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As many of my readers know, I am very active on Twitter and Facebook; Facebook doesn’t seem to get a reaction from people any more, but people often wonder what the point of Twitter is. When I do tell people I’m on Twitter, the “I really don’t care what you had for breakfast” reaction is pretty common. Twitter still suffers from a bit of an image problem, but there is quite a large number of Classicists — professional, rogue, amateur, and lapsed — and plenty of folks in related disciplines on Twitter who are sharing some incredible things. Over the past couple of days, e.g., a group (who have all given me permission to post this) has been engaged in a rather interesting discussion which can serve to highlight why more folks might find Twitter to be useful for their purposes.

For background, Dr Penny Goodman was giving a talk at the British Museum as part of a program Lead the Way: Teaching Classics Through Material Culture. After giving her talk, she was tweeting about the other talks which were going on, in particular, one by Ray Laurence about Children in the Roman City. Here’s what spun out of that over the past couple of days (most of these are in order; some seem out of order temporally, but they don’t really offend the flow of the conversation):

Ray just shared a fantastic Pompeian graffito: "You will like Cicero, or you will be whipped" (Mau 1893: 59).—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 20, 2011

@ClassicalJG @pjgoodman I wish I could see a pic of that Ciceronian graffiti… Would scrawl it all over the place #ciceronian—
three pipe problem (@3pipenet) May 20, 2011

@3pipenet @ClassicalJG Speaker today didn't show a picture of it, but did give transliteration of Latin. So there may be a drawing in Mau.—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 20, 2011

@3pipenet Sure: it's Mau, A. (1893) 'Scavi di Pompei 1891-92' in Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 8:3-61.—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 20, 2011

@pjgoodman @3pipenet That periodical volume is at the Internet Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/mitteilungendes03abthgoog—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 20, 2011

@pjgoodman Can you give more detail on Mau reference? I'll keep an eye out for it!—
three pipe problem (@3pipenet) May 20, 2011

@3pipenet The same inscription is also at CIL 4.4202 (though I don't know whether or not that includes a line drawing of it).—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 20, 2011

@pjgoodman Cheers for the ref – is that available online at all ?—
three pipe problem (@3pipenet) May 20, 2011

@3pipenet I don't know.—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 20, 2011

@ClassicalJG @TLockyer @pjgoodman Think I found it on p.59: SVTI CICIIRO VAPLA BIS curiously, under FELLATOR —
three pipe problem (@3pipenet) May 20, 2011

@3pipenet @ClassicalJG @TLockyer Yup, that's it. Part of Ray's point was that graffiti need to be seen in context – what else on same wall?—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 20, 2011

@pjgoodman @ClassicalJG @TLockyer Using the original translation – surely its a shortening of AMABIS and VAPULUS ?—
three pipe problem (@3pipenet) May 20, 2011

@3pipenet @ClassicalJG @TLockyer I'd need a dictionary myself to figure out what the root verb for 'vaplabis' is. Not seen it before.—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 20, 2011

@3pipenet @pjgoodman @ClassicalJG There's a verb "vapulo" ("to be beaten"); of which "vap[u]labis" = future indicative 2nd per. singular.—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 20, 2011

@pjgoodman @3pipenet @ClassicalJG @TLockyer Lewis & Short suggests from vapulo, are – to be flogged, cudgelled, presumably obscenely here.—
Liz Gloyn (@lizgloyn) May 20, 2011

@lizgloyn @pjgoodman @3pipenet @ClassicalJG I wonder there's a new reading of the graffito since Mau?—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 20, 2011

@lizgloyn @pjgoodman @3pipenet @ClassicalJG OLD suggests orig. sense of "squeal, cry out"; can also mean "beaten in a contest", though.—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 20, 2011

@lizgloyn @pjgoodman @3pipenet @ClassicalJG That's how I read it: "Sutius Cicero you will be bludgeoned". What am I missing?—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 20, 2011

@3pipenet @lizgloyn @pjgoodman @ClassicalJG I can't see how the text supports that translation; hence my question about a new reading.—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 20, 2011

@TLockyer @pjgoodman @3pipenet @ClassicalJG Any chance of SVTI being a mistranscription of SI ODIS vel sim? (assuming misuse of odi)—
Liz Gloyn (@lizgloyn) May 21, 2011

@lizgloyn @TLockyer @3pipenet @ClassicalJG I was trying to read 'SVTI' as some kind of imperative – but still not sure of what verb.—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 21, 2011

@pjgoodman @TLockyer @3pipenet @ClassicalJG Well, suti could come from suo, suere, to stitch together, but it'd be the PPP, not imperative.—
Liz Gloyn (@lizgloyn) May 21, 2011

@lizgloyn @pjgoodman @3pipenet @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist I'm told the CIL text has "SITI", not "SVTI". Anyone have access?—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 21, 2011

@TLockyer @lizgloyn @3pipenet @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist Ah – that would allow 'thirst for' or 'be desirous of'.—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 22, 2011

@TLockyer @lizgloyn @3pipenet @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist But still leaves problem of why 'Cicero' isn't in either accusative or dative.—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 22, 2011

@TLockyer @lizgloyn @3pipenet @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist (Not sure which 'sitio' would take, and don't have dictionary at home to check).—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 22, 2011

@pjgoodman @TLockyer @3pipenet @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist Lewis and Short says acc. Could just be bad grammar?—
Liz Gloyn (@lizgloyn) May 22, 2011

@lizgloyn @TLockyer @3pipenet @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist But we've been reading this as words of a school-master: do tighter rules apply?—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 22, 2011

@lizgloyn @TLockyer @3pipenet @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist Yes, grammatical rules are often treated fairly loosely in graffiti.—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 22, 2011

@TLockyer How about the translation originally reported by @pjgoodman – who was responsible for that? That seemed similar—
three pipe problem (@3pipenet) May 22, 2011

@3pipenet @TLockyer I don't know – it's what Ray Laurence gave in his PP presentation, but he didn't say whose translation it was.—
Penelope J. Goodman (@pjgoodman) May 22, 2011

@pjgoodman @lizgloyn @3pipenet @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist L&S also has gen. but case ending could be abrreviated, just "wrong".—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 22, 2011

@pjgoodman @lizgloyn @3pipenet @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist So we *could* have: "Be keen on Cicero [or] be beaten up!" Democracy in action.—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 22, 2011

@TLockyer @pjgoodman @lizgloyn @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist That seems in the same spirit as the original reference, downgrading 'whipped'—
three pipe problem (@3pipenet) May 22, 2011

@3pipenet @pjgoodman @lizgloyn @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist Well, whipped, beaten, cudgelled, bludgeoned, thumped – verb not that precise.—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 22, 2011

@TLockyer @pjgoodman @lizgloyn @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist After all that we have the same translation as 19thC reference?—
three pipe problem (@3pipenet) May 22, 2011

@3pipenet Not quite: Mau thought it was addressed to a "Sutius Cicero".—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 22, 2011

@3pipenet @pjgoodman @lizgloyn @ClassicalJG @rogueclassicist Even reconfirming an old idea is worthwhile. Better than repeating unexamined.—
Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) May 22, 2011

… the conversation will likely continue a bit, but hopefully one can see the potential utility of Twitter in a scholarly situation. Here we witness an excellent use of Twitter in ‘real time’ to discuss/clarify what might be a minor point in the grand scheme of things but is the sort of thing one might definitely want to file away/make note of for later. Some might suggest this is the same sort of thing one might get on, say, the Classics list, and to an extent that is true. But Twitter offers features which one tends not to find in more formal situations like the Classics list. First and foremost is the immediacy — where people might check their email a few times a day, folks seem to be on Twitter almost constantly. This is likely because Twitter is much more convenient to use on handheld devices which are pretty much omnipresent these days (yes, I know you can do email on your Blackberry, but it’s a bit of a pain). A spinoff of this is that queries tend to be answered within hours (if not minutes)  because folks don’t need to wait to ‘get back to the office’ to respond. I’m not sure if it’s a general statement, but people also seem much less likely to be a ‘lurker’ in a Twitter conversation if they ‘know something’ than they might be on a list (i.e. Twitter is less ‘intimidating’). Also worth mentioning is the fact that Twitter limits the length of replies to 140 characters also tends to keep everyone ‘on topic’.

One disadvantage which emerged as I was doing this post is the fact that Twitter doesn’t thread conversations like your email program or even Usenet might. If the conversation is short — say, four or five replies — it’s not a big deal, as Twitter seems to keep that many together in ‘conversation view’. But once it gets beyond five or so, it seems to have problems and one has to dig, which can be a problem depending on how many people one is following. Of course, that’s only a problem with longer conversations such as this one, and really should not detract from the obvious utility of using Twitter as yet another scholarly tool. Again, I (probably naively) foresee a day when folks not attending a conference (such as the APA or CAC) can get a feel for what’s going on because others are sharing via Twitter.

UPDATE (the next day): The conversation did continue a bit … I’ve added a few Tweets to give it ‘closure’ … Liz Gloyn has also written her view of the conversation …

UPDATE (later the next day): see now also H. Niyazi (a.k.a. 3pipenet): From Pompeii to Cyberspace – Transcending barriers with Twitter

Sorry … couldn’t resist:

Generate your own memes here …

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Not sure how many folks have seen the scattered mentions of the Nero exhibition at the Colosseum that have popped up in various RSS and Twitter feeds, but Martin Conde has a link to the exhibition catalog (as a pdf) as part of his flickr photostream (look for the pdf link about half way down, just above “Comments and Faves”.

The other day we mentioned that Sotheby’s catalog for their upcoming antiquities auction is up and, as might be expected, so is Christie’s. Christie’s, though, has a few items which catch my eye (although all are interesting — whenever these things come out, I am always amazed at how much ‘stuff’ we actually do have from the ancient world).  Topping the list is the item which prompted our headline:

Christie's Photo

This bronze hand dates to the second or third century A.D. according to the official description, and clearly proves the Romans invented the ‘hang loose’ gesture long before the Hawaiians (not really, but I’m sure someone will claim that).

Next comes this nice little figural askos:

We’ve blogged about sirens before, and about the perpetual confusion between them and mermaids. As this item shows, of course, they did have wings and really weren’t modified fish. According to this one’s official description, this item hails from late-fifth century B.C. Sicily. Not sure why an askos (for small quantities of oil) would be a siren-shaped vessel …

Last, but certainly not least of the items which caught my eye, is this Phrygian-style helmet:

The official description has this being a Hellenistic (3rd century B.C. or so) Phrygian Style helmet. What I find very interesting is the obviously modelled moustache on the cheekplates, which is something I haven’t seen before — actually, I can’t recall ever seeing a Phrygian helmet with cheekplates, although I’m sure they exist. It’s difficult to tell whether the somewhat similar item on this page has a moustache or not …

There are plenty of other interesting items, of course … check out the online catalog here