The spectacle of the ancient Greek male body is as enduring and relevant now as it was in 500 BC. The ideal image of man, largely sourced from Homeric legend, still forms the basis of our ideas of masculinity — not only the physical form of a stereotypical Homeric hero, but the mental traits — strength, physical skill, courage: qualities all used today in adverts selling cars and colognes. Modern cliché comes from ancient truth; courage was so sacred to the Spartans soldiers

This week, the face of British politics changed. Both Labour and the Conservatives were rocked by the creation of a new group in the centre ground of politics. On Tuesday seven Labour MPs, dissatisfied by Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, resigned from the party to sit in the Commons as The Independent Group. Several, including their de facto leader Chuka Umunna MP, were pushed to go by Corbyn’s wishy-washy stance on Brexit, arguing that he should align the Labour party with a camp

Sad news this week (although it’s seldom but sad), as NASA has officially given up hope on their Martian robotic rover Opportunity. The plucky little chap, known affectionately to its operators as Oppy, last made communication with earth in June last year just before being hit by a large dust storm and disappearing. It was hoped that Oppy would reappear once the dust cleared and sunlight once again reached its solar panels but alas, it was not to be. Around this time of year,

There are numerous historical sources attached to St Valentine ​— ​the Catholic. Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. The most apt source is the consideration that St Valentine was a priest in third century Rome. When Emperor Claudius ll (better known as Claudius Gothicus) decreed that single men make better warriors and outlawed marriage, Valentine defied his Emperor and performed secret marriages for you

Valentine’s Day tends to dominate headlines in the February horoscopes. Far more important is the Lunar New Year taking place on 5th February. 2019 is the year of the Pig, the animal in the Chinese zodiac that comes last in the 12-year cycle. With endings come the new, so to shake things up and celebrate the new year, this month’s art scopes are based on the Chinese signs. Find your birth year below and read on. 恭喜发财 (gōng xǐ fā cái) “Wishing you wealth and prosperity.” Illus

This week saw President Trump, the unhappy love child of a month-old satsuma and a poorly fitted suit, deliver his third State of the Union address to Congress. At the beginning of every year the sitting President is invited to address a joint session of congress to lay out his intended legislative agenda for the year ahead, although in reality it is mostly used for political posturing and Trump is never one to miss out on a chance to posture. It normally takes place in late

As the UK faces a big freeze the Prime Minister’s position on Brexit has thawed slightly – although the reception from the EU remains decidedly frosty. On Tuesday MPs were asked to look again at Theresa May’s Brexit Deal which they so forcefully rejected earlier in the month – the biggest government defeat in history, remember that? Well, this time they were asked what they would like to see changed in order to finally move forward, and with less than 60 days to go until the

Here is a sensation I would like to bottle as a sal volatile for monotone days: that of emerging from a darkened movie theatre into the light. ‘Going to the cinema is like going to bed and going to sleep,’ someone recently told me. ‘You close your eyes but then you’re opened up to these dreams you see before you.’ To wake up is to be disoriented, your mind lagging behind your body for a moment until the fictive retreats in the daylight. This is the feeling of allowing yoursel