HISTORY OF WARFARE – LAND

Preliminary skirmishes

Fighting between primitive tribes consists either of raids on rival settlements (where surprise is important, and disorder inevitable) or of structured and even ritualistic clashes. In either case the struggle is made up of a large number of one-to-one encounters.

This does not fit the pattern or what is normally called a battle. The story of warfare…

HISTORY OF THEATRE

Dance and music

It is unlikely that any human society (at any rate until the invention of puritanism) has denied itself the excitement and pleasure of dancing. Like cave painting, the first purpose of dance is probably ritual – appeasing a nature spirit or accompanying a rite of passage. But losing oneself in rhythmic movement with other people is an…

HISTORY OF SPORTS AND GAMES

Senet in Egypt: 3000 BC

Games with pebbles, in spaces roughly drawn out on the ground, are a pleasant way of passing spare time – of which hunters and gatherers have more than one might imagine. In a settled community a flat and permanent surface is a clear improvement on the rough ground; and pleasantly carved pieces are…

HISTORY OF SPARTA

The Spartan experience: from the 8th century BC

The political institutions of Sparta, notorious for their lack of conventional humanity, are said by ancient Greek historians to have been introduced by Lycurgus. But he is probably a figure of legend. Sparta seems to have delevoped gradually as a practical response to unusual circumstances.

The valley of the Eurotas river, unusually fertile…

HISTORY OF SCULPTURE

The art of our species

If Neanderthal man created any form of art, no traces of it have yet been found. But with the arrival of modern man, or Homo sapiens sapiens, the human genius for image-making becomes abundantly clear.

In the recesses of caves, people begin to decorate the rock face with an important theme in their daily lives, the…

HISTORY OF ROME

Rome before the republic: from the 8th century BC

The Tiber is a natural barrier across the land route which runs up and down the west coast of central Italy. The first place upstream at which it can be bridged is about 15 miles (24 km) from the coast, where an island in the river is overlooked by several steep…

HISTORY OF THE PUNIC WARS

The First Punic War: 264-241 BC

The three wars between Rome and Carthage span more than a century (264-146 BC). They are known as the Punic Wars because the Carthaginians are in origin Phoenician (punicus in Latin).

The first war flares up in Sicily, an island disputed between Greek colonies at its eastern end and Carthaginian settlements in the west. Rome’s…

HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WARS

Build-up to the First Peloponnesian War: 478-460 BC

Sparta is having difficulty in retaining the loyalty of the members of its own Peloponnesian League, several of whom adopt democratic governments hostile in principle to the Spartan oligarchy.

Sparta’s troubles are compounded by a devastating earthquake in 464. Indirectly it brings to a head the simmering hostilities between Sparta and Athens.

The earthquake…

HISTORY OF PAINTING

The art of our species

If Neanderthal man created any form of art, no traces of it have yet been found. But with the arrival of modern man, or Homo sapiens sapiens, the human genius for image-making becomes abundantly clear.

In the recesses of caves, people begin to decorate the rock face with an important theme in their daily lives, the…

HISTORY OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Greek athletics: 8th century BC

The ancient Greeks, whose admiration for the healthy human body is revealed in their sculpture, make almost a religion of competitive athletics. It is their custom on solemn occasions, including even funerals, to engage in races. This passion results in the world’s first athletic fixture – the games at Olympia, established according to tradition…

HISTORY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

Collision and cleft: from 50 million years ago

The Mediterranean is formed in the process of continental drift, when Africa crashes against Eurasia. The resulting sea is of a size and a shape almost perfect for the development of civilization. More than 10,000 km of coastline, around a relatively calm sea, with plentiful harbours and numerous islands as staging posts,…