Villa of the Mysteries
Bacchus in Pompeii
The meaning of the beautiful frescoes in the House of Thiasus remains a mystery
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How religion shapes football fandom
The meaning of football is intertwined with the meaning of faith
Why has Keir Starmer been so unpopular?
He was the perfect embodiment of a failing system
The martyrdom of Young Bob
On ebbing power of the political influencer
Babies need women
Leaving children with only men who are not their parents is foolish and dangerous
Can Russell T Davies write “terfs”?
In Tip Toe, Russell T Davies is more nuanced than one might expect — much to the dismay of gender ideologues
Fond portrait of an odd couple
Two irascible, elderly artists and two beautiful younger women in unusual relationships
Zelda Zingari
Arty types: the fashionable poet
The battle between sacred and profane
When the divine law appears to clash with our sense of justice, can it truly be considered divine?
Not exiles, but stayers
White South Africans are not abandoning their home
Critical briefing: local elections
Our political editor explains what to look out for in Thursday’s elections
Deciphering the royal dress code
Fashion, in royal hands, became a form of branding
Undramatic life of a literary also-ran
Malcolm Cowley never understood very much about literature
The Middle Kingdom and the middle powers
China’s clash with Western power shattered its civilisational self-image. Europe is heading for a similar reckoning
Jorge Luis Borges
A giant of Spanish letters who was forged by childhood exposure to his father’s vast English library
The last of the fine arts
Hockney insisted on doing exactly as he pleased — and his cigarettes were as much a part of his artistic philosophy as his paintbrush.
The dark side of the White House
As in ancient Rome, power politics are always a promising arena for drama