Category: Features
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Navigating the Voyage of St. Brendan
Written by Jack McGlone. Voyaging into the unknown was a constant for the early Medieval explorer. What drove them? What did they write down? And, might their hope offer inspiration for us today?
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Bangs of Expectations and Other Weird and Wonderful Christmas Traditions
Written by Sophie Whitehead. Christmas is filled with many weird and wonderful traditions, but where exactly did they come from? From Henry VIII’s turkeys to Mariah Carey’s Christmas Number One, each tradition has its own history.
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Io Saturnalia! How to Welcome in the Festive Season like a Roman
Written by Hazel Atkinson. Saturnalia pre-dated today’s Christmas. In Ancient Rome, how was it celebrated? And, why was it necessary?
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A Case of Confabulation? The Psychology Behind the Reykjavik Confessions
Written by Kat Jivkova. Two disappearances in the 1970s sparked what would become known as the Reykjavik Confessions. The investigation was problematic from the start, with the interrogation methods creating problems of confabulation.
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A Man of Constant Sorrows: Tracing Representations of Odysseus in 21st Century Cinema (Part Two)
Written by Justin Biggi. Having explored two different interpretations of Odysseus in Part One, our focus now shifts to the 2000 film, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, a ‘loosely based on’ re-telling of Homer’s Odyssey, in an attempt to answer the question: are the Homeric epics really that timeless?
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Sacred Caves and the Divine Feminine
Written by Simone Witney. Encounters with nymphs have been documented through inscriptions in the ancient Greek world. However, their existence not only informs us of a form of ancient sacred cult, but also the role of the divine feminine in religious practice.
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A Case for Historical Inaccuracy
Written by Jess Womack. The most recent series of The Crown has sparked uproar for its historical inaccuracies. But should we really be so concerned?
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‘Awful and Lovely’: Bettany Hughes discusses her recent publication – ‘Venus and Aphrodite: History of a Goddess’ – with Daisy Dunn
Written by Hazel Atkinson. Bettany Highes’ latest book discusses the history of Aphrodite and Venus. In a recent talk, what did she have to say about representations of the goddess?
Retrospect Journal 