This article explores a novel approach to Latin instruction grounded in the principles of the natural semantic metalanguage (NSM) and the Minimal Languages framework. Whilst recent developments in Latin pedagogy have increasingly embraced communicative methods, the selection of appropriate target vocabulary remains a critical challenge, especially when traditional frequency lists prioritise terms ill-suited for active use. This, in turn, complicates the implementation of communicative approaches, which depend on accessible and contextually relevant language. We propose Minimal Latin (ML), a minimal language based on a universal lexicon derived from NSM principles and governed by a simplified grammar. ML offers a principled solution for vocabulary selection and lexical sequencing. It also facilitates in-language definitions and the explanation of cultural concepts without recourse to translation. The article outlines the theoretical foundations of NSM and Minimal Languages, presents a Latin version of NSM, and proposes ML as a pedagogical tool for Latin teaching across multiple instructional contexts.

By accepting a later dating for the composition of the Histories, this article argues that Herodotus mirrors Athenian imperialism in his account of the First Persian War to convey a political message to contemporary recipients. In doing so, he departs from the prevailing tradition of the expedition of Datis and Artaphrenes by creating a narrative that manipulates Persian methods of conquest, presenting them in a manner that appears emblematic of Athenian imperialism. In this way, the Herodotean Persians do not adhere to their expected cultural script, but act out the Athenian script. This reading offers a new understanding of Herodotus’ account of the Persian campaign as conveying a message to the Athenians who began to recognize that their former policies toward their allies were transgressive imperialism. As a result, his account of the First Persian War is a sophisticated meditation on the effects of imperialism rather than a straightforward depiction of historical events.

This paper investigates the extent and modalities of Latin and Greek teaching in early medieval British monastic communities by examining the indirect evidence offered by the manuscript known as the Liber Commonei, part of the composite manuscript Oxford Bodleian Auct. F.4.32. Using the patterns and nature of Latin and Old Welsh glosses as they appear in the manuscript, it is argued that, as expected, the monks would learn Classical Latin with the aid of Vulgar Latin and vernacular glosses and that they would tackle texts of a gradually higher complexity, conversely reducing their reliance on glosses. They would then proceed to learn Greek, using biblical excerpts (in Greek and in Latin script) as reference material; by analysing these texts, it is argued here that these British monks in the 9th century worked with the help of a Greek-speaking teacher.

This article uses the assemblage of surface-survey ceramics collected in the 2021 and 2022 West Area of Samos Archaeological Project (WASAP) field seasons to discuss the landscape structure and networking patterns (internal and external to the island) of Archaic through Byzantine south-west Samos. Collected in the basin of Marathokampos with intensive field pedestrian methods, a subset of a dataset of 1303 ceramics is discussed alongside the environmental context of their findspots. Spatial analysis is used to identify 15 ‘Areas of Interest’ in the landscape, densely populated by surface ceramics. The ceramic assemblage is interpreted in the framework of the Samian pottery production, to evaluate the entanglements of south-west Samos in regional and extra-regional trade networks. The main fabric groups are discussed and the range of types compared to material from the Hera Sanctuary and other parts of Samos. This leads to the surprising picture of a mostly inwards-looking island economy. Through the ages the assemblage is by far dominated by local productions, and the very few long-distance imports reflect more indirect trade contacts than an actively maintained, extensive trade network.

By offering a fresh reading of several partially overlooked passages from Aristotle’s Metaphysics Μ and Ν, this article argues that the identification of Forms and ideal numbers in Plato is not presented as Aristotle’s own reconstruction. Instead, Aristotle sets forth what he takes to be Plato’s views. This reading enhances not only our understanding of the Academic debates with which Aristotle engaged but also his status as a historian of philosophy.

A motif in the Cypria is sometimes explained as borrowed in the seventh century from the Akkadian epic Atra-ḫasīs, sometimes as inherited from a third-millennium Indo-European poetic tradition surviving also in the Sanskrit Mahābhārata. These explanations seem incompatible, but they are not. Narrative traditions often cross linguistic boundaries through multilinguals, and linguistic and archaeological evidence suggests that some speakers of Proto-Indo-European were also speakers of Semitic languages. Indo-European and Ancient Near Eastern comparative approaches are therefore halves of a single enterprise: the Cypria, Mahābhārata and Atra-ḫasīs belong to a Eurasian-Steppe tradition, and must be read together.