Skip to content

Better Quote by Mary Beard

“We make two mistakes about the ancient world. One is…” quote by Mary Beard — Download Open image

“We make two mistakes about the ancient world. One is to assume they were better than us - that, for instance, the ancient Olympics didn't involve money-making. The opposite mistake, and just as common, is to think our Olympics are much more civilised than ancient sporting competitions. Neither is true.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 2.9 out of 5 (10 ratings)

Better Failure Mistakes True Us World

More by Mary Beard

I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…

Image

We have never escaped a certain male cultural desire for women's silence.

Image

“defend women’s right to be wrong, at least occasionally.”

Image

You don't overturn x-thousand years of patriarchy in a generation.

Image

“we have no template for what a powerful woman looks like, except that she looks rather like a man.”

Image

“(In the Afghan parliament, apparently, they disconnect the mics when they don’t want to hear the women speak).”

Image

I've chosen to be this way because that's how I feel comfortable with myself. That's how I am. It's about joining up the dots…

Image

People who exploit others come to spend an enormous amount of energy wondering about and justifying that exploitation.

Image

Wherever possible, I try to see things from the other side of the dividing line and to read civilisation 'against the grain.'

Image

I remember plastering the kitchen with Black Power pictures of Angela Davis.

Image

“thinking about power as an attribute or even a verb (‘to power’), not as a possession.”

Image

If women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power that we need to redefine rather than…

Image

Explore all 137 Mary Beard quotes

More Better quotes

If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'

Image

Everybody has their cliques, and I was very shy. I'm still very shy. Music opened up doors. I would get to my choir class,…

Image

You can't force people to feel in a certain way, and the sooner you understand that,the better. I feel everything has its way of…

Sidharth Malhotra

Image

I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?

Image

A strong, durable Puerto Rican economy will leave the island better prepared to handle future natural disasters.

Rachel Campos-Duffy

Image

In my first 100 days as Ontario's Minister of Transportation, I found a willing municipal partner in the City of Toronto that shares our…

Caroline Mulroney

Image

It hasn't been a conscious thing, like, 'I don't want to listen to a bunch of dudes,' but I genuinely like music by women…

Image

Life is going to hit you some line drives, and sometimes you'll have to think fast. However, it's better to think first than to…

Image

I like to collaborate with other people for studio recordings because I believe collaboration, in any form, makes music better.

Image

Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…

Image

Not having drops and not taking plays off, if I do that it will make everyone around me better.

Demaryius Thomas

Image

Cara Delevingne and I took an eyebrow selfie. We both have prominent eyebrows, but hers are much better than mine. Maybe we should do…

Image

Browse all 12,575 Better quotes