Myths and heroes of the ancient world

Greek myths, ancient epics, the Arabian Nights and famous figures of the ancient world, from Hammurabi to Attila.

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• A Story to Survive the Night: Scheherazade, Her Cliffhangers and the Tangled Roots of the Arabian Nights

  The Arabian Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern tales framed by Scheherazade's storytelling. Its frame story, famous tales, many sources and legacy.

• Did Nero Really Fiddle While Rome Burned? What the Ancient Sources Actually Say

  Probably not. Tacitus places Nero 35 miles away at Antium when the fire began; the singing story comes from hostile later writers.

• Father of History or Father of Lies? Why Herodotus Still Divides Historians

  Herodotus (c. 484–c. 425 BC) wrote the Histories on the Greco-Persian Wars. Why Cicero called him the Father of History, and why critics called him a liar.

• Hammurabi's Code in Stone: The Babylonian King Behind \"An Eye for an Eye\"

  Hammurabi ruled Babylon c. 1792–1750 BC, united Mesopotamia and carved his laws on a basalt stele. What the code said, eye for an eye included.

• Hannibal and the Elephants Over the Alps: How Carthage's General Nearly Defeated Rome

  Hannibal (247–c.182 BC) led Carthage's army and war elephants over the Alps, crushed Rome at Cannae, yet lost the war. His campaign, tactics and bitter end.

• How Did Achilles Die? The Truth About Achilles' Heel and the Greatest Greek Hero

  Paris shot Achilles near the end of the Trojan War, but the famous heel story came much later. His life, his rage in the Iliad, and how he died.

• How Did Alexander the Great Conquer So Much by 30? The King Who Never Lost a Battle

  Alexander became king at 20 and by 30 ruled an empire from Greece to India, undefeated in battle. How he did it, and why the empire split after his death.

• How Did Cleopatra Really Die? The Multilingual Queen Behind the Asp Legend

  Cleopatra died on 12 August 30 BC, aged 39, probably by poison. The asp is the famous version, not the certain one. Her life, her languages and her last days.

• No Trojan Horse, No Fall of Troy: What Homer's Iliad Actually Tells

  The Iliad follows Achilles' rage in the Trojan War's last weeks, from his quarrel with Agamemnon to Hector's funeral. Plot, people, themes and idioms.

• Ramesses the Great: A Draw at Kadesh, the Oldest Peace Treaty and the Temples of Abu Simbel

  Ramesses II ruled Egypt for 66 years (1279–1213 BC). Why he is called the Great: Kadesh, the first surviving peace treaty, Abu Simbel and Ozymandias.

• Sirens, a Cyclops and a Bow No Suitor Could String: A Beginner's Map of Homer's Odyssey

  The Odyssey is the ancient Greek epic of Odysseus's ten-year voyage home after the Trojan War. Plot, characters, themes and the words it gave English.

• The World's Oldest Story About Fearing Death: An Easy Guide to the Epic of Gilgamesh

  The Epic of Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian epic on clay tablets: a king, his wild friend Enkidu, a flood survivor and a lost plant of youth. Plot, themes.

• Was Spartacus a Real Person? The Gladiator Who Shook the Roman Republic

  Spartacus was real: a Thracian gladiator who led tens of thousands of escaped slaves against Rome in 73–71 BC. What we know and how the legend grew.

• What Happened to Nefertiti? The Queen Who Vanished From Egypt's Records

  Nefertiti, Akhenaten's queen, disappears from the record late in his reign. She may have ruled as pharaoh herself. Here is what the evidence says.

• Why Did Boudica Burn London? The Celtic Queen Who Took On Rome

  In AD 60 or 61 Boudica, queen of the Iceni, led a revolt that burned Colchester, London and St Albans. What drove her, and how it ended.

• Why Did Egypt Try to Erase Hatshepsut, the Woman Who Ruled as Pharaoh?

  Hatshepsut ruled Egypt as a full pharaoh for about two decades. Years after her death her name was chiselled away. Here is what we know, and why.

• Why Did Heracles Do the Twelve Labours? The Myth Behind the Greek Hero

  Heracles performed his labours to atone for killing his family in a madness sent by Hera. Why ten became twelve, the full list, and what the myth still teaches.

• Why Did King Tut Die at 19? The Murder Theory, the Malaria Evidence and the So-Called Curse

  Nobody knows for certain. A 2012 study pointed to malaria plus a broken leg; the old murder theory came from skull fragments now blamed on 1920s unwrapping.

• Why Was Attila the Hun So Feared? The 'Scourge of God' Who Made Two Empires Pay

  Attila ruled the Huns 434–453, forced Constantinople to pay tons of gold, invaded Gaul and Italy, then died at his own wedding feast.

• Why Was Julius Caesar Assassinated? From the Rubicon to the Ides of March

  Julius Caesar won a civil war, became dictator for life, and was stabbed at least 23 times on 15 March 44 BC. How he rose, and why the senators killed him.

• Why Was Medusa Cursed? The Real Myth Behind the Snake-Haired Gorgon

  Was Medusa a monster from birth or a woman punished by Athena? What the oldest Greek sources say, how Perseus killed her, and why she became a symbol.

• Why Was Prometheus Punished? The Titan Who Stole Fire and Paid With His Liver

  Prometheus tricked Zeus and stole fire for humans, so Zeus chained him to a rock where an eagle ate his liver every day. The full myth, and how it ends.