years of precedent and move the Papacy back to Rome.
Standing up to one of the world’s most feared men, one Mongolian showed courage and paid a price.
PHILOSOPHY
View All PostsNietzsche despised Christianity for, in his view, naysaying life. Yet he took great inspiration from a devotional painting of Christ.
Altona is a play about bad faith. Ostensibly written about German guilt over World War II, the ideas are also applicable to French actions in Algeria.
ART & ARTISTS
View All PostsVincent van Gogh lived a fascinating yet difficult life that led him to produce more than 2,000 artworks with a unique character and style.
In 1606, Caravaggio killed a man in a street fight and spent the rest of his life on the run.
TRAVEL & CULTURE
View All PostsThe world's greatest museums transform a night, creating fewer crowds, a richer atmosphere, and an intimacy with art that daylight simply cannot provide.
Explore Armenia’s lesser-visited highlands and learn about the ancient standing stones of Hartashen and the people who built them.

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View MapsReligion
View All PostsChristians assert that Jesus rose from the dead. Others question the reality of the Resurrection and offer non-miraculous explanations for the sightings of Jesus.
Despite the patriarchal slant of scripture, several influential women in the Bible stand out among the many because of their courage, steadfast faith, endurance, or impiety.
Stories
View All PostsHere are ten famous cocktails, listed alongside their origins and ingredients. But which historic figures were they named after, and why?
Jane Austen drew on her family life, social circle, and extensive education to write her beloved novels that reinvented the narrative of morality.




























