Olympus EstateSection
Cultural Chronicles
THE ARCHIVE
Every reading, newest first
The Thesmophoria | The Three Days Athens Belonged to Its Women
Every October, the women of Athens climbed a hill, and the men were not permitted…
Pella | The City That Built Alexander and Then Forgot How to Stay
The man who conquered the known world was born here, and almost nobody comes. Pella,…
Brauron and the Arkteia | The Girls Who Had to Be Bears Before They Could Be Wives
Every Athenian girl, before she was permitted to marry, had to become a bear. Not…
Aristotle | The Philosopher Who Thought Happiness Was the Wrong Word
The most important word in Aristotle's ethics has been mistranslated for two thousand years. Eudaimonia…
Nikos Kazantzakis | The Man Who Wrote God and Was Excommunicated for It
If you climb to the highest point of the Venetian walls guarding the city of…
The Lion Gate | Europe’s Oldest Monumental Sculpture and the Curse Behind It
The gate has been visible above ground throughout recorded history. Every other major monument of…