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: Music features

Handel and Royalty

Handel fell in love with England on his first visit writing music for Queen Anne herself. He was reconciled with George I partly with his Water Music Suite and wrote the coronation music for George II. It is an examination of how closely his music and career was bound up with the British royal family… Read more »

Music in the Classical Age

Music in Time II – Music in the Classical Age 1750-1805 The course provided students with an understanding of how western classical music styles and techniques evolved during the period 1750-1805. We concentrated on the “Classical” era of the sons of Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven and examined the development of new types of composition… Read more »

Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas

Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas – The First English Opera This study was part of a longer course studying the history and culture of the seventeenth century. After studying how Purcell came to write his only true opera and how it fitted in with his other stage works such as King Arthur, and The Fairy Queen… Read more »

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