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ANCIENT HISTORY
View All PostsAlexander’s conquest of Sogdiana and Bactria was met with dogged resistance. Unable to face him on the battlefield, many locals retreated to the Sogdian Rock.
Above the center of Athens, the Parthenon rises as a cultural and political symbol, honoring the patron goddess, Athena. But why is it so special?
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HISTORY
View All PostsThe arrival of Acadian refugees from northeast Canada to Louisiana forever changed the culture of the region.
Akechi Mitsuhide’s betrayal of Oda Nobunaga, the first great unifier of Japan, forever changed Japanese history but remains a source of dispute among many historians.
PHILOSOPHY
View All PostsPeople often turn to Philosophy in order to seek answers to the most mundane questions. In Stoicism, there are guidelines for living a peaceful life.
While love builds worlds, strife breaks them apart. For Empedocles, everything in our lives moves between these two eternal forces.
ART & ARTISTS
View All PostsRaphael’s School of Athens is a Renaissance masterpiece that blends philosophy and art. Identify the figures, from Aristotle to Zoroaster, and learn their meaning.
Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera is among the most celebrated and enigmatic allegorical paintings of the Renaissance.
TRAVEL & CULTURE
View All PostsEurope’s big museums hold masterpieces, but the small ones hold the fun, from fake mermaids to hairballs. Discover some of the weirdest exhibits across Europe.
After a traumatic period under Communist rule, Albania is rapidly becoming a European tourist hotspot and welcomes travelers seeking to discover its diverse history.

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View MapsReligion
View All PostsCondemned as a heretic but hailed as a genius, Origen of Alexandria mastered Hebrew to create the Hexapla, a 6,000-page ancient masterpiece of the Bible.
Under the highest dome of the Hagia Sophia are the seraphim mosaics. Rediscovered within the last 20 years, these 700-year-old mosaics depict the highest-ranking angels.
Stories
View All PostsDiscover the life, legend, and literature of one of the Romantic era's greatest authors, Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley.
Widely referred to as the queen of textiles in the ancient world, silk helped to transform ancient China in myriad ways.




























