Minerva - September/October 2015

Art imitating art
Greek and Roman sculpture impressed itself on Western art students because they were forced to copy it as a central part of their training. Lucia Marchetti

Osiris rising
We talk to the French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio, whose fabulous finds from submerged cities, off the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, are on show in Paris. Diana Bentley

Celtic conundrum
DNA and language studies can shed light on the Celts, a mysterious and much romanticised people, celebrated in a major exhibition at the British Museum. Jean Manco

Up Pompeii
From Sèvres porcelain to Picasso’s paintings, the influence of the art of Pompeii was not buried among the city’s ashes but rose again to inspire generations of artists and designers. Dalu Jones

Political parallels
Best-selling author Robert Harris on his new book, Dictator, and how today’s politicians compare with those in the Senate. Diana Bentley

Sea, sky and stones
Visiting as many of Orkney’s Neolithic sites as possible in a week, including the part-excavated sacred precinct on the Ness of Brodgar, which has changed the map of prehistoric Britain. Lindsay Fulcher

Season of the witch
Our Hallowe’en hags are tame compared to those of ancient times who performed the vilest rites and carried out the foulest practices – or so Classical writers would have us believe. Paul Chrystal