Meroe was the second capital of the Kushite kingdom (750 BC - AD 350), located in what is now the Sudan, Africa. It is gaining fame for its matrilinear ruling queens. Eyewitnesses Herodotus and Strabo both describe it. Read: Ancient Historians Describe Meroe.

A lovely Valentine's Day type romance, the story of Cupid and Psyche comes from the Metamorphoses better known as the Golden Ass of Apuleius. The title refers to a golden coin that was given storytellers, although there is a transformation of a human into a donkey.
Beauty and the Beast is on the same theme as Cupid and Psyche. In both, a young woman is given a fantastic husband whom she doesn't fully appreciate until she loses him. She then has to undergo a series of tasks to win him back.
In the story of Cupid and Psyche, the fantastic husband is the god of love who has fallen in love with a mortal whose beauty compares with Cupid's mother's beauty. Cupid's mother is, of course, the very jealous and interfering goddess Venus.

Read Apuleius' Story of Cupid and Psyche and other re-tellings of Cupid and Psyche.

Cupid and Psyche © Clipart.com.

Professor Judith Hallett says that March 1 was the date on which Romans had love celebrations, according to Newswise's article Ancient Rome Waited Until March 1 to say "I Love You".

Today is the first day of the Roman Parentalia holiday, which lasts from the Ides (February is one of the months in which the Ides does not fall on the 15th) to the 21st. During the Parentalia the dead were honored, like Memorial Day in the U.S.

One of these philosophers is known for having said something like "you can't step twice into the same stream." Which one was it? The picture is a hint and if you click on it, you'll find the answer, but please don't look before you make your guess.

For the other presocratic philosophers, see Timeline of Greek and Roman Philosophers.