Ink and weapons: 4000 years of war literature
The final instalment in our summer series on the theme of "Culture and Defence": a long-standing marriage between these two fields, literature offers an introspective immersion into the daily lives of soldiers and the violence of battle. Here is a selection of masterpieces from across the ages.
Cinema and defence, two intertwined worlds
This is the third episode in our summer series on "Culture and Defence". Initially a tool of communication and propaganda, war films have evolved over the course of history and conflicts. It has moved from heroic exaltation to denunciation of violence, from the memory of conflict to the exploration of soldiers' daily lives.
When music sounds the marching orders: the army, the nation and its harmonies
The second instalment in our summer series on "Culture and Defence": military music began as a means of tactical communication on the battlefield, but has evolved to go beyond this function alone. Today it is a universal language that speaks to both collective memory and individual emotions, and a powerful vehicle for national cohesion.
Comic strips: the perfect medium for military stories
The first episode of our summer series "Athena on the beach" 2025 on the theme of "Culture and defence": for over a century, comic books and bubbles have gone hand in hand with battlefields and heroism. A look back at the history of a rapidly expanding cultural sector with Arnauld Chéreil de la Rivière, a general officer with a passion for the genre.
