Interesting articles included:

An analysis of the ancient practice in Babylonia, described by Herodotus, of every woman being required to sit in the temple of Aphrodite and sleep with a stranger once in her life. It included some psychadelic photography by Herbert Migdoll of the modern ballet Astarte, as well as this passage from the 8th century Sufi mystic Rabiah about remaining chaste despite this sort of thing:

“I have made Thee (God) the companion of my heart,
But my body is available for those who desire its company.
My body is friendly towards its guests,
But the Beloved of my heart is the Guest of my soul.”

The context and summaries of some of Canterbury Tales, reminding me of some of the more ribald bits, and also Chaucer’s commentary against the corruption and irregularities in the Church at the time. Unfortunately it includes a few negative comments against prevailing trends in the then-current arts, e.g. a dig at Samuel Beckett’s ‘Godot’, reminding me of another book from 1971, Kingsley Amis’s ‘Girl, 20’.

The culture and history of the Ashanti people in present-day Ghana against the British Empire, which included the mystery of their sacred ‘golden stool’, as well as the severity and barbarism of the “civilizing hero” Sir Garnet Wolseley.

An analysis of Giorgione’s ‘The Tempest’, which, while unsatisfying, provided several large close-ups, and a history of all the conjectures around the painting (which apparently hasn’t been settled in the 46 years since the article was written).

Lastly, the history of Marcus Licinius Crassus, the Roman general who led a disastrous military campaign, headstrong, not heeding advice, shunning allies, and rashly seeking quick glory. One feels for the 20,000 soldiers who died and 10,000 who were taken prisoner, out of a force of 50,000. So meaningless, and a story played out and again and again over history. Do the characteristics of Crassus sound familiar to us today? They certainly did to Charles Fair, the author of the piece, who likened him to General Westmoreland in Vietnam at the time. ( )