ABSTRACT
A recent visit to Australia provided me with fresh opportunities to refl ect on how we learn about our international political world(s). Taking a tour around the Old Parliament House in Canberra I was drawn to a terracotta panel entitled ‘The Greek Mother’, which, as the caption states, tells a stark tale of a ‘Spartan mother giving her son a shield. She commands him to come back from battle carrying the shield with honour, or on it – dead.’ Intriguingly, the gift had been described by the curator of the exhibit as having ‘little obvious connection to the world of politics’ (a point which our tour guide reiterated enthusiastically!).
