Christopher D StanleyMay 12, 20202 minWelcome to my site!I'm thrilled to launch this Website in support of my two new historical novels, A Rooster for Asklepios and A Bull for Pluto. If you've...
Christopher D StanleyFeb 253 minWhat Saith the Oracle?5th century BCE Greek painting from a drinking bowl showing Aegeus, one of the mythical founders of Athens, consulting the oracle at...
Christopher D StanleySep 9, 20213 minWhat’s So Bad about Christians?Second-century AD Christian mural showing a communion ceremony led by a woman (left), from the Catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter in Rome....
Christopher D StanleyMar 22, 20213 minWhat's in a Dream?Hypnos, Greek god of sleep, holds his wand over Leda as Zeus comes to her at night as a swan Modern science views dreams as a set of...
Christopher D StanleyFeb 22, 20213 minWomen Rule! Mighty Goddesses of Asia MinorLong before the coming of the Greeks and Romans, the peoples of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) honored powerful earth goddesses as a key...
Christopher D StanleyFeb 3, 20213 minTaking care of business, Roman styleUrine collection pot from the shop of a fuller (launderer) in Pompeii, Italy The first two books of my new historical fiction trilogy, A...
Christopher D StanleyJan 10, 20213 minDining with Greeks and RomanWhere did Greeks and Romans eat? It depends on where you stood in the social pyramid. A vast gulf existed in Greek and Roman cities...
Christopher D StanleyDec 19, 20203 minGetting around in Roman Asia MinorTomb carving of a Roman carpentum, the kind of carriage used in my novels As I noted in a previous post, the Romans either built or...
Christopher D StanleyDec 16, 20202 minRoman roads in Asia MinorRemains of the Via Sebaste, the Roman road where the journey narrated in my novels begins. If you were asked to name ten factors that...
Christopher D StanleyNov 20, 20203 minAnti-Judaism in the Roman WorldColorized version of a panel from the Arch of Titus in Rome depicting the conquest of the Jews in 70 A.D. (For more on the colorization,...
Christopher D StanleyOct 26, 20205 minAsklepios, Gracious Savior and HealerRelief of the god Asklepios and his daughter Hygeia treating a sleeping girl (Piraeus, Greece) All of the books in my A Slave’s Story...
Christopher D StanleyOct 11, 20201 minThe Oldest Known Greek SongGreek vase painting showing four of the nine Greek muses playing musical instruments Music doesn't play a notable role in my two novels,...
Christopher D StanleySep 27, 20202 minAncient Physicians and Health CareFresco from Pompeii depicting a physician removing an arrowhead from the leg of Aeneas In today’s world physicians are highly trained,...
Christopher D StanleySep 9, 20202 minSickness in the Roman worldShared public toilets were a common channel for spreading disease in Greek and Roman cities It can be hard for citizens of modern Western...
Christopher D StanleyAug 23, 20202 minTo market, to market...Ruins of the commercial agora in Ephesus, Turkey Did you ever wonder where people in the ancient world bought the things that they needed...
Christopher D StanleyJul 28, 20203 minAn empire of citiesArtist's rendition of a typical Greek city One of the hardest things for modern readers to comprehend about the ancient world, at least...
Christopher D StanleyJul 1, 20203 minMarking time with the RomansSince the A Slave's Story series is written from the vantage point of one of the characters in the story, I made a conscious effort to...
Christopher D StanleyJun 30, 20202 minAntioch-near-PisidiaMap of modern Turkey showing the location of Antioch-near-Pisidia The city where much of this story takes place was one of 16 cities in...
Christopher D StanleyJun 29, 20202 minSlavery in the Roman worldMosaic of slaves preparing for or serving at a banquet I anticipate that many of my readers will be surprised to see the relatively...