Some Sort of Series

January 17, 2009 ~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 1 Comment

I’ve been trying to avoid wholesale quoting of articles (other than obituaries), but it’s necessary for this item lest I be accused of taking something out of context and making it incomprehensible:

KINEAS and his Greek cavalry are dismissed from the all-conquering army of Alexander the Great and take up employment as mercenaries in the distant city of Olbia on the edges of the great grasslands of the steppes.

He is there to train the local citizens and turn them into a military force and immediately runs into political and deadly intrigue. Then comes the news that one of Alexander’s generals is to invade. Should the city state offer surrender or offer resistance? Their only hope is in an alliance with the wild Sakje tribesmen of the steppes.

Can Kineas and his men create a new army in time? Will an alliance with the Sakje last?

This is the first of a planned series set in the ancient world of fourth century BC. A wealth of wonderful characters including the warrior princess Srayanka and the Spartan Philokles fill the pages, along with battles, politics and even a love story. A terrific epic. Bring on volume two.

… not sure if this is a TV series, a comic book series, chapter books, trading cards, postage stamp or what.

Epic bit of Greek fire (Huddersfield Daily Examiner

What To Do With A Classics Degree (sort of)

January 17, 2009 ~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Well, not really … the Canadian Opera Company has a new musical director and the Star has an interviewish/background thing on him. Inter alia:

What would you be if you weren’t a performer?

I’d be an unhappy person. To be serious: I might have become a professor/teacher for classics. I was quite deep into ancient Greek when I was in school. Unfortunately, I’ve almost lost everything I learned, besides reading it. Walking around Greektown in Toronto, I was pleased to read some of the street signs written in Greek.

Johannes Debus: A new baton in town

Breviaria 01/17/09

January 17, 2009 ~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

More cleaning of the inbox:

There’s a new issue of Iris Magazine out (I love this cover).

The recent AIA-APA shindig included a session on Podcasting and the Classics, which, of course, has a podcast presence on the web … personally, (rant) I think EVERY session should be thus covered as should every conference, ‘seminar’, etc. and folks should be taking advantage of places like Blogger to extend the discussion of papers beyond the conference room (/rant).

Caroline Bishop informs us (gratias tibi ago!) of a series of interesting posts by Don Ringe at Language Log on assorted IE linguistics things which should be of interest (the link takes you to the most recent; the previous ones are linked therein).

Biblical Archaeology Review has a nice online feature on Medicine in the Ancient World.

Elsewhere:

A couple more MPs are jumping on the repatriation of the Elgin/Parthenon marbles bandwagon:

MPs Pushing Elgin’s Marbles Back To Greece (Sky)

This is a very old story on Alexander the Great which seems to be making a comeback; we note it here again just in case:

Royal Artifacts Belonging To Alexander The Great Found (One India)

Albert Uderzo’s daughter isn’t a happy heiress:

Asterix has sold out to the Empire (Guardian)

Wonder Woman has some new boots:

New ‘Wonder Woman’ Animated Images Go Online, Producer Bruce Timm Talks Fashion & Mythology (MTV)

Touristy thing on Palmyra:

Palmyra — past & present (Star)

Latest on the ‘Macedonia’ dispute:

Athens and Skopje to resume talks in New York on ‘name dispute’ (Echo)

A theatre item of potential interest:

Amy Freed’s ‘You, Nero’ Tells the Story of Telling the Story of the Reviled Emperor (OC Weekly)

STAGE TUBE: South Coast Rep’s YOU, NERO (Broadway World)

Similiter:

Stratford’s Caesar and Cleopatra coming to big screen (CBC … Christopher Plummer as JC)

I’m hoping to find a more substantial obituary for Vivian Swan:

Tributes paid to Roman expert Vivian Swan (Press)

Some inspiration/ideas for the teachers among us:

New Dimensions students study Roman gods and goddesses (News Herald)

Grant will be used to hold ‘Classics Day’ for grades 7, 8 at Pingry School (Recorder)

The ASCSA announces a new publication:

Roman Pottery: Fine-Ware Imports

CONF: The Ancient World in Silent Cinema

January 17, 2009January 17, 2009 ~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

[This looks severely interesting]:

UCL Department of Greek & Latin
presents
THE ANCIENT WORLD IN SILENT CINEMA

an afternoon & evening of silent film screenings with piano accompaniment and related talks on
Wednesday 28 January 2009,
at UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AH
http://www.thebloomsbury.com/

The event is open to the public and admission is free.
ALL ARE WELCOME.

This is a remarkable opportunity. Almost all of the films to be screened
are not available for purchase in video or DVD format, and are rarely
shown in cinemas. They survive as viewing copies in film archives. Further
details about the films and our event can be found at
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/GrandLat/newsandevents/events/silentcinema

THE AFTERNOON: ANCIENT GREECE

2-4pm Screenings of silent films set in ancient Greece
Amour d’esclave (Fr 1907) 7 mins
La Morte di Socrate (IT 1909) 5mins
Elettra (IT 1909) 6 mins
La Légende de Midas (Fr 1910) 8 mins
La Caduta di Troia (IT 1910) 19 mins
L’Odissea (IT 1911) 29 mins
The Private Life of Helen of Troy (US 1927)

4-4.30 pm Tea/Coffee break

4.30-5.45pm Speakers
Pantelis Michelakis (Department of Classics & Ancient History, University
of Bristol) and Ian Christie (School of History of Art, Film and Visual
Media, Birkbeck, University of London)

THE EVENING: ANCIENT ROME
7.15-7.45pm Speaker
Maria Wyke (Department of Greek & Latin, University College London)

8pm-10pm Screenings of silent films set in ancient Rome
Julius Caesar (US 1908 ) 9 mins
Giulio Cesare (IT 1909) 7 mins
Cléopatre (Fr 1910) 9 mins
Lo Schiavo di Cartagine (IT 1910) 8 mins
Dall’amore al martirio (IT 1910) 11 mins
Patrizia e Schiava (IT 1919) 11 mins
A Roman Scandal (US 1924) 6 mins
Jone O Gli Ultimi Giorni di Pompei (IT 1913) 43 mins

THE ANCIENT WORLD IN SILENT CINEMA (2)
A second afternoon & evening of silent film screenings with piano
accompaniment and related talks will be held on Monday 22 June 2009, from
2-6 and 7-10 pm at the Bloomsbury Theatre. On that occasion the films will
have settings in Biblical or Near Eastern Antiquity.
details tba

ORGANISERS
Maria Wyke (Department of Greek and Latin, UCL)
Pantelis Michelakis (Department of Classics, University of Bristol)

These two events are linked to the launch of an international,
collaborative research project on antiquity in silent cinema, which Maria
Wyke and Pantelis Michelakis are planning. If you have any queries about
the research project or about these events please contact Maria Wyke
(m.wyke AT ucl.ac.uk).
We are deeply indebted to the BFI National Archive and its staff for their
investigations on our behalf, and for the loan of these precious films
from their collection.

Supported by UCL Futures
– Encouraging Innovation & Opportunities