Why is Ptolemy important? As we have said, the Greeks explored many new ideas about astronomy between 700 BC and AD 200. These ideas were finally written down by Claudius Ptolemais, better known as Ptolemy. Ptolemy lived and worked in Alexandria in the second century after Christ. Like the Greek astronomers that had preceded him, he believed that the Earth lay at the centre of the Universe and that the Moon,...

What were man’s first ideas about the Universe? All the peoples of the Ancient World thought that the Earth lay at the centre of the Universe and most of them thought that it was flat. The ancient Egyptians, for example, believed that the sky was the body of the Goddess Nut. They thought that Geb held her up and that each day a boat ferried Ra (the Sun) across the arch...

Who is involved in the production of a play? When you have been to the theatre, have you ever thought of all the people who are involved in the production of a play? You have seen the actors, sometimes in superb costumes, acting on the stage in a blaze of lights, but have you ever thought of all the people backstage who make this possible? Let us suppose that you have...

When were large numbers of plays first published in England? After the victory over the Spanish Armada, Elizabethan trade expanded enormously all over the world. Sailing ships returned home laden with precious merchandise from Asia, Africa and America. Less fortunately, how-ever, the foul plague returned to London. It was carried by the fleas on rats in the ships — a fact the Elizabethans were not aware of. They had some very...

Who was the ‘upstart crow’? James Burbage built the first theatre in Lon-don in 1576. From about this date, until the Puritans closed every theatre in 1642, drama flourished in England in a way it has never done, before or since. It has been calculated that one Elizabethan Londoner in eight went to the theatre every week and what an audience they must have been! While some disappointed playwrights railed against...

Who built one of the first Theatres? King Minos built a theatre in his palace at Knossos in Crete. It was a very simple stone paved arena with tiers of steps on both sides which were used as benches. Here Minos would sit, with his court around him and watch dancing or receive foreign envoys or the tribute of his subjects. After the palace of Knossos was destroyed for the third...

What became of the Celts? The Celts in Gaul settled down happily under Roman rule and in Britain, after some resistance, the native Celtic inhabitants were ready to accept the benefits of Roman civilisation. After nearly 400 years of peace, the Romans withdrew from Britain in the early part of the fifth century. Very soon, in the face of invasions by Angles, Saxons and Jutes, from Germany and Denmark, the Celtic...

What do we know about Celtic society and culture? The Celts were a high-spirited people, proud of their fighting qualities, and fond of feasting and drinking. Each tribe was ruled by a king supported by a warrior aristocracy and they would have made far more formidable foes if they had not quarrelled among themselves so much. Their priests, known as Druids, had great influence and practised human sacrifice. The Celts lived...