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 TransportRead more »

SPOTLIGHT: Anglo-Saxons and Vikings

England’s Earliest Kings 2: Offa and the Mercian Supremacy

This course was run as the second part in a series of five short courses on the Anglo-Saxon Kings.  It was an online course for the City Lit on 20 and 27 November 2021. In the mid-C7th Mercia rose to challenge Northumbria for supremacy but after a brief set back became the dominant kingdom in… Read more »

England’s Earliest Kings 1: The Sutton Hoo King and the Bretwaldas

This course was run as the first part in a series of five short courses on the Anglo-Saxon Kings.  It was an online course for the City Lit on 9 and 16 October 2021. After the Romans left in the C5th AD Britain was slowly conquered by Germanic tribes dividing the country up into about… Read more »

The Lewis Chess Set: archetype of Mediaeval Society

This topic was day four of a five part introduction to the European Galleries of the British Museum run at the City Lit and the Museum on 29 July 2013.  I hope to re-run the course in summer 2014. The British Museum holds astonishing artefacts which colour our understanding of Medieval society. The Lewis chessmen… Read more »

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