Blood on the Marble
The ancients gave us high art, great literature and sound scientific principles. They taught us how to build roads, bridges and waterways. Without their example, democracy would have been a lot harder to establish. But, despite all their civilised attributes, they were a bloodthirsty lot who didn't think twice about rubbing out their rivals.
Love Among the Tyrants
Ancient Athenians were the world's first democrats and they loved to tell the tale of how, in 514 BC, Harmodius and Aristogiton liberated Athens from its ruling tyrants, Hippias and his younger brother, Hipparchus. But the historian Thucydides, writing around a century later, told a different story. He wrote that the pair - who were homosexual lovers - hatched an assassination plot against the brothers because Hipparchus had tried to steal the youthful Harmodius from Aristogiton. The lovers assassinated Hipparchus during a festival but were both killed themselves. Hippias survived and his rule became far harsher, until he was overthrown in 510 BC and Athens established a form of democracy.
Death of a King
During his reign, Philip II of Macedonia built an empire that reached the Black Sea. But, at the height of his powers, domestic politics began to bog him down. Always a polygamist, he married a Macedonian noblewoman named Cleopatra in 338 BC. This alienated his existing "senior" queen, Olympias, the mother of Philip's heir, Alexander (later Alexander the Great). In 336 BC, during a marriage celebration for his daughter, Philip was assassinated by a young nobleman, Pausanius, who apparently had a grudge against Cleopatra's father, a powerful general. Historians disagree over whether Olympias and Alexander encouraged Pausanius. He was killed on the spot, so we shall never know for sure.
A Dictator's End
The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the classical world's most enduring stories. A ruthless general and gifted politician, Caesar had emerged victorious after defeating an alliance of Roman nobles in a bitter civil war. His sidelining of the nominally democratic Senate angered many aristocrats - wealthy men with the means to pursue senatorial careers. In March 44 BC, he was stabbed to death by dozens of noblemen, many of whom he had pardoned after the civil war. One of the ringleaders was Marcus Brutus, an honourable man Caesar had regarded as a friend. His reaction was immortalised by Shakespeare as "Et tu, Brute?" ("You too, Brutus?")
Gladitorial Ambition
During the 2nd century AD, Rome enjoyed more than 80 years of stable rule under a succession of moderate, far-sighted emperors. Then along came Commodus. Vain, capricious and most probably quite mad, Commodus saw himself as an incarnation of the god Hercules. His rule became repressive in 182, after he survived an assassination attempt orchestrated by his sister, Lucilla. He had scores of opponents killed while he dedicated himself to a life of excess, dressing as a gladiator to take part in public battles he invariably won. He was assassinated on New Year's Eve, 192, when his advisers had him strangled to death by a champion wrestler.
Ancient Athenians were the world's first democrats and they loved to tell the tale of how, in 514 BC, Harmodius and Aristogiton liberated Athens from its ruling tyrants, Hippias and his younger brother, Hipparchus. But the historian Thucydides, writing around a century later, told a different story. He wrote that the pair - who were homosexual lovers - hatched an assassination plot against the brothers because Hipparchus had tried to steal the youthful Harmodius from Aristogiton. The lovers assassinated Hipparchus during a festival but were both killed themselves. Hippias survived and his rule became far harsher, until he was overthrown in 510 BC and Athens established a form of democracy.
Death of a King
During his reign, Philip II of Macedonia built an empire that reached the Black Sea. But, at the height of his powers, domestic politics began to bog him down. Always a polygamist, he married a Macedonian noblewoman named Cleopatra in 338 BC. This alienated his existing "senior" queen, Olympias, the mother of Philip's heir, Alexander (later Alexander the Great). In 336 BC, during a marriage celebration for his daughter, Philip was assassinated by a young nobleman, Pausanius, who apparently had a grudge against Cleopatra's father, a powerful general. Historians disagree over whether Olympias and Alexander encouraged Pausanius. He was killed on the spot, so we shall never know for sure.
A Dictator's End
The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the classical world's most enduring stories. A ruthless general and gifted politician, Caesar had emerged victorious after defeating an alliance of Roman nobles in a bitter civil war. His sidelining of the nominally democratic Senate angered many aristocrats - wealthy men with the means to pursue senatorial careers. In March 44 BC, he was stabbed to death by dozens of noblemen, many of whom he had pardoned after the civil war. One of the ringleaders was Marcus Brutus, an honourable man Caesar had regarded as a friend. His reaction was immortalised by Shakespeare as "Et tu, Brute?" ("You too, Brutus?")
Gladitorial Ambition
During the 2nd century AD, Rome enjoyed more than 80 years of stable rule under a succession of moderate, far-sighted emperors. Then along came Commodus. Vain, capricious and most probably quite mad, Commodus saw himself as an incarnation of the god Hercules. His rule became repressive in 182, after he survived an assassination attempt orchestrated by his sister, Lucilla. He had scores of opponents killed while he dedicated himself to a life of excess, dressing as a gladiator to take part in public battles he invariably won. He was assassinated on New Year's Eve, 192, when his advisers had him strangled to death by a champion wrestler.
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