SCREEN PLAYS

via Greek plays: Philoctetes BBC Schools, 1961-62.

Roman Religion: Actualities: “New” books about Roman Religion.

Roger Pearse: Du Perac’s 1575 picture of the ruins of the Septizodium.

Classical Association Blog: Saturnalia Quiz.

Ancient World Bloggers Group: 2012 Meeting of the Forum for Classics, Libraries, and Scholarly Communication.

Katakolon Museums: The “hippaphesis” of Kleoitas.

[I always wondered if they had something like this for chariot racing ...]

Roger Pearse: More images of the temple of the sun in Rome.

Roger Pearse: Another image of the ruins of the Temple of Sol Invictus.

Roger Pearse: More on Aurelian’s temple of the sun.

Theoretical Structural Archaeology: Hadrians First Wall.

Bloomberg Presents Lewis Lapham:  Elephants Trample Losers in Post-Alexander Battle: Lewis Lapham.

[Interview with James Romm about Ghosts on the Throne]

Bloomberg Presents Lewis Lapham: Hell Is a Fiction, Said Lucretius, So Don’t Worry: Lewis Lapham.

Bloomberg Presents Lewis Lapham: Rome Crucified 6,000 Spartacus-Led Slave Rebels: Lewis Lapham.

Bloomberg Presents Lewis Lapham: Cleopatra Outfoxed Brother By Seducing Caesar: Lewis Lapham.

Bloomberg Presents Lewis Lapham: Robert L. O’Connell on `The Ghosts of Cannae: Lewis Lapham.

Bloomberg Presents Lewis Lapham: Adrienne Mayor Discusses Book `The Poison King: Lewis Lapham.

Now that all the media attention is fading from Tim Tebow and his meme-generating pose, we probably can start safely posting the Classical origins of the pose without fear of causing offense … e.g.:

… source

We’ll post more as the mood arises (or you can send them in) … I know pediments of assorted temples have at least one person in a similar pose; Aphrodite often adopts similar too for bathing purposes …

The incipit of an item from the Telegraph:

The marble pyramid, which dates from 12BC and adds an incongruous touch of ancient Egypt to the Italian capital, is grimy from traffic fumes and festooned with weeds and bushes growing from the cracks between its enormous stone blocks.

The project will include efforts to determine whether, as legend has it, there are secret chambers built into the pyramid.

“A few years ago ultrasonic testing found anomalies within the structure,” Maria Grazia Filetici, a Rome cultural official, told La Repubblica newspaper. “We want to investigate them further with probes.”

The unusual monument was constructed of brick and marble following Rome’s conquest of Egypt, which initiated a fashion for all things Egyptian.

It was a must-see sight during the Grand Tour and inspired Shelley and, a century later, Thomas Hardy.

Yuzo Yagi, the owner of a fashion business, has agreed to donate one million euros for the restoration of the 2,000-year-old monument, which forms part of Rome’s ancient walls and overlooks the Protestant Cemetery, the burial place of Shelley and Keats.

Mr Yagi, from Osaka, has had business connections with Italy for more than 40 years and wants to fund the restoration of the monument as a way of commemorating his links with Rome.

He is due to sign the agreement next month, with work expected to start in April. In return for his donation, he has asked that a plaque inscribed with his name be placed near the monument.

“His dream is to leave a mark in our country. Last year, he visited the pyramid and was struck by how remarkable it was,” said Rita Paris, who manages the monument.

The 118ft-high monument was built as the burial chamber for a Roman magistrate, Gaius Cestius.

The chamber was once frescoed but is now bare and empty, after its contents were plundered in the Middle Ages.

The pyramid was incorporated into the Aurelian Walls, which were built to protect Rome in the 3rd century AD, helping to ensure that it was never damaged or demolished. [...]

• via: Japanese tycoon steps in to restore dilapidated treasure in Rome(Telegraph)

More news coverage:

• Japanese investor to restore ancient Roman pyramid (AFP via Yahoo)
• Businessman Yuzo Yagi to restore ancient pyramid in Rome (News.com)

From the Italian press:

• Un milione di euro dal Giappone “Piramide restaurata entro il 2013″ (Repubblica)
• Un milione di euro dal Giappone per restaurare la Piramide (Corriere della Sera)

Pyramid of Cestius links:

• Pyramid of Cestius (Livius)
• Pyramid of Cestius (Wikipedia)
• Sepulchrum Caii Cestii (Platner and Ashby via Lacus Curtius)
• Rome at the Pyramid of Cestius Near the Graves of Shelley and Keats (Thomas Hardy’s poem on the monument)
• Rome Reborn (from a guidebook; includes a good transcription of the inscription)
• Immortality in 330 Days (From Bill Thayer’s Gazetteer … a very interesting associated inscription on how long it took to build the thing)

Rome Reports has a very nice presentation of that ‘Catholic Latin help line’ story we mentioned a few days ago:

Saw this mentioned somewhere over the past couple of days (of intermittent internet) … dare one say it is an allegory for the state of Classics in some places?

• via Banksy

Via the APA blog … interesting (I didn’t know about the Aquila Theater Company’s Page and Stage project, e.g.):

• Questions for the APA Award Winners, 2010

Pop Classics: Strictly Come Dancing 2011 Final.

[for some reason, I have this Edward G. Robinson voice in my head saying "Where's your Classical Tradition, now?"]

Laudator Temporis Acti: De Liberis Educandis.

[if only I could implement this!! (when necessary)]

Laudator Temporis Acti: O Dulce Otium!.

[one of my favourite letters of Pliny]

Bread and Circuses: Latrines at Leptis Magna.