William Sterling

Introducing

Achilles killing Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons by Exekias of Athens c. 560 BC. This type of pot is called Black Figure ware as the figures were filled in using the liquid or slip clay which miraculously turned black during the firing process. One of the incidents during the Trojan War not recorded by Homer was the fight between Achilles, hero of the Greeks, and Penthesilea, queen of the tribe of warrior women called the Amazons. Achilles won but at the moment he drove his spear into her neck their eyes met for the first time and they fell in love with each other. Exekias shows this ultimate Greek Tragedy by suggesting Achilles is trying to pull the spear out rather than thrust it home but all too late. Image © Trustees of the British Museum
My name is Dr William Sterling ~ welcome to my website. I have degrees in History and Geography with additional qualifications in Music and Education. I taught full-time at an Independent School in Kent for four years before joining the Civil Service. I worked for 16 years in the Department of Transport… Read more »

Look out for…

  • Upcoming Events

    1. British Museum Highlights

      When: April 29 @ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

      These tours of the British Museum last 90 minutes and take in up to 15 highlights from the museum’s vast collection.  They are at 11:30 am and 2:00 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The tours cover both main floors of the museum plus some of the side rooms and examine objects from Africa, Europe,… Read more »

    2. British Museum Ancient Greek Tour

      When: May 6 @ 11:30 am - 12:10 pm

      This British Museum tour of the Greek Galleries takes place every day at 11:30 am.  We work on a four week rota and mine are on a Sunday.  The dates for my tours in 2018 are January 14th, February 11th, March 11th, April 8th, May 6th, June 3rd, July 1st (although I shall probably swap this one), July… Read more »

    3. British Museum Mediaeval Tour

      When: May 6 @ 2:45 pm - 3:25 pm

      This British Museum tour of the Mediaeval Galleries takes place every day at 2:45 pm.  We work on a four week rota and mine are on a Sunday.  The dates for my tours in 2018 are January 14th, February 11th, March 11th, April 8th, May 6th, June 3rd, July 1st (although I shall probably swap this one), July… Read more »

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Featured articles

Amy Beach

Sadly not enough people signed up for this course to run at the City Lit on Saturday 11th October 2014 but here is one of the handouts I was planning to give out. Timeline Amy Beach Timeline

Robert Schumann

Schumann and Schumann This course examined the music and careers of Robert and Clara Schumann, how they were entwined and the influence on each other.  The course was run thematically with the first week being an overall chronology and then each week concentrating on one type of music such as Piano Muisc, Songs, Choral, Orchestral… Read more »

Anglo-Saxon Charters

Ever since I studied Tenth Century England with Professor Colin Richmond at Keele in 1978 I have been fascinated by Anglo-Saxon charters and the treasures they contain.  A long-held ambition to exploit this interest was realised when I registered for my PhD on “The Royal Women of Anglo-Saxon England” where I used the extensive charter… Read more »

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