Sparks Commentary

The difficulties of learning about Greek and Roman art from textbooks For many years now, I’ve been interested in Ancient Greece and Rome . ...

Warning: This blog post contains a picture of an actual human skull from centuries ago. What is this film about, and why should I care about...

In the year 793, the Vikings attacked a monastery on the English island of Lindisfarne . It was the beginning of the Viking invasion of Engl...

The Early Middle Ages are today remembered as the  “Dark Ages.”  The art historian Kenneth Clark made this argument in his landmark docum...

“Athens became the seat of politeness and taste, the country of orators and philosophers. The elegance of its buildings equalled that of i...

Also known as the “Eastern Roman Empire,” which lasted about a thousand years longer than the better-known “Western Roman Empire.” The R...

“Sparta, Athens , Rome, and Carthage were all republics; two of them, Athens and Carthage, of the commercial kind. Yet were they as often...

The greatest outbreak of disease in recorded human history (the Black Death) … It is still the greatest outbreak of disease in recorded ...

To say that the relationship between  Islam  and  the West  is sometimes troubled would be something of an understatement. Since the  rise...

“For thou art an holy people unto the L ORD thy God: the L ORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all ...

The term “Dark Ages” usually refers to the Early Middle Ages, if it is used at all … People once used the term “Dark Ages” to refer to ...

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates at his trial, as recorded by Plato's “Apology” Before beginning this project...

"Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise . God help me. Amen!" - Martin Luther's "Speech at the Diet of Worms" (1521...

“To the Magnificent Lorenzo Di Piero De' Medici : Those who strive to obtain the good graces of a prince are accustomed to come befo...

Note: This is a different series from  “Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire” (which is made by the BBC). There aren't too m...

Not to be confused with “Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire” (by the History Channel). “Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire” is n...

“However, considering the reign of queen Elizabeth in a great and political view, we have no reason to regret many subsequent alterations in...

Warning: This post contains some mature themes in it. Although I have tried to discuss them tastefully, there's no way to take them ou...

"Had the Greeks, says the Abbe Milot, been as wise as they were courageous, they would have been admonished by experience of the nece...

"Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts: the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of th...