Classical Words of the Day
minim (Merriam Webster)
vastity (Worthless Word for the Day)
Latinitas:
*efficio, efficere, effeci, effectus* – to accomplish, bring about #etymology English adj "efficient" – competent, productive & not wasteful—
Latin Vocabulary (@latinwordaday) May 28, 2012
violentus: violent: adjective. Example sentence:Tarquinio tyranno expulso mortem violentam non timeo.Translation… bit.ly/KzOSS8—
Latin Language (@latinlanguage) May 29, 2012
rĕ-pĕrĭo, repperi (less correctly reperi), rĕpertum,
4 perh., to procure), in gen., to find, meet with, either by searching or by accident—
Charlton T. Lewis (@LewisandShort) May 29, 2012
Greek:
καινός
καινός, ή, όν, new, fresh—
Henry George Liddell (@LiddellandScott) May 29, 2012
This Day in Ancient History: ante diem iv kalendas Iunias
Ambarvalia (?)
1905 — birth of E. Togo Salmon (Samnium and the Samnites)
Blogosphere ~ CSAD Newsletter no. 15
Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents: Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents: CSAD Newsletter no. 15.
Blogosphere ~ Myth Monday – Rosy-Fingered Eos Loved a Mortal
About.com Ancient / Classical History: Myth Monday – Rosy-Fingered Eos Loved a Mortal.
Blogosphere ~ Hellenism and Christianity
Mike Anderson’s Ancient History: Hellenism and Christianity.
Blogosphere ~ New Old Boundary Marker Found At Gezer
Abnormal Interests: New Old Boundary Marker Found At Gezer.
Blogosphere ~ Latin Without Latin: Semper Pauper Eris
Bestiaria Latina Blog: Latin Without Latin: Semper Pauper Eris.
Blogosphere ~ Disticha Round-Up: May 29
Bestiaria Latina Blog: Disticha Round-Up: May 29.
So How Big Was the Colosseum?
Here’s an interesting little time killer our friends over at Scoop alerted us to. The BBC has a tool which will superimpose an ‘plan’ of the Flavian Amphitheatre in the postal code/area code/whatever of your choice on a satellite view:
Emperors of Rome: Glycerius
Adrian Murdoch continues his look at the ‘shadow emperors’ with a guy whose name suggests he’s rather too sweet to be a ruthless Roman emperor:
Classical Words of the Day
- accoutrement (Merriam Webster)
- asperse (Dictionary.com)
- flagitious (Wordsmith)
- obnubilate (OED … great word)
- vastity (Worthless Word for the Day)
… a taste of latinitas:
radix: root, source: noun. Example sentence:Radix omnium malorum est cupiditas.Translation:The love of money is … bit.ly/KHGD7m—
Latin Language (@latinlanguage) May 28, 2012
This Day in Ancient History: ante diem v kalendas Iunias
Drusus minor (Museo del Prado) 01 (Photo credit: Zaqarbal)
585 B.C. — solar eclipse predicted by Thales of Miletus occurs during the battle of the Halys (another possible date)
20 A.D. — Drusus “Minor”, the son of the emperor Tiberius, celebrates an ovatio for his victories in Illyricum
ca 250 A.D. — martyrdom of Heliconis
Blogosphere ~ Comparison of Gerund and Gerundive Ablative
Latin for Addicts: Comparison of Gerund and Gerundive Ablative.
Blogosphere ~ The Wisdom of Heracles
Laudator Temporis Acti: The Wisdom of Heracles.
Blogosphere ~ On Hares Born To Mares And Hermaphroditic Offspring
Abnormal Interests: On Hares Born To Mares And Hermaphroditic Offspring.
Blogosphere ~ Placing Flowers on the Graves
About.com Ancient / Classical History: Placing Flowers on the Graves.
Blogosphere ~ Latin Without Latin: Spes Alit Agricolas
Bestiaria Latina Blog: Latin Without Latin: Spes Alit Agricolas.
Blogosphere ~ Greenblatt, The Swerve
New at LacusCurtius & Livius: Greenblatt, The Swerve.
[a review, of course]
Blogosphere ~ Poison Honey and the Importance of the Classics
Roman Times: Poison Honey and the Importance of the Classics.
Blogosphere ~ Open Access to Athenian Agora Excavation Data
AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Open Access to Athenian Agora Excavation Data.
Blogosphere ~ Atoms, Agony and Gallimimi
Madeline Miller: Atoms, Agony and Gallimimi.
[matters etymological]
Also Seen: Duke Papyri Conservation
Nice little feature on Duke’s papyri collections and the current conservation projects attached thereto:
- In the Lab: Housing Papyri and Early Manuscripts (The Devil’s Tale)
Carlos Pena: Gladiator?
I’ll admit I’m not a major baseball fan, but this one seems worthy of some rc love. This story actually broke last week but I searched in vain for a photo … here’s the incipit of a piece in the Tampa Bay Times:
The scary-looking, metal, medieval-style helmet mask that sits in Carlos Peña’s locker — and occasionally on his head and those of his teammates — seems a bit out of place, even in the frat house known as the Rays clubhouse. • But only till the Rays first baseman explains his fanaticism for the movie Gladiator, from which it came.
Peña figures he has seen the 2000 film starring Russell Crowe more than 100 times, considering it not only “the best movie ever made” and “a piece of art,” but something of a guiding force and its catchphrase, “Strength and Honor,” a motto.
“Obviously, I think it’s a great story line, and in some ways, I feel like I can identify with it,” Peña said. “It’s a story of a man who overcomes a lot of obstacles and who’s totally committed to doing the right thing. It’s very inspiring. I think it’s very uplifting. So many times I watch it and I can’t help but feel stronger, better, kind of fueled by it.”
So sitting with new teammate Luke Scott in front of the big-screen TV in the clubhouse in Toronto a couple of weeks ago with some time to kill before a game, Peña suggested they put on Gladiator.
“Luke goes, ‘Dude, that movie is the best.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, it is. It’s awesome,’ ” Peña relayed. “So we got to talking about it and joking. And now every time I see him, I’m like, ‘Strength and Honor,’ and he laughs. And we do it over and over again.”
Peña has seen the movie enough to spot mistakes. But for some reason this time, he was fixated on the helmet Crowe’s character, Maximus, wore.
“I see Maximus get on his horse, and he puts his sword up and he has this mask,” Peña said. “And I’m like, ‘Dude, that mask is ridiculous. That mask is unbelievable. Look at this. Where can we get one of these?’
“And I’m thinking ahead: How cool would it be to have one of these in the clubhouse? We’ve got to have it.” [...]
- via: Rays Tales: ‘Strength and Honor’ (Tampa Bay Times)
… and of course, we need a photo:
via the Tampa Bay Times
… might make me watch baseball if they wore that sort of thing … and had some sort of violent body contact to go along with it.
An Odyssey TV Series?
Tip o’ the pileus to Diana Wright who sent this in earlier this week, but I only found it while doing my Explorator newsletter this a.m.. The incipit of an item from C21 (whatever that is):
Broadcasters in Italy, Finland, Brazil and Slovakia are onboard a new scripted series based on Homer’s The Odyssey.
Odysseus (12×52′) will be coproduced by French producers Making Prod and GMT for Arte France.
The first six episodes are based on the book, which begins in 8BC, 10 years after the end of the Trojan war. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, has still not returned home and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus are struggling to maintain order.
The second half of the TV series will take the characters beyond Homer’s story.
Created by Frédéric Azémar, Odysseus is distributed by Studio Hamburg in Germany and 100% Distribution, a joint venture between Making Prod and another French fiction producer, Tetra Media Studios.
Channels that have now picked up rights to the French-language series include Rai Uno (Italy), RTP (Portugal), Ceska TV (Czech Republic), SFTV (Switzerland), Novi Sad (Serbia), YLE (Finland), Markiza (Slovakia), Globo TV (Brazil) and international French channel TV5 Monde. [...]
- via: Networks embark with Odysseus (C21)
A press release from back in January (which I obviously missed) fills in some details:
The first season of Odysseus, now being filmed, recounts the events that took place in Ithaca while Ulysses was absent for 20 years. This new take on Homer’s The Odyssey features an enticing cast that includes Caterina Murino (Penelope), Niels Schneider (Telemachus), Karina Testa (Clea), Joseph Malerba (Mentor), Bruno Todeschini (Leocritus), Alessio Boni (Ulysses) and more.
Synopsis
The situation in Ithaca is critical. Ten years have passed since the Trojan War ended, and all the warriors have returned home, except for one: Ulysses, who is rumoured to have been lost at sea. Ithaca, deprived of its king for far too long, lacks many resources, and its people are beginning to complain.Penelope maintains her husband’s throne as best she can and holds on to what little power she still has. Every day, she faces everyone’s doubts about Ulysses’ return, as well as the scheming of Leocritus, the head of the warriors with a claim to the throne. She protects her son Telemachus and keeps him at a safe distance from the games of power. Neither a great strategist nor a warrior, he must nevertheless take action on behalf of Ithaca. Will Telemachus be able to defend his father’s throne? And what if Ulysses returns after 20 years’ absence?
The distribution company (100% Distribution) has a teaser which suggests this might be not bad:
… in case it doesn’t come up, here’s the page whence it came …
More Evidence of Romans in India
A tantalizing incipit from a piece in the Times of India:
A team of archeologists have excavated Roman silver coins at Anuvanahalli in Tarikere taluk in Chikmagalur.
It is now believed that the Romans might have tried to trade in medicinal plants which were found abundantly in the region given that the site looks like a herbal medicine preparation plant. A team of experts are working on the site focusing on the possible reasons for the Romans’ interest in the area. The team led by N S Rangaraju, professor of ancient history and archaeology, the University of Mysore, commenced the project with the funding from the UGC and excavated many items that date back to prehistoric, neolithic and megalithic cultures.
“During the excavation at Anuvanahalli, we have excavated four Roman coins. A few Roman pottery pieces have also been unearthed from the site,” Rangaraju said on Saturday.
The team also got many stone weights in different sizes and shapes. “This is leading us to believe that this site might have been used as herbal medicine preparation centre during the Shatavahana period. A team comprising retired IFS officer D R Ramesh Singh, biochemistry professor Vishwanath and botany professor Ganeshaiah has visited the site and research is on,” he told reporters at the excavation site.
Given the evidences, it can be argued that Chikmagalur district, which was famous for medicinal plants, might have attracted the Romans to trade in herbal medicines. This is the first time in hundred years that Roman coins have been found in Karnataka. The last time they were excavated was in 1909 at Chandravalli, he said. [...]
- via: Roman silver coins of Shatavahana period found (Times of India)
It would be nice if they had a bit more detail on the coins — the Shatavahana period is rather lengthy (230 B.C. to 220 A.D. or thereabouts). Some of our previous coverage of news relating to Roman finds in India:
- Romans in India Again (October 2011)
- Romans in India Followup (ditto)
- Nero Aureus From India (March 2011)
- Greek and Roman Amphorae Fragments from Junnar (ditto)
see also: Indian Artifacts from Berenike? and the links contained therein.
