Issue 6

Articles from Issue 6 (October/November 2017) of BBC World Histories Magazine

An Athenian red-figure kylix (cup) dating from around 510–500 BC depicts a young pentathlete pulling his older lover towards him for a kiss. In many of the city-states of ancient Greece, sex between a man and a youth was an accepted – even idealised – form of love, its virtues extolled in works by writers including Plato. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

General ancient history

Pride and prejudice: same-sex relations through history

Illustration by Davide Bonazzi

Have nuclear weapons helped to maintain global peace?

A soldier and workers are depicted gazing in admiration at North Korea’s first premier, Kim Il-sung, in a propaganda poster. The Kims’ dynastic personality cult shows no signs of diminishing. (Photo by Eric Lafforgue/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Why North Korea went nuclear

(Image by the British Museum)

Scythians: the art of war

Judi Dench and Ali Fazal in Victoria and Abdul. (Image by Movie Stills DB)

Who was Abdul Karim? Shrabani Basu introduces Queen Victoria’s Indian confidant