Minerva Magazine - July/August 2020

In this issue

ANCIENT CITIES OF ILLYRIA In one of Europe’s smallest countries, a treasure trove of archaeology awaits. Oliver Gilkes guides us through the cities of ancient Illyria, now in modern-day Albania.
THE GOLDEN AND THE GROTESQUE Nero’s spectacular Roman palace, the Domus Aurea, was richly decorated. Dalu Jones describes how its ruins were rediscovered in the 15th century and how artists of the Renaissance were inspired by its extraordinary painted interiors.
CIVILISATION BEGINS The first cities grew up 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, complex states requiring administration and bureaucracy. Neil Faulkner explores the huge cultural contribution of the world’s oldest civilisation.
EVER-CHANGING EPHESUS The ancient Ephesus that we visit today is the new city, David Stuttard explains, built on the site of an equally impressive earlier settlement. But the stories that surround the founding and development of both great cities are equally rich in myth and imagination.
PROPERTY, POWER, AND THE BRITISH BAROQUE A new type of art was required for a new order. The Baroque style in Britain, writes Neil Faulkner, was ideal for the Restoration monarchy, which was trying to reassert its power.