Domina Tempora

In battle, Telesilla was formidable. In his Mulierum Virtutes (“Bravery of Women”), Plutarch tells us that in 494 BC, when king of the Spartans Cleomenes I moved his troops against the city of Argives after killing many of the Argaean men, the younger women of Argives rose up to hold off the enemy for their country’s sake. Led by Telesilla, the women took up arms and guard the walls all around the city. Socrates tells us that despite experiencing great loss in their numbers, the women fought Cleomenes and another king, Demaratus, who managed to get inside the city wall and gained possession of the Pamphyliacum. Tune in!

The ancient Greeks loved the theater and ancient Greek actors enjoyed a position of eminence and respect. In contrast, although entertainment and drama were similarly adored in Ancient Rome, theater performers were often belittled by higher society and also perceived as morally unclean. The emperor Tiberius, who ruled Rome from 14 to 37 AD and not the most morally upstanding man himself, urged those of high society and theatrical performers to avoid interacting with one another. Later, Julian the Apostate (who ruled from 361 to 363 AD) would prohibit pagan priests from attending the theater so that the actors and the theater itself did not receive any form of elevation in status because of their attendance. The Roman Empire, then, placed itself in a peculiar position of admiring the performing art yet, at the same time, viewing the theater as a symptom of the degradation of society and the stubborn attachment of the people to it as the worst social curse of the Empire.

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Richard Wagner’s 19th century opera, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of Nibelungen), affectionately known as The “Ring” Cycle, may be considered by many as the height of operatic absurdity, with larger than life staging, costumes and voices. The image is so ingrained in the modern consciousness that opera lovers and non-lovers alike associate the opera, specifically the character of Brunhilde, with a heavy-set female opera singer wearing her hair in pig-tails, costumed with horned helmet and armor. As the opera went on to make its mark on popular culture, from featuring in an episode of Bugs Bunny to inspiring a Quentin Tarantino film, Brunhilde became a more visually recognizable figure, which is not always followed by immediate association to her name and her story.

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In his History, Livy reported that during a critical part of the battle against the Samnites in 296 BCE, the general Appius Claudius was seen in the front lines raising his hands as he uttered a prayer, “Bellona, if you grant us victory today, I promise to build you a temple.” This prayer was proven to be effective as the Romans proceeded to capture and plundered the Samnite camp, giving a massive amount of booty to their own sodiers. More than a thousand years later, Shakespeare introduced Macbeth as a violent and brave warrior when the Thane of Ross calls him "Bellona's bridegroom", placing her as the equivalent of Mars himself.Tune in!

Fredegund (545 - 597 CE), the queen consort of Chilperic I - the Merovingian Frankish king of Soissons, has a reputation of being one of the most bloodthirsty and sadistic women in history. Accounts by Gregory, the Bishop of Tours (539 - 594 CE), depict her as a murderous lady who achieved power through her husband and used it to keep his kingdom in a state of war for more than forty years. She was also known as an early exponent of dirty warfare who relied heavily on poison and other covert operations

However, this same lady also survived political dangers and retained her husband's loyalty despite the fact that, for a long time, she was unable to provide him with healthy sons. Fredegund also developed innovative methods of assassination and was evidently compelling enough to persuade even monks and priests to join her causes. She was honored by her husband, accumulated great fortunes, put her son on his throne, and died a natural death. After her death, her son later honored her by punishing her enemies.

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Many indications of a celebrity culture already existed since classical antiquity. The Ancient Greek and Roman world gave us many individuals who were celebrities in their day and whose careers provide us with what we recognize today as different aspects of the modern celebrity culture such as endorsements, groupies and 15 minutes of fame - albeit without the terminology. The price of fame in the ancient world is also surprisingly, and in some cases chillingly, similar with what we see today.Tune in!

Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC) could speak nine languages, according to Plutarch, and rarely needed an interpreter for diplomatic purposes. Although her native language was Greek, she was known to also speak the Egyptian language perfectly, which was apparently a rare accolade for Egyptian rulers of the time. Plutarch calls Cleopatra's accomplishments "very extraordinary," even though they fall far short of those of Mithridates. She "spoke most languages," according to him, and only a small number of foreign ambassadors received an audience with her through an interpreter.

It was likely her amours with Caesar, and later Antony, were conducted in Greek, which would in turn tell us that both Julius Caesar and Antony could speak Greek as well as Latin, as well as both of them being comfortable enough with the Greek language to be able to romance the Egyptian queen.

Tune in for more polyglots and language learning in the ancient world.

The ancient Greek city of Delphi, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, was home to the main temple of Apollo and the renowned Delphic oracle. According to legend, the site was found by Zeus, the King of the Gods, who sought to find the centre of the earth goddess Gaia, or his "Grandmother Earth". Zeus then sent two eagles flying from the eastern and western extremities of the earth. The two eagles crossed paths over Delphi. Zeus marked the spot in which the paths of his eagles crossed with a large, egg-shaped stone called the omphalos, which means "navel". The ancient Greeks revered this site as the centre of the world, as indicated by the Omphalos stone monument found on the site, and it has since been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its immense influence in the ancient world.Tune in!

In his Argonautica, ancient Greek author Apollonius of Rhodes gives us a rather romantic introduction of Medea as a young woman desperately in love. Unfortunately, this introduction quickly takes on a sinister turn and casts Medea as one of the most famous and controversial figures in Greek mythology.

In ancient heroic stories, a helper-maiden is typically personified as a young woman who, usually out of love, helps a hero in his quest. One of them is Ariadne. Ariadne is a princess and daughter of King Minos of Crete. Her father ordered the creation of a labyrinth. In the the center of this maze is the Minotaur, Ariadne’s half-brother. Ariadne falls in love with the young hero Theseus, who is due to enter the maze. Before Theseus enters the maze, Ariadne gives him a ball of string to help him find his way out.

After Theseus kills the Minotaur and escapes from the maze, he takes Ariadne as his bride and they sail back to his home. However, before reaching their destination, they stop at an island. Fatigued, Aridane falls asleep and then left on the island by Theseus. Thus the powerful woman who helped the hero and sacrificed her own family is diminished to a state of powerlessness.

The story of Medea, another “helper maiden”, follows in similar vein, but with starkly different ending.

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In this episode of Domina Tempora, we examine Emperor Nero’s turbulent love life — a chaotic blend of power, passion, jealousy, and violence that shocked even the jaded elite of Rome.

From his loveless political marriage to Octavia (whom he forced to suicide), to his deep attachment to the former slave Acte, his murderous passion for the ambitious Poppaea Sabina (whom he kicked to death while pregnant), his final wife Statilia Messalina, and his scandalous relationships with the men Pythagoras and the tragic Sporus (whom he castrated and “married” as a Poppaea lookalike), Nero’s romances were as dramatic and destructive as his reign.

We explore how these relationships reflected the toxic intersection of absolute power, imperial insecurity, and personal desire — and why they continue to fascinate us today.

If tales of forbidden love, dangerous ambition, imperial excess, and the personal cost of power captivate you, my debut novel Clotho Unbound dives deep into similar themes of divine politics, forbidden passion, and resistance against tyrannical control. In its pages, Clotho — the Fate who has spun death for Zeus across the ages — becomes entangled with Aphrodite in stolen, blasphemous nights that make the Loom of Fate itself tremble. Their love is treason. Their passion could unravel destiny.

Clotho Unbound is out now — order your copy today on Amazon