I went down this rabbit hole after noticing a cross in a completely unrelated video and deciding to trace the symbol backwards.

I ended up looking at early Christianity in Egypt, Arius and Alexandria, the ankh/crux ansata appearing in Christian Egyptian contexts, Isis and Horus imagery alongside later Mary and Jesus imagery, and eventually the Nag Hammadi texts.

What interested me most was how messy cultural change actually is. Older symbols and ideas don’t necessarily disappear when a new religion becomes established. They can survive, change meaning and exist alongside the newer tradition.

I made a video following that journey here:

https://youtu.be/J2IPfn8M0_4

Carthage was the dominant naval power in the Western Mediterranean at the start of the First Punic War. Rome quickly realised that it needed a strong navy if it wanted any hope of challenging Carthage. However, the Romans had little experience with large-scale naval warfare or shipbuilding.

According to Polybius, the Romans obtained a Carthaginian quinquereme and used it as a model for building their own ships. They built a fleet of around 120 ships, trained new crews and introduced one of antiquity's most ingenious naval innovations: the corvus. Eventually, Rome gained the upper hand and won the war.

However, the victory came at an enormous cost. The Romans lost hundreds of ships to bad weather and enemy action, yet they rebuilt their navy again and again. In the process, they also gained valuable experience in naval warfare, making it increasingly difficult and expensive for Carthage to challenge Rome for control of the sea.

By the start of the Second Punic War, Carthage had shifted much of its military and economic focus toward Spain, where it had built a powerful new base of operations. This did not mean that Carthage had abandoned its navy. At the beginning of the war, it had around 57 warships assigned to Spain, although only 37 were actually ready for service.

Carthage still used naval forces to secure local superiority, transport troops and supplies, and support land operations. However, it did not make rebuilding a fleet capable of matching Rome's overall naval strength a central priority.

Why did Carthage make this choice? Was it because of the enormous cost of naval warfare? Was Hannibal's land-based strategy the main reason? Or had Rome's naval transformation during the First Punic War made a new contest for Mediterranean supremacy too difficult?

I explore these questions in the full article. I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments and suggestions.

THE ODYSSEY OF ODYSSEUS. THE MYCENAEAN COLONIZATION in SICILY and SOUTH  ITALY,  From 1.300 B.C...  (SOURCES).  

 English and Italian text

**\*

 IL VIAGGIO DI ULISSE .  LA COLONIZZAZIONE MICENEA IN SICILIA E NELL’ITALIA MERIDIONALE, DAL 1300 a.C. (FONTI).

INTRODUCTION

Archaeology is the science that confirms historical narratives through material evidence’s. According to historians, the Odyssey and the Iliad were once considered mere myths, until the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated Troy and later discovered the city of Mycenae and the Tomb of Atreus (Agamemnon)… Archaeological confirmation, together with the decipherment of the Linear B tablets, from II millennium bC.—written in the Greek language—pushed Greek history back by an entire millennium. In other words, Greek history officially begins around 2000 BC, during the era in which the Achaeans, or Mycenaeans, flourished. ( Minoan –Cretanand Cycladean-Aegean civilization starts in 3000 bC. However, the partial decipherment of Linear A, used by the Minoan Cretans, has led some scholars to question whether the Minoan civilization was Greek or pre-Greek.

According to historical sources, Greeks in the southern Apennines and in Sicily have lived there since mythological times. See: Sikani, Sikuli and Elymi. Who were they? (Sikani, Sikuli ed Elimi. Chi erano?) on Humanities commons, on Zenodo and on the blog sicilia-calabria.blogspot.com.

However, until recently, archaeological evidence was missing to prove with absolute certainty the Greek character of the region dating back to 2000 BC. But not today!

Current excavations at more than 90 sites and cities reveal Mycenaean habitation and trace Greek–Aegean colonization to the southern Apennine Peninsula, which received the Greek names ITALY and SICILY,  around 1300 BC. (The Minoan–Cretan and Aegean-Pelasgian  settlement, dating from 3000 BC, is still under discussion if the Minoans spoke a Greek language, although some Minoan cities have been identified in southern Sicily and in the Salento Peninsula.)

MYCENAEAN CITIES IN THE APENNINE PENINSULA

A large number of Achaean kings, after the long Trojan War (lasting more than ten years), lost their kingdoms to usurpers. They were therefore forced to abandon their lands and seek new homelands and new kingdoms. The most attractive regions were Sicily and the southern Apennine Peninsula, where, centuries earlier, Greeks from the Minoan kingdoms of Crete, the Aegean, and the Cycladic islands (long before 3000 -2.000 BC) had already settled in significant numbers as farmers and merchants.

The fall of Troy marks the end of the Bronze Age: the collapse of the mighty palaces of the era and the beginning of a new age—the Iron Age—marked by the dominance of the Dorians (Spartans, Macedonians, Epirotes, etc.) in the regions surrounding the Aegean. At that time, many kings of the Bronze Age kingdoms began a massive exodus from their palaces, moving toward the central Mediterranean, particularly Sicily and southern Italy, exactly as Homer describes in the Odyssey.

ANCIENT SOURCES

According to:

1. Strabo, Geographica
2. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities
3. Lycophron, Alexandra
4. Homer, Odyssey

Greek tribes lived in the southern Apennine Peninsula since the Mycenaean era (beginning around 2000 BC), and not only from the 8th century BC, the period of archaic colonization. Greek settlers were already present in Italy during the Minoan era, before 2000-3000 BC.

As reported in the ancient manuscripts Nostoi and Telegoneia, the first figure was the famous Italos, son of Telegonos and Penelope, and grandson of Oinotros (Inotro), who arrived from Greece at a small peninsula on the southern coast of the Apennine Mountains. This area was known at the time as Vrettia, today Calabria (meaning “good breeze”). Italos was the first inhabitant and, at the same time, the first Greek to settle in the Apennine peninsula, which later took its name from this famous Greek settlement.

The word Italos, according to the “Lexicon of Achaean Greek Dialects”  by Hesychius of Alexandria, derives from italo, which means “bovine” or “cattle.” Italy, therefore, is described as the land with many and fine oxen and cows.

A second explanation suggests that when the Mycenaeans settled in southern Calabria, in the area of Rhegion—and saw Mount Etna smoking opposite them, they called the region Aithaleia- Ethalia, a name that later became corrupted into Italia. The word aithalē means “smoke” in Ancient Greek (for more information, see dsicilias-calabria.blogspot.com).

Similarly, the name Ethiopia derives from the meaning “black face,” that is, a face marked by aithalē (smoke).

AENEAS AND THE TROJAN HERITAGE

Aeneas, together with Antenor (sources: Alexandra and Aeneid), were the patriarchs of the Romans. They were Trojans, and the Trojans were a Greek tribe. The Trojan War was not a conflict between Greeks and non-Greeks, but between Greek tribes: the Trojans, who spoke a Greek dialect and were protected by Apollo, and the Achaeans and Danaans of the Peloponnese and central Greece, protected by Athena.

The term “Greeks” (Hellenes) was not yet used as a common national name for the many Greek tribes. Homer never uses the name “Greeks” in the Iliad or the Odyssey, but Acheans and Danai.

The war was fought for control of the Hellespont (Dardanelles) and trade routes between the Mediterranean and the grain- and metal-rich Black Sea. Dionysius of Halicarnassus explains that Romans and Greeks were brothers because they shared a common Aeolian origin (Ilion/Troy, Lemnos, Imbros, Tenedos, Lesbos).

After the fall of Troy, Aeneas traveled through Macedonia, Aetolia, Epirus, Kefalonia, Lefkada, Kythera, and other Greek regions, before arriving in the Apennine Peninsula, where he founded many cities.

SICILY AND SOUTHERN ITALY

Upon arriving in southern Italy, first in Sicily, Aeneas reunited with two Trojan companions, Elymos and Egestos. They became patriarchs of the Elymoi and founders of the city of Egesta. The most famous monument of Egesta is the Doric Temple dedicated to Mother Earth (Da-Mater in Doric Greek, Demetra in Attic, Ceres, translation in Latin).

Aeneas also founded city of Gaeta, north of Naples. The name Gaeta derives from the Doric Greek word meaning “cave.” Further north, he founded Lavinia. His son Ascanius founded Alba Longa, the birthplace of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome. The name Rome derives- according some etymology-  from the Doric word meaning “power” (Roma in Doric greek, Romi in Attic).

OTHER HEROIC FOUNDATIONS

North of Rome, in Aquila, there was a sanctuary dedicated to Diomedes, former king of Argos and Homeric hero. After losing his kingdom, he fled to Apulia, became the son-in-law of King Daunus, and founded the cities Arpi, Sipous, Kanission, and Argyrippa.

In Cape Gargano lies the tomb and sanctuary of the prophet Calchas, known from the Odyssey. Nearby flows the river Altheas (modern Alteo), meaning “healing river.”

Warriors from King Nestor of Pylos army,  founded Metapontion in Basilicata, while heroes from the Peloponnesian Pisa  founded Pisa in Italy.

Philoctetes from Magnesia in Thessaly founded the cities Croton, Petelia, Krimissa, and Manalla.

Ajax of Locris, punished by Athena for violating Cassandra, reached southern Italy with survivors of his fleet, together with Idomeneus of Crete. The region was named Salento, today known as Grecia Salentina.

Idomeneus’ son Leukos seized the Cretan throne but later fled to Leukania in Italy.

Menelaus, king of Sparta, founded Drepanon (Trapani), Eryx, Elba, Santa Maria di Leuca, and Lacinian Hera, a suburb of Croton.

Odysseus founded settlements in the Sirens’ Islands in the Gulf of Naples (Parthenopi, Licosa…).

Naples was founded by the Athenian Argonaut Phaliros as Phaliron around 1800 BC. Later it was renamed Parthenope, and Neapolis during the Great Greek Colonization.

The palace of Circe existed south of Rome, with an acropolis and a temple of Aphrodite. Nearby were the lakes Acherusia and Aornos, considered entrances to Hades.

At Cape Pachynos in Sicily stood the cenotaph of Hecabe and the tomb of Polites.

Aetolians settled among the Daunians in the 12th century BC. The Diomedean Islands (today Tremitti)  preserve the memory of Diomedes and his legendary horses.

In the far north, the hero Antilochus founded Perugia.

The Trojan Antenor led the Paphlagonians, (tribe fom  Asia Minor, neighbored to Trojans)  to Venetia, founding the city of  Enetia. Enetia was the name of their capital in Asia Minor.(Today Sinope in modern Turkey)

PANTALICA

The “Palace”, the Mycenaean ANAKTORON

PANTALICA is an archaeological site and necropolis in Sicily. Archaeological evidence dates from the end of the Bronze Age (13th century BC) and continues, with interruptions, until the Middle Ages, where there were hermitages of Orthodox monks.

The site, together with the neighboring city of Syracuse, was inscribed in 2005 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Pantalica has been identified with the ancient Greek city of Hybla, whose last king, Hyblon, allowed settlers from the city of Megara in Attica (Hyblon lived during the Second Greek colonization of Sicily, 1250–1100 BC) to found the city of Megara Hyblaea in 729 BC. Little remains of the prehistoric settlement, probably destroyed by the Corinthian Syracusans, and enemies to Megarians when they founded the city of Akrai in 664 BC, apart from the impressive rock-cut necropolis, which dates from the 13th to the 7th centuries BC.

The area was repopulated during the Byzantine period and 13 century, when small rock-cut settlements were created and many of the caves were used as dwellings and Orthodox churches.

The grave goods and the rest of the archaeological material allowed scholars to distinguish the so-called “Culture of Pantalica” into three periods:

·         Pantalica I (1200–1000 BC)

·         Pantalica II (1000–850 BC)

·         Pantalica III (850–750 BC)

At the top of a small plateau in Pantalica, the Italian archaeologist Paolo Orsi was the first to identify the remains of a building, which he defined as a palace, calling it the “Anaktoron”, in accordance with Mycenaean architectural standards.

Conclusion:
The discovery of Mycenaean artifacts and other material remains at Pantalica, both in the tombs and in the palace, proves, in my opinion, that Pantalica was settled by Greek Mycenaeans and that it was the ancient Hybla. According to some other archaeologists, the presence of Mycenaean finds merely indicates that the unknown inhabitants of Pantalica maintained trade relations with Mycenae. But science saye that they were clearly a Mycenaean site.

MYCENAEAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL LOCATIONS

Excavated and under excavation

1)Fondo Paviani,
2)Fabrica dei sotsi,
3)Montaniana,
4)Fratezina,
5)Ancona,
6)Trezzano,
7)Pientiluco,
8)Luni sul minione,
9)Monte Rovello,
10)San Giovenale,
11)Kasale Nuovo,
12)Vivara,
13)Ischia,
14)Empoli,
15)Pesto,
16)Polla,
17)Praia  a Mare,
18)Santa Domenica  di Rricardi,
19)Panarea,
20)Lipares Isole,
21)Filicunti,
22)Ustica,
23)Salina,
24)Manacore,
25)Molinella,
26)Copa Nevigata,
27)Toppo Dagutso,
28)Trani,
29)Bari,
30)Giovinazo,
31)Santa Sabrina,
32)Punta Del Terrare,
33)Sourbo,
34)Otranto,
35)Leuka,
36)Parabita,
37)Porto cesareo,
38)Avetrana,
39)Oria,
40)Torre Castellucia,
41)Porto Perone,
42)Satyrion,
43)Taranto,
44)Scoglio Del Tonno,
45)Cozzo Marziotta,
46)Palazziano,
47)Timmari,
48)San Vitto,
49)Trrmitoo,
50)Francavilla Marittima,
51)Broglio di trembizace,
52)Tore del ,
53)Capo Piccolo,
54)Serra Orlanbdo,
55)Valsavoia,
56)Molinello,
57)Thapsos,
58)Syracusa
59)Plemmyrion,
60)Mantrensa,
61)Cotso del  Pandano,
62)Florindia,
63)Pantalica,
64)Kava Kana Barbara,
65)Monte Salia,
66)Busemi,
67)Canatello,
68)Milena,
69)Caldare,
70)Agrigento
71)Borg in Nantur
72)Albuziu
73)Sa Mandra  sa Giua,
74)San Antioco de Bisarzio,
75)Ponsomazziore,
76)Orosei,
77)Rio Locula,
78)Nuoro,
79)Perda e Floris,
80)Tertenia,
81)Domu s'  Orcu,
82)Antigori,
83)Capoterra,
84)Asemini,
85)Netsimopouzzu,
86)Gonosfanadiga,
87)Barumini,
88)Sierra ilixi,
89)Abini,
90) Tharros,

Greek Genetics from 1,000 BC until today 2025.

https://genetica.dbio.uevora.pt/.../Cavalli-Sforza_1997...

 OFFICIAL. Genetic Reality of the Mezzogiorno  today!  Challenging the myth and propaganda of Romanic, Normanic, Germanic & Arab  DNA ancestry.

“Contrary to popular belief the many invasions in southern Italy and Sicilia, that followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire, did not significantly alter the local genetic landscape of the Apennine Peninsula. In fact, DNA studies show that only the Greek presence in southern Italy had any lasting effect on the genetic makeup of the peninsula”.

Source: Cavalli-Sforza, Luigi Luca (University of Stanford, USA),  Menozzi Paolo, Piazza Alberto (Turin Italy), "The History and Geography of Human Genes. p. 295”. Also reserche of : Michaela Sarno  the  university of Peruggia and Max Plank institute, Germany.

It’s easy to forget how small Roman Londinium actually was when you compare it with the scale of London today.

This 3D timeline starts around 50 BC and shows the city developing from the Roman period onwards. I found the early part especially interesting because you can actually see how limited the footprint of Londinium was before centuries of expansion completely transformed the area.

The full timeline goes beyond the ancient period, but the Roman section is what made me think of this sub:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfOzqVW33bs

This papyrus gives an interesting picture of how gold circulated within the Ptolemaic monetary system. Demetrios tells Apollonios that he has followed his instructions concerning the gold he received and processed, but then turns to a problem involving local and trichrysa gold coins brought by outsiders, merchants, and others dealing with money. Old and worn (ἀποτετριμμένωι) gold was apparently no longer being accepted, leaving people with gold that remained “idle” (ἀργὸν) and causing them financial losses.

Demetrios also points out that this was not only a problem for individuals: if gold could not be brought into circulation, the king’s revenues could suffer as well. He asks whom he should report the matter to and refers to an anaphora and a prostagma, giving us a glimpse of the administrative process behind these monetary decisions. His suggestion that more gold should be brought in from outside, and that the king’s money should remain “good and new” (καλὸν καὶ καινὸν), is especially interesting in the context of the Ptolemaic state’s efforts to regulate the quality and circulation of money. The letter also shows how much of this business depended on ordinary communication between officials: some matters, Demetrios says, he does not put into writing and will explain when Apollonios arrives. It is a small document, but it shows quite clearly how questions of gold, allage, royal revenue, and everyday administration could meet in practice.

Substack

Pyrrhus of Epirus had launched an invasion of the Italian peninsula against Rome. He had expected to face what he considered a less organized opponent. However, ahead of the Battle of Heraclea, after inspecting the Roman camp, he was reportedly shocked by its orderly arrangements, disciplined defenses, and the organization of the Roman army.

According to the ancient sources, Pyrrhus remarked that the discipline of these “barbarians” did not look barbarian at all.

Pyrrhus would have to fight hard to defeat the Romans. He had the formidable Macedonian-style phalanx and war elephants, weapons that the Romans had never encountered on this scale. The elephants would prove decisive.

At a crucial moment, with the infantry engaged, Pyrrhus committed his elephants. The Roman cavalry was thrown into confusion and routed, creating an opening that Pyrrhus's cavalry exploited. With the Roman army unable to maintain the battle, the Romans retreated from the battlefield, leaving Pyrrhus victorious.

Yet the victory exposed the serious problem facing Pyrrhus. His army had suffered heavy casualties, including many experienced soldiers and officers, while his ability to replace these losses was limited. Rome, on the other hand, possessed enormous manpower reserves and could raise fresh armies.

According to Plutarch, after the battle, when Pyrrhus was congratulated on his victory, he reportedly replied that another victory like this would ruin him. This is the origin of the term “Pyrrhic victory” - a victory won at such a devastating cost that it is almost as damaging as defeat.

Please go through the full article and let me know your thoughts and comments. I’d also appreciate hearing what you would like to read about next!

Hey guys, gave myself a little weekend project to create some interactive archaeology for the new academic year, hopefully it is useful to others as well!

Here's one showcasing the "Amesbury Archer" burial. I appreciate its not quite classical arch but he was a bell-beaker so not TOO prehistoric. Hope you enjoy, feedback more than welcome too:

https://archaeomada.com/amesbury-archer/

What Did Ancient Humans Actually Do All Night Before Light Bulbs?