As the Roman Empire fell into serious decline in the 5th century, there were several attempts to restore Roman power amid the invasion of outside groups and social problems. The Emperor Majorian came close to reconnecting the Roman Empire in the middle of the 5th century, coming up just short of restoring Roman power […]

Cyrus the Great (590-529 BCE) was known as an innovative warrior and a benevolent king. He expanded the Achaemenid Dynasty to reach from the Mediterranean coasts to Himalayan hills. He encouraged the diverse people of his empire to practice their religions, continue cultural traditions, and participate in government. He showed respect for his enemies. […]

TheCollector recently had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Alejandra Rojas Silva, Curator of European and American Art at the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA) in Honolulu, Hawai’i. She took us behind the scenes of Mary Cassatt at Work, which opens at HoMA on June 21. The exhibition—the first of its kind in North America in […]

Why was Alexander the Great seen by the Romans as the greatest military leader of the ancient world? This question would endlessly fascinate and drive Roman commanders to envy his innovative military strategies since he was the standard for battlefield excellence. The Martial Roman society honored Alexander with mosaics and statues. Roman historians focused […]

In Homer’s Odyssey, composed in the 7th century BCE, Odysseus is a king. As such, he obviously has a palace of sorts on Ithaca, his home island. Ithaca was a real place, as were most of the places described by Homer. However, does this mean that Homer was describing a real place when he […]