Nearly every Greek and Roman city of note had an open-air theater consisting of the orchestra, the flat dancing floor of the chorus, and the theatron, the actual structure of the theater building. Vase paintings indicate the stage stood about three feet high with a flight of steps in the center. The actors entered from either side and from a central door in the skene, which also housed the ekkyklema, a wheeled platform with sets [...]

Saqqara Coffin Photo: Ministry of Antiquities

On January 17, the Egyptian archaeological mission announced the discovery in Saqqara of an Old Kingdom funerary temple. They also found a four-meter-long papyrus showing chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead. And in the burial shafts they excavated, the researchers discovered New Kingdom coffins, the first to be found in the Saqqara area from 3,000 years ago.

The researchers excavated the funerary temple of Queen [...]

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the god Achelous (also Acheloos or Acheloios) was associated with the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece. According to Hesiod, he was the son of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. He was also said to be the father of the Sirens, several nymphs, and other offspring. Achelous was able to change his shape, and in the form of a bull, he wrestled Heracles for the right to marry [...]