Miscellany

NEW SEVEN WONDERS / ANTARCTICA / LETTER FROM AMERICA

Composite figment of imaginations The writer credited with composing the Iliad and the Odyssey, and often regarded as one of the most important authors of all time, is to my mind the most overrated hi

The earth-shattering collapse of the Western Roman Empire was the result of invasions, corruption and cruelty

It was the summer of 1066 and two powerful leaders were rallying their supporters behind them and preparing for war. Their clash would result in political chaos, the spilling of much blood, and one of

Tucked away in the City of London, a short walk north of St Paul’s Cathedral, lies a curious, oddly-shaped, leafy little sanctuary. Opened in 1880, Postman’s Park is named for the workers at the nearb

The normal diet of gladiators was vegetarian, but not through choice or principle. The rations in their barracks consisted of sagina, which literally translates as ‘stuffing’. It was a barley and bean