The Latest Breaking News from Pliny

Ancient Romans were obsessed with a plant said to be contraception and aphrodisiac. Then one day, it went extinct

Roman leader Julius Caesar is said to have kept a stock of it in the treasury. Ancient writer Pliny the Elder says Rome’s Emperor Nero owned the last stalk of it.

The Conversation · Apr 7

Pompeii victims were wearing woolen cloaks in August when they died — but experts are split on what that means

Some of the victims at Pompeii were wearing woolen cloaks when they died, even though it was August, new research finds.

LiveScience · Dec 17, 2025

Ancient Greeks and Romans knew harming the environment could change the climate

Humans have known about, thought about and worried about climate change for millennia.

The Conversation · Nov 4, 2025

Holidays help us rest and recover. But Greeks and Romans weren’t always convinced

The Greek philosopher Plutarch of Chaeronea (1st-2nd century AD) observed that our lives are divided between relaxation and exertion.

The Conversation · Dec 15, 2024

‘The waters become corrupt, the air infected’: here’s how Ancient Greeks and Romans grappled with environmental damage

Today the perilous state of the environment is often in the news. Many stories describe how Earth is being damaged by human beings and discuss ways to prevent this.

The Conversation · Oct 17, 2024

The Golden Road by William Dalrymple review – when India ruled the world

A dazzling account of the trade that enriched the subcontinent and allowed Romans to enjoy fabulous clothes, ivory, emeralds – and a dash of pepper

The Guardian - UK · Sep 7, 2024

Did people in Ancient Rome and Greece love the same way we do? Perhaps even more hopelessly

Sometime around 100 AD, the Roman lawyer and aristocrat Pliny sent a letter to his third wife, Calpurnia – who was staying in a different part of Italy – to express how much he loved and missed her:

The Conversation · Jul 1, 2024

What Self-Medicating Animals Can Teach Us About Medicine

When a wild orangutan in Sumatra recently suffered a facial wound, apparently after fighting with another male, he did something that caught the attention of the scientists observing him.

Inverse · Jun 3, 2024

'Godmode' GPT-4o jailbreak released by hacker — powerful exploit was quickly banned

A jailbreak of OpenAI's GPT-4o used leetspeak to get ChatGPT to bypass its usual safety measures, allowing users to receive knowledge on how to hotwire cars, synthesize LSD, and other illicit activities.

Tom’s Hardware · May 31, 2024

Animals self-medicate with plants − behavior people have observed and emulated for millennia

When a wild orangutan in Sumatra recently suffered a facial wound, apparently after fighting with another male, he did something that caught the attention of the scientists observing him.

The Conversation · May 24, 2024