Alexander Gale

6 days ago | greekreporter.com | Alexander Gale

Ancient Athens is renowned to this day as the birthplace of democracy and cradle of philosophical debate, but few know the story of the city state’s harshest lawgiver. Draco, also spelled Drako or Drakon, was Athens’ first recorded democratic legislator. Draco was called upon by his fellow Athenian citizens to establish a comprehensive legal code for the city. Many Athenians were surprised by the harshness of the laws introduced by Draco and baulked at the Draconian constitution that bore his name.

1 week ago | greekreporter.com | Alexander Gale

Queen Cleopatra (VII Philopator) is one of the most recognizable names in history, but her daughter, who managed to survive the chaos that befell Ptolemaic Egypt, is much less well known. Cleopatra VII had four children. With Julius Caesar, she had a son named Caesarion. Later, to Mark Anthony, she bore three more children, Alexander Helios, Cleopatra II Selene, and Ptolemy Philadelphus. Of the four, only Cleopatra II Selene would go on to reclaim a royal title after the demise of her parents.

1 week ago | greekreporter.com | Alexander Gale

“An army marches on its stomach,” the famous French general and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is believed to have said. This statement would have rung just as true thousands of years earlier for the armies of ancient Greece as it did during the Napoleonic Wars of the 19th and 18th centuries, or indeed for any military force now.

1 week ago | moderndiplomacy.eu | Alexander Gale

With the recent pivot in US foreign policy regarding Europe and NATO, it has become clear that NATO’s European members need to ramp up spending on defense, and the time of relying on the US for defense in Europe is over. Many would argue that it’s well overdue, with Trump saying that NATO members should boost their defense spending to 5% of their GDP versus the traditional 2% target set by NATO.

2 weeks ago | greekreporter.com | Alexander Gale

Few have heard of the ancient Greek general Demosthenes, whose exploits during the Peloponnesian War have largely been overshadowed by more famous figures like Pericles and Lysander. Not to be confused with the famous orator of the same name, Demosthenes was an accomplished Athenian general who served his polis (city-state) between 426 and 413 BCE. His signature strategy was using surprise attacks to catch the enemy off guard. Demosthenes’ military career ultimately began and ended with disaster.