Two Greek cities, only about 200km apart. One wanted its people to think, the other wanted its people to endure. Which was better?

The enduring legacy of the Olympic Games and the importance of being your best.

Ned Kelly vs an ancient Spartan hoplite. Whose armour would you prefer to fight in?

Find out how one woman’s interest revolutionised our understanding of women’s hair in Ancient Rome!

Step into the wild, dangerous world of horse racing in ancient Greece, where owning a winning team could make you legendary.

What if your whole city could vote to send you away for ten years? Discover the true story of Aristides the Just!

Roman coins were a lot like modern day newspapers. Learn how to ‘read’ an ancient Roman coin and discover what it reveals about historical events. Gold Augustus (Octavian) coin. Minted 27BCE. Image via the British Museum Coins in ancient Rome were, in some ways, similar to modern-day newspapers. The obverse (front) of the coin often depicted the head of the current emperor while the image on the reverse (back) was often used by the emperor to promote important information abo

Discover the least known wonder of the Ancient World!

When the Romans decided to rebrand ancient Greek goddesses... The original painting of Aphrodite Anadyomene by Apelles has been lost to time, but this fresco by an unknown Roman artist found at the Casa della Venere in conchiglia (Pompeii) also shows the birth of Aphrodite/Venus. (before 79 CE). Im

Discover the story of the weightlifter-turned-archaeologist who filled the British Museum with Egyptian artefacts! Illustration of the removal of the colossal bust of Rameses II, taken from Plates illustrative of the researches and operations in Egypt and Nubia (1820). Image via Wikimedia Commons. DISCOVER 300 years ago, wealthy collectors began pouring out of western Europe toward Greece, Egypt, Italy, and the Near East, hoping to take stolen artefacts back to their private

The Greeks were intent on figuring out the key to living a good life. This usually involved a few essential things: good poetry, good philosophy, plenty of sports, and by no means the least of these, good food. This month, let’s take a look at what we know of ancient Greek cooking, and try out some recipes ourselves! Symposium scene, circa 420 BC. © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons DISCOVER One of our most important records for ancient Greek recipes is the book Deipnosoph

What were the Roman origins of our modern Christmas celebrations, and why do some countries celebrate on 7 January? In this month's Discover & Create, we're exploring the ancient roots of Christmas! Antoine-François Callet, Saturnalia (1783). Public Domain. DISCOVER It may come as a surprise, but Christmas as we know it is a fairly recent invention. Did you know that Christmas trees weren’t used in England until 1840, and that the image of Santa Claus as a jolly old man in re

We know the ancient Greek gods had trouble keeping their immortal noses out of other people's business. In art and mythology they were often transformed into animals or disguised as mortals to interfere with the lives of humans. But they could also be more subtle, sending signs from heaven for humans to interpret. This month, let's explore some examples of signs from the gods found in Greek history and myth! The gods often sent signs to humans through dreams. The god of dream

Welcome to the third instalment of When Worlds Collide, where we explore the encounters of the ancient Greeks with surrounding cultures! This month, discover the mythic origin of the Greek colony settled among the ancient inhabitants of France... Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, "Massalia, Colonie Grecque" (1868). Image via Creative Commons. DISCOVER Back in the 7th Century BCE, the Greek city of Phocaea was suffering. The soil was not fertile enough to support the large amount of

Honour the Greeks and the descendants of the ancient Gauls by getting ready for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics! At the Hellenic Museum we have a wide collection of Olympic torches from 1936 to 2016, and this month we'll take a special look at Australia's own torch from the 2000 Olympics, previously on display in our Flame of Olympia exhibition. The 2000 Sydney Olympic Torch, Hellenic Museum collection. Every Olympics, a new torch is designed to reflect the characteristics o

Welcome to the second instalment of When Worlds Collide, where we explore the encounters of the ancient Greeks with surrounding cultures! This month, discover how the Greeks reshaped their most cherished myths to make room for the Egyptians... The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina, Le Musée absolu, Phaidon, 10-2012, depicting Greek soldiers encamped on the Nile River in Egypt. When Paris was blown off course on his way to Troy, he entered Egypt via the Nile River. DISCOVER From the b

Welcome to the first edition of When Worlds Collide, where we discover the many cultures ancient Greeks encountered in history! We're starting with one of the most influential of these cultures, who were ultimately responsible for the collapse of Greek rule over Europe – the Romans! And it all starts with a Greek king, Pyrrhus of Epirus... The Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus depicting the Romans at war with the Goths (3rd century CE). Image via Wikimedia Commons. DISCOVER Pyrrhus

Avast ye! Welcome to the final instalment of our Greeks and Galleys series, where we've been exploring the histories and adventures of Greek ships and their crews from ancient times to today. This month, we’ll learn about one of the world's oldest shipwrecks, the 3300 year-young Uluburun wreck. Find out about its cargo and origins, then make your own time capsule with this month's Create activity! A diver exploring the incredibly well-preserved Uluburun shipwreck. Image via..

All hands on deck! Get ready for this blazing, red-hot edition of our Greeks and Galleys series, where we’re exploring the histories and adventures of Greek ships and their crews from ancient times to today. This month, we’ll be looking at how the Byzantine Greeks terrorised their enemies and set the ocean alight with their most gruesome and destructive weapon to date, Greek fire! "The Roman fleet burn the opposite fleet down" – 12th century illustration from the Madrid Skyli

In our Greeks and Galleys series, we're exploring famous Greek ships and their captains – and this week, we’re jumping back to the ancient world with Athenian ship Paralus. Sacred Ships The Paralus was part of a special group of sacred ships in ancient Athens. These were ships used for religious purposes. They could be decked out in astonishing decorations, and lined up in religious processions that took place in rivers and at sea! Most sacred ships were triremes. Triremes we