Category: ancient history

Monuments and Memory: Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the Story of Rome

When we think of ancient historians, names like Livy or Herodotus often come to mind. But Dionysius of Halicarnassus deserves a closer look. Around 30 BC, Dionysius was a Greek scholar who moved to Rome during the early days of the Empire. There, he produced Roman Antiquities, a sweeping history of Rome from its mythical beginnings up to the First Punic War. Though 15 titles of his work are known, 13 survived in one form or another; his work remains a crucial source for early Roman history, standing alongside Livy’s accounts.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus and ruins of Rome by Zofia Guertin

Theatre of Pompey plan and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Illustration by Zofia Guertin.

Dionysius wasn’t just a historian—he was also a master of rhetoric. His writings aimed to explain and justify Roman culture to a Greek audience, blending historical detail with rhetorical theory. In fact, he often used his history as a practical showcase of rhetorical principles. Beyond history, he wrote insightful critiques of famous Greek orators like Demosthenes and Isocrates, praising Roman writers for returning to classical Greek ideals over more ornate styles.

In this episode of Two Friends Talk History, Zofia welcomes Stefano Carlo Sala, a PhD candidate at the University of St Andrews, to discuss Dionysius of Halicarnassus—a key figure in Roman historiography.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus with Stefano Carlo Sala – Two Friends Talk History

They explore how Dionysius, a Greek historian in Augustan Rome, used monuments and myths to present early Rome as a fundamentally Greek city. Through comparisons with Livy and Polybius, Stefano unpacks Dionysius’ unique approach to storytelling, monumentality, and cultural identity.

Brick and Marble. Illustration by Zofia Guertin.

While Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Livy both wrote about the early history of Rome, their approaches reveal striking differences—especially in how they describe the city’s monuments. Dionysius, writing for a Greek-speaking audience unfamiliar with Rome’s layout, offers detailed observations about buildings still visible in his time, even noting which ones he personally visited. Livy, on the other hand, paints a broader picture centered around familiar Roman landmarks like the Forum and Capitol, assuming a Latin-speaking readership already acquainted with the city. Dionysius’s attention to architectural detail connects to his larger ideological project: presenting Rome as the heir to Classical Greece. This vision runs through his historical work, where he draws frequent parallels between early Roman and Classical Greek monuments, values, and myths. By doing so, Dionysius not only makes Roman history more accessible to Greek readers but also argues that Rome deserves a central place in the Greek cultural tradition. His comparisons—even when archaeologically inaccurate—serve a deeper symbolic purpose, showing Rome as both the continuation and the future of Greece’s classical legacy.

💡 Topics covered:

  • Dionysius’ blending of rhetoric and history
  • Why monuments mattered in shaping Rome’s past
  • Connections between Classical Greece and Archaic Rome
  • How historians under Augustus crafted Rome’s legacy
  • The political and cultural stakes of memory

Whether you’re into ancient history, architecture, or historical narratives, this episode offers a rich perspective on the ways history gets written—and rewritten.

Sources

Edlund, I. (1980). Livy and Dionysios of Halikarnassos as Roman archaeologists in Rivista di Archeologia vol.4, pp. 26-30. You can download for free: Here.

Wiater, N. (2011). The Ideology of Classicism: Language, History, and Identity in Dionysius of Halicarnassus. (Untersuchungen zur antiken Literatur und Geschichte; Vol. 105). de Gruyter.

Stefano’s Academia Page and Publications:

Carlo Sala, S. (2025). Law as a catalyst and remedy for civic violence in early Rome : two examples from Dionysius of Halicarnassus, in Cahiers des études anciennes [En ligne], LXII | 2025. URL: READ HERE ONLINE.

If you would like to follow Stefano, you can join him on LinkedIn: HERE   or Academia.edu: HERE !

🔗 Support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/Archaeoartist
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Classical Reception of Sexual Violence in Antiquity in Modern Visual Media

In the latest episode of Two Friends Talk History, Zofia and Dr Briana King return to our discussion into Classical Receptions. This time, we go into some of the heavier subject matter that we felt deserved its own episode. Returning guest, Dr. Briana King, joins me to unpack the dark and often overlooked threads of sexual violence in ancient history and its modern reinterpretations. We discuss ancient precedents for modern cinematic and television representations of sexual violence – made spectacle – in retellings of Roman narratives.

We’re diving deep into how classical reception shapes public perception—and why that matters. This is a heavy but essential conversation about power, misrepresentation, and the stories we choose to tell. 🏛️

📢 Trigger warning: this episode discusses sexual violence and may be distressing to some listeners. Please listen with care.

Classical Reception of Sexual Violence in Antiquity in Modern Visual Media with Briana King – Two Friends Talk History

Dr King has argued through her doctoral research, and in her more recent publications, that these scenes can be interpreted as real reflections of actual events. And perhaps, these visualisations were part of shaping realities that they depicted in antiquity, as they appear to be doing now.

Due to copyright, I have drawn the images that we discussed in the episode, since those available for viewing on the Beazley archive are difficult to make out at times.

  • (Left) Athenian red-figure stamnos; c. 430 BCE; Two men lifting a hetaira between them; Polygnotos Painter; Musee du Louvre Cp274/Cp9682; Beazley 213398.
  • (Top Right) Athenian red-figure kylix; c. 510-500 BCE; Orgy scenes; Pedieus Painter; Louvre G13; Beazley 200694.
  • (Bottom Right) Athenian red-figure cup; c. 490 BCE; Orgy scenes; Brygos Painter; Florence 3921; Beazley 203929.

In our discussion, several sculptural pieces from the Roman period were discussed, as representative of the brutal or depraved aspects of Roman society. In 2000 the Museo Nazionale di Napoli opened the “Secret Cabinet”, a special room that had for over a hundred years kept items found in Pompeii that were deemed “pornographic” away from the average viewing public. That these items are still held in this space, though the doors have been opened, still suggests that this is how we ought to understand them, not unlike their first museum display context in the Portici Palace, in Naples.  

Taken from their original contexts, their use as emblems of that can be understandable, but as with all analysis of antiquity, context is key. Items like Pan and the she-goat (found in 1752) were, like many erotic images from the Roman period, in garden or outdoor spaces within a Roman villa. Sexually explicit sculpture – sometimes violent, could be commonly found within Roman society, and was not locked away in secret viewing rooms – it was open access.

Pan and the she-goat were found in a garden, south of the pool in the Villa of the Papyri, in Herculaneum. The garden was filled with several sculptures that included erudite philosophers, animals, and gods. 

Another sculptural piece discussed in the episode was the Satyr and Hermaphrodite, a type so popular in antiquity that at least 30 replicas survive in marble, bronze, and frescoes. This image was so popular, the reproductions were found across the Roman Empire and likely derived from a Hellenistic model. 

Left: Sculpture of Pan and she-goat, from the Herculaneum villa of the Papyri. National Archaeological Museum, Naples; Right: Hermaphroditus fighting off a Satyr from the Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis. Images from Wikimedia Commons.

This statue group would have likely been displayed in villa (Villa of Poppaea in Oplontis, Italy, and the villa at Chiragan in Gaul) or theatre (Daphne and Side) contexts, and likely among other statues that could be ‘read’ in addition to it. It was very much a public art Retzleff suggests that its interpretation could include: 

“Dionysiac aspects, the reversal of norms, the objectification of the body, the sexual tryst, and the agon.”

Connotations of sexual violence and vulnerability are suggested by the hermaphrodite unclothed state, with her garments below the scene, and a rocky framing- indicating a possible outdoor bathing context.

Dr King also discusses the frescoes from a bathhouse in Pompeii that used erotic imagery above the locker/cubbies in the building’s changing rooms. These have been interpreted as humorous, meant to be read as an aide-mémoire, for where one left their garments. Similar images were found within a Pompeiian brothel, where the context suggests seductive enticements for clients, rather than a funny visual decoration. 

Suburban bath locker frescoes, Pompeii. Left: a foursome; top right: a female and two males; bottom right: male performing cunnilingus.

🎙️ Two Friends Talk History continues to explore the uncomfortable but necessary intersections of ancient narratives and modern storytelling. In this episode, we invite you to listen with openness and care, to reflect on the legacies of representation, and to question how visualisations of sex and violence continue to echo through time.

📚 You can follow Dr Briana King’s work on Academia.edu.
🎧 Subscribe to the podcast via Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts.

Until next time,
— Zofia


To follow the spectacular Dr King’s academic work, check out her page on Academia.edu.

King, B. (2024), ‘Un-silencing the Girls: Critical Classical Reception in Feminist Retellings of Greek Myths’, in Thersites. Journal for Transcultural Presences & Diachronic Identities from Antiquity to Date, vol. 19. 

King, B. (forthcoming), ‘Fatal Attraction: Ancient Precedents, Modern Appropriations’, in Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae.

Sexual Violence Support Resources

Rape Crisis Scotland: https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/help-helpline/

For sexual violence or violence against women, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline (0808 2000 247) run by Refuge and Women’s Aid provides 24/7 support and information. 

Additional resources include Rape Crisis England & Wales which offers specialist support for women who have experienced sexual violence. Women’s Aid also offers a live chat service and email support

Visit the Rights of Women website on legal information sheets on a range of issues, including Forced Marriage and the law. Support for victims of ‘honour’-based violence and forced marriage.

References

Images of the pottery we discussed can be found on the Beazley Archive: https://www.carc.ox.ac.uk/XDB/ASP/searchOpen.asp

Cohen, E. E. (2000). “Whoring under Contract: The Legal Context of Prostitution in Fourth-Century Athens.” In V Hunter and J. Edmondson, eds., Law and Social Status in Classical Athens. Oxford. 113-48.

Cohen, E. E. (2006).”Free and Unfree Sexual Work: An Economic Analysis of Athenian Prostitution.” In C. A. Faraone and L. A. McClure, eds., Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World. Madison. 95-124.

Cohen, E. E. (2014). “Sexual Abuse and Sexual Rights: Slaves’ Erotic Experience at Athens and Rome.” In T. K. Hubbard, ed., A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities. Malden, MA. 184-98.

Davidson, J. (1997). Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens. London.

Gardner, J. (2009), Women in Roman Law and Society. London.

Glazebrook, A. (2017). “Gender and Slavery” in The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Slaveries. Eds. Stephen Hodkinson, Marc Kleijwegt, and Kostas Vlassopoulos. Oxford University Press. Oxford Handbooks Online.

Glazebrook, A. (2016). “Prostitutes, Women, and Gender in Ancient Greece” in Women in Antiquity: Real Women across the Ancient World. Eds. Stephanie Lynn Budin and Jean Macintosh Turfa. Routledge Publishing. 703-13. 

Glazebrook, A. (2011). Greek Prostitutes in the Ancient Mediterranean, 800 BCE to 200 CE. Madison WI: University of Wisconsin Press. (co-edited with M. M. Henry).

Keuls, E. C. (1993). The Reign of the Phallus: Sexual Politics in Ancient Athens. London: University of California Press Ltd.

McGinn, T. A. J. (1998). Prostitution, Sexuality, and the Law in Ancient Rome. Oxford.

McGinn, T. A. J. (2004). The Economy of Prostitution in the Roman World: A Study of Social History and the Brothel. Ann Arbor.

Moses, D. C. (1993), “Livy’s Lucretia and the Validity of Coerced Consent in Roman Law,” in Consent and Coercion to Sex and Marriage in Ancient and Medieval Societies. Dunbarton Oaks.

Retzleff, A. (2007). The Dresden Type Satyr-Hermaphrodite Group in Roman Theatres in the AJA, Vol. 111, No.3, July. Pp. 459-472. 

Stewart, A. F. (1995). ‘Rape?’ In Reeder, E. D. (Ed.). Pandora: Women in Classical Greece. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 74-90.

Thomas, S. (11 June 2019). “‘I’m not watching this’: Film’s brutal account of Australia’s colonial history sparks walkout”. ABC News. Retrieved 11 March 2021.

Visualising War and Peace in Antiquity on TFTH

In this episode of Two Friends Talk History, I interviewed Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of St Andrews, and founder of the Visualising War and Peace Project, Dr Alice König. In this interview, I asked Alice about ideas of representing war in antiquity, and if a concept like a ‘peace movement’ was possible in a period of Roman Imperium. We discuss the absences in war narratives, and war’s impacts on women and children, and then turn our attention to the podcast series that Dr König and Dr Nicolas Wiater, launched in 2021, the Visualising War and Peace podcast. The Visualsing War and Peace podcast has over 60 episodes and seeks to present listeners with cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives on how war and peace were visualised in the past and how new narratives these established frameworks are seeking to disrupt the ways we talk about, teach and reproduce conflicts.

Visualising War and Peace in Antiquity with Alice König – Two Friends Talk History

We also discuss the upcoming exhibition Alice has organised with the artist, Diana Forster, opening May 25th at the Wardlaw Museum in St Andrews, ‘Somewhere to Stay’. The exhibition focuses on the forced migration experienced by Diana’s mother, a young Polish woman, during WWII.
To hear Diana’s episodes, you can listen to Art and War with Diana Forster or Visualising Forced Migration Through History.

We also discussed the upcoming exhibition collaboration with Hugh Kinsella Cunningham,  titled ‘Picturing Peace in the Congo‘. If you would like to learn more, the exhibition is linked here.

You can get in touch with Dr Konig at the University of St Andrews and her work on the Visualising War and Peace project here. Alice is also on Twitter @KonigAlice or @VisualisingWar. You can also follow the project on Facebook and Instagram, and there is an excellent blog series that you can follow through the project website.

For links to show topics:
On the appropriation of Classics topics/symbols etc by alt-right groups, helpful scholarship can be read here on Pharos’ website: https://pharos.vassarspaces.net/

Tyranny in Antiquity on TFTH

In this week’s episode of Two Friends Talk History, Zofia is joined by Dr Sam Ellis, a Leverhulme Postdoctoral Fellow at the Chair of Ancient History in the University of Mannheim where  his project focuses on the use of language to legitimise political power in the Greek polis.  Sam is an expert in the language of tyranny in antiquity and the study of monocratic power in the Greek polis from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period.  

In this episode, we explore how the language used to frame the actions of sole rulers has created a construct of ‘tyrant’ that remains with us today.

Greek attitudes towards tyranny are the topic of this week’s podcast. It may surprise listeners to hear that these attitudes changed over time; from the early stages of the Greek polis (the city-state), the ruling aristocracy ruled as a group over the citizen body, with the eventual rise of some aristocrats into positions of sole-rulership in the mid-7th century BCE. 

These early sole-rulers tended to have popular political support and were generally viewed favourably among the citizens. 

We discuss the Peisistratids of Athens in the podcast, one such family, whose founder, Peisistratus, was popularly received by the people for setting up law courts and investing funds into public projects like water fountains and religious buildings. The charismatic leadership of a sole-ruler could spur a relationship of political control through public support that rewarded the ruler with many types of honours. As we discuss, these types of relationships were precarious and could turn into tyrannicide, as was the case of the assassination of Peisistratus’ son, Hipparchus (brother of the sole-ruler, Hippias). The assassination was carried out by Harmodius and Aristogeiton and remained a famous story replicated across visual media for centuries afterwards.

The Syriskos Painter’s stamnos, ‘Death of the tyrant Hipparchus’, 475-470 BCE (and illustration of actions); Roman copy of Aristogeiton and Harmodius sculpture.

The inspiration for the episode art was the sculptural pair of tyrannicides, originally commissioned by Antenor after the establishment of Athenian democracy. It was taken as war booty during the Persian Wars in 480 BCE, then returned after the fall of the Persian Empire by one of Alexander’s generals-turned-king. The sculpture was so famous that it inspired Roman copies, of which several survive; the most famous of which is in the National Archaeological museum of Naples. 

To learn more about the language, metaphors and stereotypes of ancient tyranny, check out the episode here:

Tyranny in Antiquity with Sam Ellis – Two Friends Talk History

You can get in touch with Dr Ellis on the Universität Mannheim website here,  or you can follow him on Academia.edu. Sam is also on Instagram & Twitter @SamEllis1993. Seriously, check out his Instagram. The photos are stunning.

If you would like to check out some of Dr Ellis’ publications:

Ellis, S. (forthcoming). ‘Legitimising sole power in the Greek polis: A New Institutionalist approach’ in M. Canevaro & M. Barbato (eds.) New Institutionalism and Greek Institutions, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Ellis, S. (2021). ‘Greek Conceptualisations of Persian Traditions – Gift-giving and Friendship in the Persian Empire’, Classical Quarterly 71.1,Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 77–88.

Ellis, S. (forthcoming). Review of C. de Lisle (2021). Agathokles of Syracuse: Sicilian Tyrant and Hellenistic King. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bryn Mawr Classical Review.

For further reading:

Brock, R. (2013). Greek Political Imagery: From Homer to Aristotle. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

Luraghi, N. (2013). The Splendors and Miseries of Ruling Alone. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH.

Börm, H. (ed.). (2015). Antimonarchic Discourse in Antiquity. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Thank you for checking out my blog !

Archaeology of Alcohol on TFTH

This week on Two Friends Talk History, I interview returning guest, Alex Slucky. Alex is an archaeologist with Atkins and archaeobotanist, whose work has taken her to Italy, Australia and most recently in Uzbekistan. Alex discusses her work in the ancient city of Bukhara which was a prominent stop on the so-called Silk Road trade route that linked East and West. We discuss vessels as material culture, and embodied archaeological processes of alcohol consumption.

Suggested Readings and Courses

The Archaeology of Alcohol with Alexandra Slucky – Two Friends Talk History

archaeobotany-bibliographyDownload

If you would like to get in touch, you can find Alex on Instagram or on Twitter @SluckyAlex. 

For readers of Spanish, these resources were recommended to me by friend and listener, Rodrigo: “Las drogas en la prehistoria. Evidencias arqueológicas del consumo de sustancias psicoactivas en Europa”, by Dr. Elisa Guerra Doce, from the University of Valladolid. She also discusses prehistoric psychoactive in: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360789885_Psychoactive_Drugs_in_European_Prehistory

To get in touch and find out more about Two Friends Talk History:
Find us on Instagram
Support us through Patreon 
Buy our merch on Redbubble
Explore more resources and topics about the ancient world on ArchaeoArtist

Thank you for reading. See you soon with new friends on Two Friends!

Polybius’ Histories on TFTH

This week on Two Friends Talk History, Zofia interviews Dr Elke Close about Polybius, an Achaean statesman, teacher, and historian from the Hellenistic period. Polybius was active in Megalopolis at the tail end of the period of Greek independence following the wars of the Hellenistic kings and the rise of the Roman empire. His surviving text, Histories, has provided scholars with unparalleled evidence for the social and political changes that led to the changing balance of power in the Mediterranean in the second century BCE.

Dr Close has published a short introduction to Polybius on her website, Hellenistic History, which I would encourage you to check out!

From the introduction of Polybius’ Histories, we are told of the weight and significance of his treatise for readers to understand the rise to power of Rome, while synthesising the events more broadly around the Mediterranean.

But all historians, one may say without exception, and in no half-hearted manner, but making this the beginning and end of their labour, have impressed on us that the soundest education and training for political actions is the study of History.

Polybius' Histories with Elke Close – Two Friends Talk History

Polybius (His.1)

His aims are outlined, and through his unique position as Achaean statesman and hostage in Rome, Polybius had intimate access as a teacher and client to one of the most powerful Roman families, the Cornelii Scipiones. Due to his proximity to power and usefulness, Polybius rode shotgun on several watershed moments of the Republic. 

If you would like to find out more from Dr Close, you can follow her Hellenistic History project:
Website: Hellenistic History
Twitter @HellenisticHist 
Instagram @drawingancienthistory  and @hellenistichistory

Thank you for reading!

Tis the Saturnalia season!

Tis the season when we celebrate community and the change of the year! How did the Romans celebrate the end of the year?

The Roman celebration of Saturnalia was held for several days in mid-December to celebrate the passing of seasons, with its roots in the worship of the agricultural god Saturn. Saturn was syncretised with the Greek Kronos as the Romans came to control Greece, becoming increasingly invested in their gods. Saturn is often depicted as an older bearded man holding a scythe, an acknowledgement of his agrarian roots. The temple of Saturn in Rome stood prominently in the forum and is evidenced to this day by eight impressive columns and a partial podium.

From the late Republican period (the last 1oo years or so BCE) the midwinter celebration officially grew from three days to five in the Principate (December 17th to December 23rd). These were just official trends as it’s generally believed that unofficially it was a week, a bit like now depending on your employment. For the Romans work, studies and legal actions came to a halt and people were ready to party!

In Lucian’s Saturnalia, he speaks with the voice of Saturn in dialogue with a priest, observing how the revelries in his name should take place among the Romans: gaming, dancing, song and drinking were all part of the celebration of Saturnalia; it also involved things familiar to us today like decorating homes with greenery and wearing bright and colourful clothing (synthesis), like ugly sweater parties! Lucian’s Saturn is a very reasonable god who lays out three “laws” for gifting, celebrating and banqueting, emphasising fairness in all measures and not being compelled to act or gift beyond your means.

The King of Saturnalia

A king of Saturnalia acted as the ‘Lord of Misrule’ (like Carnivale) in these celebrations. Elected as the mock king, the Saturnalicius princeps, this agent of acceptable chaos in the household would walk the line between being a cheeky chap and straight up humorously (presumably) insulting guests and members of the household. Bear in mind that Roman households could be somewhat larger than ours – the nuclear family at the centre could include grandparents, cousins, adopted family members, children from other marriages, guests and the enslaved household labourers. Many of the societal norms were relaxed and played with in the household, where during this period the enslaved could eat at the head of the table with those who owned them taking a lower status position. Women too could mingle with men (in some circumstances) a little more freely and could hang together and gamble.

The fun frivolity of Saturnalia drinking parties!
Gifts for Saturnalia

Gift-giving was an important part of Saturnalia. Gifts of high value were not necessarily what one would expect, generally the humour of lower cost gifts was appreciated- like trolling a friend with a joke gift. Catullus wrote of receiving epically bad poetry for a gift and it is fun to imagine the kind of hilarious insults he possibly wrote for friends for their gifts, like getting ‘read’ by Oscar Wild but smuttier. Saturnalia gifts could include: sausages, dried fruit, wine, piglets, wax candles (cerei), dolls, toys, books, statues, tools, exotic pets and more!

The live piglet is especially appealing !
The last day of Saturnalia

As all good things must come to an end, so too did the annual revels of the Romans. On the last day of Saturnalia one would give sigillaria – terracotta or wax figurines, shaped in the likeness of familiar deities, mythical figures or easily caricatured types (grotesques). The day itself was called ‘Sigillaria‘; the gift type and gift-giving influenced the day’s name. Much like Boxing Day which one theory suggests may have started (according to the OED) as the first weekday after Christmas when postmen, delivery workers and servants of various types would receive a Christmas box, in which was some type of gift or tip. Possibly due in part to the ways gods were part of the everyday lives of Romans, and worshipped in the home in small devotional figures – the Lares – as guardians of the home, it is not surprising that a popular gift would include their likenesses in inexpensive small gifts, conferring further good luck and protection. For the wealthy, these gifts could be made from costly materials like gold or silver. Given their popularity, someone who crafted and sold this merchandise was called a sigillarius. Vendors were quite busy at this time of year, setting up stalls like the Christmas markets we are familiar with today.

The Lares could be quite varied: a Lar holding a cornucopia from Axatiana, Dionysus and Isis Panthea (all goddess).

The Romans had many festivals throughout the year, and a few days after the wild revels of Saturnalia, they celebrated the sober and solemn Compitalia, another festival in which metaphoric beginnings and endings are associated with the end of the year. Named after compita (crossroads), the recently revelrous enslaved peoples would offer sacrifices on behalf of the households within the neighbourhoods they lived to the Lares of the crossroads. Perhaps it is fitting to have a week of revels which brought families and friends together be followed up with a more sober festival which celebrated the bonds of community. Saying goodbye to the year is always fraught with bittersweet reflections with this year being notable in that regard, as surely in many world-changing years before the communities celebrating these rites would join together to celebrate and pray for better times ahead.

Compitalia fresco from exterior wall of a building in Pompeii, 1st c. CE

Stay safe and thank you for reading!

Io, Saturnalia!

Xox Archaeoartist (Zofia) and Mr Archaeoartist (Chris).

The Cambridge MCA Exhibition: Illustrating Ancient History- bringing the past to life

This week my colleagues, Dr Javier Martinez Jimenez and Sofia Greaves and I were thrilled to launch an exhibition we have been collaborating on for quite some time at the Cambridge Museum of Classical Archaeology: “Illustrating Ancient History: bringing the past to life.” The exhibition is now fully online!

As a way of reconstructing the past in Vita Romana, which I’ve discussed on this blog before, I worked with the specialists on-site whose scientific background in the materials I was representing informed much of the illustration work. Intersecting with the aims of the exhibition, the work done at Roman Aeclanum exemplified the way that collaboration between artists and different archaeological specialists can be translated into artistic work that help the public understand the archaeological site and material culture more contextually. I have recorded a podcast with my co-host, Liam, for Two Friends Talk History which allowed me to discuss the public outreach programme I coordinated and created in Aeclanum.

Listen here :

Roman Aeclanum – Public Archaeology in Campania – Two Friends Talk History

Sofia’s work brought together ancient spaces with exploration of the layers of building over time through water-colour and mixed media. Sofia and Javier work together on the Impact of the Ancient City project at the University of Cambridge which is a project that has involved a lot of site visits to ancient cities that have inspired her work.

The opening of the exhibition was scaled-down due to Covid safety protocols, with numbers carefully regulated through registration. The exhibition will be in-place until January 30th, and with luck, as many people as possible will be able to explore the museum’s famed collection of plaster statue casts which frame our exhibition images. With these considerations in mind, the museum moved quickly to create a fully online version of the exhibition which you can see here: CHECK IT OUT!

We would love to hear from YOU!

Please take a moment to scan the QR code below with your smartphone for a brief online survey about your experiences with archaeological sites and illustrations. We would like to hear about your experiences!

All data is anonymised and will be used for further research questions related to this exhibit. Surveys also in French and Spanish.

Thank you for checking out my blog! If you are interested in requesting commission art or educational outreach material, you can check out some examples of my work here and please like and subscribe to Two Friends Talk History!

Two Friends Talk History Podcast

Two Friends Talk History is a podcast where public historian, Zofia, chats with scholars, archaeologists, researchers and more to explore fascinating histories, look behind the scenes and ask the big question that’s missing in much academic discourse: so what? Why is this relevant today?

New Friends on Two Friends

Carrying on from season 1 in which Zofia and Liam explored the ancient world through stories and interviews, season 2 invites new friends to Two Friends. Find me on Instagram at Two Friends Talk History and Patreon at ArchaeoArtist.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus with Stefano Carlo Sala – Two Friends Talk History

In this episode of Two Friends Talk History, host Zofia is joined by Stefano Carlo Sala, a doctoral researcher at the University of St Andrews, to explore the fascinating world of Dionysius of Halicarnassus—a Greek historian living in Rome at the dawn of the Empire. Together, they dive into how Dionysius used monuments, myth, and memory to connect early Roman history to a classical Greek past. If you’re curious about how contemporaneous historians tried to explain Rome’s rise, justify its rule over the Greek world, and shape cultural identity in an evolving political landscape, this episode is for you.🎧 Subscribe now so you don’t miss an episode! 👉🏼 You can read the BLOG POST HERE.To read his recent publication: Carlo Sala, S. (2025). Law as a catalyst and remedy for civic violence in early Rome : two examples from Dionysius of Halicarnassus, in Cahiers des études anciennes [En ligne], LXII | 2025. URL: READ HERE ONLINE.If you would like to follow Stefano, you can join him on LinkedIn or Academia.EduLinkedIn: HERE  Academia.edu: HERE#twofriendstalkhistory #historypodcast #TFTH #publicoutreach #classics #anienthistory #classicspodcast #AncientHistory #Rome #Podcast #Historiography #receptionstudies #archaeoartist #classicsliterature #literature #archaeoartist To get in touch and find out more about Two Friends Talk History:Find us on Instagram & TwitterSupport us through PatreonBuy our merch on Redbubble🌍 Explore more at http://www.Archaeoartist.com🔗 If you'd like to get in touch, email at Zofia@ArchaeoArtist.com Music by the wonderfully talented Chris SharplesIllustration by Zofia Guertin

Two Friends Talk History Art

I have been challenging myself with creating the mash-ups in my own digital drawing style but, where appropriate, using the historical style the original image was made in. These episode images are available as mugs, tees and postcards on our Two Friends Talk History Redbubble Shop!

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ArchaeoArtist's Classical Cartoons

To keep my sanity and to take some art breaks during this time, I am making colouring sheets that are free to print, share and enjoy. I will be uploading printable PDFs here, and posting images to my social media pages. Since we are all staying in doors for the good of the realm/humanity, we might as well fill some of that time having some fun and learning about ancient art and archaeology!

Classical Cartoons Vol.1

ArchaeoArtist Colouring Book vol.1

Classical Cartoons Vol.2

ArchaeoArist Colouring Book vol.2

Classical Cartoons Magical Kingdom Vol.3!

ArchaeoArtist Magical Kingdom Mashup vol.3
  • Classical Cartoons vol.3
  • Ariel – Persephone
  • Mulan – Athena

Everyone who has grown up on Disney will feel strongly about these characters and how they imagine they can or should be re-imagined. This is a bit of fun and I selected the mash-ups that made the most sense to me.

If you are an educator, practitioner or just curious about these or any of my other work, please feel free to get in touch!

Stay safe at home together!

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