MARK TURNER holds on tight for a mesmerising display of Neath-born ragtime virtuosity
Devalued by greed and debased by intolerance
JOHN GREEN sees uncomfortable parallels between the demise of ancient Greece and the accelerating decline faced today by Britain and the US
PAST REVISITED? (L to R) Solidarity with Julian Assange demonstration; Socrates – Roman copy of a Greek original of c350 BC, often attributed to Lysippos, one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era
[Socrates pic: Marie-Lan Nguyen/CC] 
ALAN MORRISON introduces a UK poet whose despised daytime occupation provides the subject for his writing
MARK TURNER wallows in the virtuosity of Swansea Jazz Festival openers, Simon Spillett and Pete Long
PAUL DONOVAN recommends three new books that explore the human relationship with nature
Doomed adolescents, when the missing person is you, classic whodunnit, and an anti-capitalist eco-thriller
WILL STONE takes a ticket to indie disco heaven, but misses the rarely performed tunes
WHAT is termed the Classical Greek period lasted around 200 years (5th and 4th centuries BC), the period that saw the greatest florescence of Greek culture, dominated largely by the city state of Athens.
Much of the early defining politics and thinking of that period — architecture, sculpture, philosophy, science, and drama — had a powerful influence on the later Roman empire and became the foundation of Western civilisation. We still refer to Greece for inspiration and for examples of civilised living.
A unified Greek state as we know it today was non-existent at that time, and what is termed “Greek” was largely Athenian, as the city state of Athens was the dominant force in that region.
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Despite the primitive means the director was forced to use, this is an incredibly moving film from Gaza and you should see it, urges JOHN GREEN
JOHN GREEN recommends an Argentinian film classic on re-release - a deliciously cynical tale of swindling and double-cross
JOHN GREEN is fascinated by a very readable account of Britain’s involvement in South America
JOHN GREEN is stirred by an ambitious art project that explores solidarity and the shared memory of occupation
