A Pindaric Ode for the Olympics … from the Oxford Student: An Oxford Classics tutor has spoken of his delight at being commissioned to write a Pindaric Ode to the London Olympics by the city’s mayor, Boris Johnson. Dr Armand D’Angour revealed he was asked last year to write the poem “since as a Classicist [...]

CALL FOR PAPERS A theatre of Justice: Aspects of performance in Greco-Roman oratory and rhetoric 19-20 April 2012, University College London, London The notion of “performance” has recently attracted considerable scholarly attention both in literary criticism and in cultural history. In fundamentally “performative” societies, such as the Greek and Roman, a “performance” approach seems to [...]

From the Shields Gazette: THE “spectacular” discovery of ancient pottery has revealed how the Romans wined and dined here in South Tyneside almost 2,000 years ago. And far from sampling the delights of our local brews, it seems they still preferred to ship wines from the Mediterranean to their northern outpost. Several pieces of a [...]

Interesting bit (in the context of a film review) in the Telegraph … here’s the incipit: What do Shakespeare, Keats and Dickens have in common, apart from being great writers, and masters of the English language? The answer is pretty obvious. None of them went to university: to some extent, all three were self-educated. Ben [...]

Nice bit of outreach reported on in the Retriever: Last week the Ancient Studies Department hosted its annual “Ancient Studies Week.” This event held a number of events designed not only to display the wide range of fascinating topics that the department of Ancient Studies explores, but also to give students and faculty who may [...]

An item in the Telegraph about binge drinking in the UK includes, inter alia: Dr Phil Withington, a Cambridge University lecturer, claims the drunkenness on Britain’s streets is a reflection of the binge-drinking fun enjoyed by these Oxbridge students. He said: “These classically-educated students emulated the carousing drinking camaraderie of Ancient Greek and Roman culture. [...]

biome, n. October 26, 2011 Oxford English Dictionary catachresis October 27, 2011 (Merriam-Webster) animadvert October 26, 2011 (Dictionary.com) perdition October 27, 2011 (Dictionary.com)

Roman supply camp found at Olfen on the Lippe October 26, 2011 Adrian Murdoch Broglio di Trebisacce. Rivelata la natura di acropoli templare del sito October 26, 2011 Martina Calogero Il Cnr ricostruisce virtualmente la tomba etrusca Regolini Galassi October 26, 2011 Martina Calogero Guess Who October 26, 2011 (N.S. Gill) Sooner or Later October [...]

ante diem vi kalendas novembres ludi Victoriae Sullanae (day 2) — games held in honour of Victoria commemorating Sulla’s defeat of the Samnites in 82 B.C. 43 B.C. — Marcus Junius Brutus commits suicide in the wake of the defeat at Philippi (by one reckoning) 113 A.D. — the emperor Trajan departs from Rom e [...]