The Copybook: Readings in history and literature

★

Featured

Photo by Maesi64, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 1.0 Universal public domain dedication.

The Bishop’s Gambit by Clay Lane

The mayor and bishop of Zakynthos went to extraordinary lengths to protect the most vulnerable people of their island.

1

Art Appreciation by Benjamin Robert Haydon

Some years before the Elgin marbles were put on display in the British Museum, rising artist Benjamin Haydon got a sneak preview.

Read

2

From the Walters Art Museum, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Treat Me Like a King! by Flavius Arrianus

When Porus, the Indian king, surrendered to Alexander the Great at Jhelum, he had only one request to make of him.

Read

3

The Grandest of All Sepulchres by Thucydides

On the annual Remembrance Day of ancient Athens, Pericles rose to remind the people of the City that grief alone was not the best way to honour the fallen.

Read

4

By William Blake Richmond (1842-1921), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Glory of Athens by Thomas Babington Macaulay

Classical Greece has been an inspiration to every generation because she stands for the triumph of liberty and reason over prejudice and power.

Read

5

Photo by George E. Koronais, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Liberty of Athens by Thomas Babington Macaulay

The supreme arts and literature of ancient Athens all sprang from the State’s refusal to interfere in the life of the citizen.

Read

6

A Conqueror Has No Friends by Quintus Curtius Rufus

When Alexander the Great threatened the people of Scythia, their ambassadors reminded him that a conqueror has many more burdens to carry than an ally has.

Read

Greek History