Women and Water: John William Waterhouse
Born in Rome to English parents, John William Waterhouse grew up surrounded by ancient history. His early work was classical in nature, exhibited at the summer exhibitions at the Royal...
The Common Cause
Historical Jewelry: Legacy & Love
Mourning Rings Memento Mori rings, and other sorts of macabre jewelry, have been popular in Europe particularly for many generations. An offshoot of this trend in the 17th century was...
Nostos, or My Homecoming
Hello, again, my friends. The year is closing and I’m having a lot of feelings. In my personal life, I have had a tumultuous year, choosing to take on several...
On Philia and Friendship Bracelets
The bonds that tie us are not the same. And thank goodness. The Greeks defined philia as the sort of love between good friends. It’s platonic — not the romantic...
Euripides, Philosophos
A poet of classical Athens, Euripides stands in our historical memory alongside Sophocles and Aeschylus. We have much of Euripides’ works, more than any other playwright, and in these plays...
Queen Victoria, Still an Icon
During the grand opening of the Grand Exhibition, Queen Victoria wore a cream dress with a wide neckline, front tiers and ruffles reminiscent of floral bouquets. In the coming months,...
Hidden Meanings
We at Common Era do nothing without intention. Every curved line, each carefully placed stone, the carefully wrought edges, the lyrical prose. Every last detail has been turned over and...
Ancient Gemstone Lore
Amethyst The Romans believed amethyst to carry within it temperance and grace, a talisman to ward off drunkenness and the regrets it begets. Prone to rage, fits of lust and...
The Scarf, 8 Ways
If you are absolutely clueless when it comes to accessories, like I am, you’re going to want to read ahead. To look forward, try looking back. History is steeped with...
Ancient Divination: The Oracle at Delphi
She was called Pythia, high priestess, or Oracle, and she lived at the center of the world. The Greeks thought Delphi to be the omphalos, or “navel” of Gaia, the...
Artemisia Gentileschi: Artist, Muse, Huntress
I met Caravaggio in Italy. He lives on in galleries and museums, haunting the corridors lined with his works, in those deep shadows and in the light draped over the...
Classical Sexism and Some Thoughts on the Death of the Author
“The Death of the Author” refers to a 1967 essay of the same name by French literary theorist Roland Barthes. The essay centers around the idea that one can, and...
Iphigenia, Polyxena, and Female Sacrifice in Patriarchal Structures
When we think of the women of the Trojan war, we think of Helen, maybe of Hecuba and Andromache. We think of women deprived of their agency, watching behind the...
Rococo Art, Briefly
I love autumn, but I am loath to let go of the pleasures that come with the summertime. The heat of the afternoon allows for little more than leisure, lounging...
Historical Jewelry: The Chatelaine
For whatever the reason, women’s clothing has not always had pockets. The tiny, unusable pockets—or, gasp, fake pockets—we find on our pants today are not just a modern problem. If...
