Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
@badancient.bsky.social
Ancient Historian: Global history, ancient disability, veteran studies, etc. Also runs Bad Ancient: Fact-checking common claims about the ancient world.
Website: www.badancient.com
Newsletter: https://owenrees.substack.com/
Website: www.badancient.com
Newsletter: https://owenrees.substack.com/
Pinned
🌎 Far Edges of the Known World - Owen Rees
Owen Rees explores powerful empires and diverse people beyond the reaches of Greece and Rome and in doing so offers us a new, brilliantly rich lens with which to understand the ancient world.
Read more - www.bloomsbury.com/uk/far-edges...
Owen Rees explores powerful empires and diverse people beyond the reaches of Greece and Rome and in doing so offers us a new, brilliantly rich lens with which to understand the ancient world.
Read more - www.bloomsbury.com/uk/far-edges...
It is publication day for The Far Edges of the Known World! If you love ancient history, global history, unusual stories from the past, or if you want some nice historical escapism about life at the edges of the ancient world - pick up a copy today! #AncientBlueSky #BookSky #Skystorians
As someone who lives in Denton, it amazes me how each party is talking about this by-election without any consideration of the local political situation. Being asked to vote for people who have no knowledge of the area, to represent us in parliament. Dread to think who Labour will put forward.
Matthew Goodwin hopes to make the transition from being a former academic to elected politics by standing for Reform in the Gorton & Denton by-election.
It sounds like he will be making his "Trump is right" case about civilisational erasure to the Greater Manchester constituency's voters
It sounds like he will be making his "Trump is right" case about civilisational erasure to the Greater Manchester constituency's voters
January 27, 2026 at 4:56 PM
As someone who lives in Denton, it amazes me how each party is talking about this by-election without any consideration of the local political situation. Being asked to vote for people who have no knowledge of the area, to represent us in parliament. Dread to think who Labour will put forward.
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
"[T]his is a book that is going to delight anyone interested in the ancient world but even if you know quite a lot about antiquity, you will find things here to expand your horizons."
Thanks for taking the time to review @bretdevereaux.bsky.social!
Thanks for taking the time to review @bretdevereaux.bsky.social!
Fireside this week on the blog! I muse on the unwillingness of the statute pfp crowd to advance their 'theories' about antiquity in formal, peer-reviewed settings (because they're cowards) and recommend an absolutely spectacular book by @badancient.bsky.social .
acoup.blog/2026/01/23/f...
acoup.blog/2026/01/23/f...
Fireside Friday, January 23, 2025 (On the Cowardice of the Statue PfPs)
Hey folks, Fireside this week! Hopefully everyone enjoyed our series on the running debate over hoplites! As a social media note, I am going to attempt to start setting up a presence on Threads (wi…
acoup.blog
January 26, 2026 at 8:53 PM
"[T]his is a book that is going to delight anyone interested in the ancient world but even if you know quite a lot about antiquity, you will find things here to expand your horizons."
Thanks for taking the time to review @bretdevereaux.bsky.social!
Thanks for taking the time to review @bretdevereaux.bsky.social!
"[T]his is a book that is going to delight anyone interested in the ancient world but even if you know quite a lot about antiquity, you will find things here to expand your horizons."
Thanks for taking the time to review @bretdevereaux.bsky.social!
Thanks for taking the time to review @bretdevereaux.bsky.social!
Fireside this week on the blog! I muse on the unwillingness of the statute pfp crowd to advance their 'theories' about antiquity in formal, peer-reviewed settings (because they're cowards) and recommend an absolutely spectacular book by @badancient.bsky.social .
acoup.blog/2026/01/23/f...
acoup.blog/2026/01/23/f...
Fireside Friday, January 23, 2025 (On the Cowardice of the Statue PfPs)
Hey folks, Fireside this week! Hopefully everyone enjoyed our series on the running debate over hoplites! As a social media note, I am going to attempt to start setting up a presence on Threads (wi…
acoup.blog
January 26, 2026 at 8:53 PM
"[T]his is a book that is going to delight anyone interested in the ancient world but even if you know quite a lot about antiquity, you will find things here to expand your horizons."
Thanks for taking the time to review @bretdevereaux.bsky.social!
Thanks for taking the time to review @bretdevereaux.bsky.social!
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
Book 10 📚 for 2026. Very happy to read some things about the Scythians and about Kush (as ex.), and other places that 20th-century syntheses of world history ignored. The interconnectivity described in this book is dynamic and vital, even fun read. Available everywhere, including your local library.
January 16, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Book 10 📚 for 2026. Very happy to read some things about the Scythians and about Kush (as ex.), and other places that 20th-century syntheses of world history ignored. The interconnectivity described in this book is dynamic and vital, even fun read. Available everywhere, including your local library.
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
The Spanish translation of my book has been published today! #ancientbluesky 🗂 🏺
En los confines del mundo - Owen Rees | PlanetadeLibros
En los confines del mundo, de Owen Rees. Una fascinante historia del mundo antiguo desde sus márgenes, más allá de Grecia y Roma.
www.planetadelibros.com
January 21, 2026 at 3:12 PM
The Spanish translation of my book has been published today! #ancientbluesky 🗂 🏺
The Spanish translation of my book has been published today! #ancientbluesky 🗂 🏺
En los confines del mundo - Owen Rees | PlanetadeLibros
En los confines del mundo, de Owen Rees. Una fascinante historia del mundo antiguo desde sus márgenes, más allá de Grecia y Roma.
www.planetadelibros.com
January 21, 2026 at 3:12 PM
The Spanish translation of my book has been published today! #ancientbluesky 🗂 🏺
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
Just got home from a great talk by the one and only @belovedofoizys.bsky.social who I finally got to meet in person. Took my 13yo daughter too who had a great time!
January 15, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Just got home from a great talk by the one and only @belovedofoizys.bsky.social who I finally got to meet in person. Took my 13yo daughter too who had a great time!
Just got home from a great talk by the one and only @belovedofoizys.bsky.social who I finally got to meet in person. Took my 13yo daughter too who had a great time!
January 15, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Just got home from a great talk by the one and only @belovedofoizys.bsky.social who I finally got to meet in person. Took my 13yo daughter too who had a great time!
I am giving a talk at Stony Stratford on The Far Edges of the Known World, on the 27th January. Come along, say hello.
wegottickets.com/event/682091
wegottickets.com/event/682091
Owen Rees: The Far Edges of the Known World
Were the boundaries of the Greek and Roman worlds really the outer darkness? Thanks to archaeological excavations, we now know that the borders of the empires were also thriving, vibrant cultures. The...
wegottickets.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:19 AM
I am giving a talk at Stony Stratford on The Far Edges of the Known World, on the 27th January. Come along, say hello.
wegottickets.com/event/682091
wegottickets.com/event/682091
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
A few tickets are still available for my talk in Chester this Thursday - join me as I discuss the myths and realities of women in the Roman arena: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-of-t...
Women of the Roman Arena
Join ancient historian Alexandra Sills as she uncovers the forgotten story of female gladiators in Rome's most masculine arena.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
January 13, 2026 at 8:26 PM
A few tickets are still available for my talk in Chester this Thursday - join me as I discuss the myths and realities of women in the Roman arena: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-of-t...
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
Review - The Far Edges of the Known World, by Owen Rees: a history of the ancient world focusing on the borders of the civilisations we know the best, which I found pretty interesting. Rating: 4/5 ("really liked it").
Full review: breathesbooks.com/2026/01/09/r...
#booksky 💙📚
Full review: breathesbooks.com/2026/01/09/r...
#booksky 💙📚
Review – The Far Edges of the Known World
Owen Rees’ The Far Edges of the Known World was a random choice from the library, and I had a good time with it. The premise is that we know a lot about the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, and …
breathesbooks.com
January 9, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Review - The Far Edges of the Known World, by Owen Rees: a history of the ancient world focusing on the borders of the civilisations we know the best, which I found pretty interesting. Rating: 4/5 ("really liked it").
Full review: breathesbooks.com/2026/01/09/r...
#booksky 💙📚
Full review: breathesbooks.com/2026/01/09/r...
#booksky 💙📚
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
Sketches of nine places in the liminal spaces between cultures. So far it is excellent and a surprisingly fast read.
January 3, 2026 at 12:28 AM
Sketches of nine places in the liminal spaces between cultures. So far it is excellent and a surprisingly fast read.
That title looks familiar! Dr Silvannen Gerard also wrote an article for Bad Ancient on this topic - if you fancy a shorter and read:
www.badancient.com/claims/drunk...
www.badancient.com/claims/drunk...
January 9, 2026 at 10:48 AM
That title looks familiar! Dr Silvannen Gerard also wrote an article for Bad Ancient on this topic - if you fancy a shorter and read:
www.badancient.com/claims/drunk...
www.badancient.com/claims/drunk...
Always fun teaming up with @roelkonijn.bsky.social for podcasts. And I managed to avoid making any ditch-related jokes, because I am a grown up.
Ok I made a couple, but not when we were recording: because I am a professional.
Ok I made a couple, but not when we were recording: because I am a professional.
A new episode of the Ancients podcast: @badancient.bsky.social and myself on the decline and fall of the Spartan Empire
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...
Fall of Sparta | The Ancients
shows.acast.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Always fun teaming up with @roelkonijn.bsky.social for podcasts. And I managed to avoid making any ditch-related jokes, because I am a grown up.
Ok I made a couple, but not when we were recording: because I am a professional.
Ok I made a couple, but not when we were recording: because I am a professional.
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
A new episode of the Ancients podcast: @badancient.bsky.social and myself on the decline and fall of the Spartan Empire
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...
Fall of Sparta | The Ancients
shows.acast.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM
A new episode of the Ancients podcast: @badancient.bsky.social and myself on the decline and fall of the Spartan Empire
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...
Starting to get in some really interesting proposals for this event we are running. Great to see jr academics applying too - we are hoping to run a PG panel for MA students and above, so if you have any students doing interesting research who want to deliver to a friendly audience, let them know!
Events
Forthcoming Events Thomas Waterman Wood | A Bit of War History: The Veteran | American | The Metropolitan Museum of Art Call for PapersForgotten Veterans: A Returning Solider Network Symposium Thur…
returningsoldier.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 8:47 AM
Starting to get in some really interesting proposals for this event we are running. Great to see jr academics applying too - we are hoping to run a PG panel for MA students and above, so if you have any students doing interesting research who want to deliver to a friendly audience, let them know!
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
Two excellent ancient world books that are totally different from one another.
Owen Rees’s The Far Edges of the Known World: A New History of the Ancient Past
Jane Draycott’s Fulvia: The Woman Who Broke All the Rules in Ancient Rome
5 stars each. Loved them both so much.
Owen Rees’s The Far Edges of the Known World: A New History of the Ancient Past
Jane Draycott’s Fulvia: The Woman Who Broke All the Rules in Ancient Rome
5 stars each. Loved them both so much.
December 23, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Two excellent ancient world books that are totally different from one another.
Owen Rees’s The Far Edges of the Known World: A New History of the Ancient Past
Jane Draycott’s Fulvia: The Woman Who Broke All the Rules in Ancient Rome
5 stars each. Loved them both so much.
Owen Rees’s The Far Edges of the Known World: A New History of the Ancient Past
Jane Draycott’s Fulvia: The Woman Who Broke All the Rules in Ancient Rome
5 stars each. Loved them both so much.
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
Been reading ‘The Far Edges of the Known World’ by Owen Rees. Favorite antidotes- 2000 BCE ‘Bronze Age’ Megiddo, Canaan.Tin for bronze from Cornwall.Evidence of the consumption of exotic plants for the region such as bananas, soybeans from the Far East (bananas not cultivated in Africa til later).
This.
one of my favorite things about this kind of post is how far-reaching the trade routes were, much longer ago than a lot of us think (me included)
December 28, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Been reading ‘The Far Edges of the Known World’ by Owen Rees. Favorite antidotes- 2000 BCE ‘Bronze Age’ Megiddo, Canaan.Tin for bronze from Cornwall.Evidence of the consumption of exotic plants for the region such as bananas, soybeans from the Far East (bananas not cultivated in Africa til later).
Behold my masculinity on display
December 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Behold my masculinity on display
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
18. Die goeie ouwe taal, Yoïn Van Spijk @yvanspijk.bsky.social
19. Wij, Jevgeni Zamjatin
20. De verre uithoeken van de bekende wereld. Een nieuwe geschiedenis van oude beschavingen, Owen Rees @badancient.bsky.social
19. Wij, Jevgeni Zamjatin
20. De verre uithoeken van de bekende wereld. Een nieuwe geschiedenis van oude beschavingen, Owen Rees @badancient.bsky.social
December 24, 2025 at 8:16 AM
18. Die goeie ouwe taal, Yoïn Van Spijk @yvanspijk.bsky.social
19. Wij, Jevgeni Zamjatin
20. De verre uithoeken van de bekende wereld. Een nieuwe geschiedenis van oude beschavingen, Owen Rees @badancient.bsky.social
19. Wij, Jevgeni Zamjatin
20. De verre uithoeken van de bekende wereld. Een nieuwe geschiedenis van oude beschavingen, Owen Rees @badancient.bsky.social
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
Sokrates vs prejudice is timeless. Fill in the blank with any group you like.
(Plato, "Meno" 92b-c)
(Plato, "Meno" 92b-c)
![A screenshot of a dialogue between Socrates and Anytus.
Socrates
Tell me, Anytus, has any of the [blank] wronged you? What makes you so hard on them?
Anytus
No, heaven knows I have never in my life had dealings with any of them, nor would I let any of my people have to do with them either.
Socrates
Then you have absolutely no experience of those persons?
Anytus
And trust I never may.
Socrates
How then, my good sir, can you tell whether a thing has any good or evil in it, if you are quite without experience of it?
Anytus
Easily: the fact is, I know what these people are, whether I have experience of them or not.
Socrates
You are a wizard, perhaps, Anytus; for I really cannot see, from what you say yourself, how else you can know anything about them.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:gtwso3sumvsvcqyey7ztec4m/bafkreig2kzb56ymqbzgove5o2wavkmwwkcrhmwus5pwskws3qi5zmnqvqu@jpeg)
December 21, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Sokrates vs prejudice is timeless. Fill in the blank with any group you like.
(Plato, "Meno" 92b-c)
(Plato, "Meno" 92b-c)
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
Hey #ClassicsBluesky: drop your 2025 publications here ⬇️
December 19, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Hey #ClassicsBluesky: drop your 2025 publications here ⬇️
This a great listen. I made the decision to be open about my ADHD when I started my job - I am still not sure if it was a good idea, but the one group who have embraced it most are the students. And the key message they keep repeating is what Ellie mentions - there is no 'right' way to study.
Hey! The podcast I recorded with @luxmea.bsky.social and fellow guest Annais Wiltshire for the Classical Association podcast is out!
In which we talk about being Autistic (and other kinds of neurodivergence) and classics! #ClassicsBluesky
In which we talk about being Autistic (and other kinds of neurodivergence) and classics! #ClassicsBluesky
Spotify – Web Player
open.spotify.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:48 PM
This a great listen. I made the decision to be open about my ADHD when I started my job - I am still not sure if it was a good idea, but the one group who have embraced it most are the students. And the key message they keep repeating is what Ellie mentions - there is no 'right' way to study.
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
Delighted to be interviewed for this @artsprofessional.co.uk piece about the progress and enduring challenges for disabled people in the UK's arts and cultural sectors.
Thanks to @drmaimusie.bsky.social for inviting me to contribute!
www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/fea...
Thanks to @drmaimusie.bsky.social for inviting me to contribute!
www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/fea...
Nothing Without Us: Disability in the arts and cultural sector - Arts Professional
Dr Mai Musié, senior manager at the National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange (NCACE), speaks to three leaders working at the intersection of research and the cultural sector about disability...
www.artsprofessional.co.uk
December 15, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Delighted to be interviewed for this @artsprofessional.co.uk piece about the progress and enduring challenges for disabled people in the UK's arts and cultural sectors.
Thanks to @drmaimusie.bsky.social for inviting me to contribute!
www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/fea...
Thanks to @drmaimusie.bsky.social for inviting me to contribute!
www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/fea...
Reposted by Bad Ancient/ Owen Rees
Pleased to announce we are celebrating a new leadership agreement for the Returning Solider Network with a 1-day symposium focusing on 'Forgotten Veterans', at Birmingham Newman University in April. Here is the CfP!
December 12, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Pleased to announce we are celebrating a new leadership agreement for the Returning Solider Network with a 1-day symposium focusing on 'Forgotten Veterans', at Birmingham Newman University in April. Here is the CfP!