Adrienne Mayor

Amazon warrior helping her fallen companion, with worried horse
ancient cameo, Beazley Archives, Oxford

Amazon warrior helping her fallen companion, with worried horse
ancient cameo, Beazley Archives, Oxford

'El Aníbal de Oriente que desafió a Roma' lleva por título la reseña que hoy publica @zendalibros.bsky.social del libro 'El rey del veneno. Mitrídates el Grande, enemigo implacable de Roma', de Adrienne Mayor, cuya nueva edición está ya en librerías.
🔗 www.despertaferro-ediciones.com/revistas/num...

Excited for the Polish translation of Gods and Robots!
"Made, Not Born"

What Is It Like to Be a Machine? An unsettling argument from antiquity sounds a moral warning for the future.

What's it like to be a machine?
www.thefreedomfrequency.org/p/what-is-it...

Stanford students learn to lead with civic courage Led by political scientist Josiah Ober, the Stanford Civics Initiative aims to inspire democratic citizenship through courses and programs focused on civics education.

Civic courage is making a comeback!
Thanks to Josiah Ober and team
news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...

"Dan Edelstein, (Stanford) is joined by classical-political heavyweights Josiah Ober(Stanford), and Melissa Lane(Princeton, ICS), to excavate the deep past of an idea that still jolts headlines and rattles parliaments."

https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/p/the-revolution-to-come

Josiah Ober’s mission to revitalize democracy and civic education Using lessons from ancient Athens, the political scientist is inspiring a new way of thinking about civic responsibilities at Stanford and across the country.

Great piece on former CASBS fellow & board member Josh Ober

news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...

What Is It Like to Be a Machine? An unsettling argument from antiquity sounds a moral warning for the future.

What's it like to be a machine?
www.thefreedomfrequency.org/p/what-is-it...

Have you ever seen a baby Sphinx?
Sphinxes playing with fawns
ancient Greek vase painting, oil flask, 5th century BC

Paclitaxel: From ancient quivers onto the list of essential medicines There is a tree that is so poisonous that it has long been a symbol of poison itself.

@amayor.bsky.social Thank you so much for Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, & Scorpion Bombs. I loved it!
I also drew inspiration from it (and used it as a resource) for my own little article about the history of yew and paclitaxel.
open.substack.com/pub/pharmahi...

thank you! I enjoyed your excellent article

Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.

How Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong

simple logo on left is best

BlueSky won’t let me share the video, but you can see one of the ICE agents rip a gun out of this man’s waistband *before* the shooting starts.

From this angle, it’s hard to see how this was anything but an execution, unless simply carrying a gun is now illegal in America.

En librerías el 4 de febrero.
Ya en preventa con gastos de envío gratis hasta el 3 de febrero (Península y Baleares, envíos por mensajería con número de seguimiento y entrega coincidiendo con la fecha de disponibilidad).
🔗 www.despertaferro-ediciones.com/revistas/num...

Tras largo tiempo agotado, presentamos la nueva edición de 'El rey del veneno. Mitrídates el Grande, enemigo implacable de Roma', un relato vibrante de poder, ciencia, ambición y resistencia, escrito por una de las grandes especialistas en el mundo antiguo, Adrienne Mayor.

Animals are their own doctors!
They self-medicate with powerful plants
doi.org/10.64628/AAI...

thank you!

A quirky guide to myths and lore based in actual science Folklorist/historian Adrienne Mayor on her new book Mythopedia: A Brief Compendium of Natural History Lore...

arstechnica.com/science/2025...

In ancient Greece one could marvel at self-moving devices to open temple doors, animated statues that could lift their arms and move their eyes, and other wonders
For more see #GodsandRobots

another thing I'd love to see more work on - @amayor.bsky.social has done some, I believe! - is stage magic in the pre-modern world, especially its use in religious ritual. We know from Greek accounts that temples used various devices to do 'miraculous' effects, for instance.

(PDF) Can Geology Explain the Deadly Reputation of the Styx River and Shed Light on the Death of Alexander the Great? PDF | Modern discoveries of two naturally occurring toxins that thrive in limestone-rich environments offer clues to understanding how the Styx... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Re...

What might explain the deadly legend of the Styx River?
Could it be the poison that killed Alexander the Great?
www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Perfect gift for everyone on your list!
Little encyclopedia of fantastic myths
about amazing Nature
wonderfully illustrated and fun

Yes it is Wile E. Coyote--he is mentioned in the piece about the Chicago Rat Hole in my book Mythopedia!

(PDF) Can Geology Explain the Deadly Reputation of the Styx River and Shed Light on the Death of Alexander the Great? PDF | Modern discoveries of two naturally occurring toxins that thrive in limestone-rich environments offer clues to understanding how the Styx... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Re...

What might explain the deadly legend of the Styx River?
Could it be the poison that killed Alexander the Great?
www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Many film references in my book "Gods and Robots" about how the ancient Greeks imagined automatons and Artificial Life--and the dilemmas that arise

The message of my book #Mythopedia is that observations and explanations of earthshaking or strange natural events in ancient times contain insights and kernels of historical and scientific reality. Pub by Princeton Univ press for general readers.

thank you!

If you’re into myths and nature, I highly recommend Mythopedia from @amayor.bsky.social . Such a huge amount of knowledge and tales in a handy little package! 📚🏺