Day: July 1, 2009

Semper Aliquid Novi ex … Bulgaria

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 2 Comments

Still in catchup mode, over the past few weeks there have been several items reported in the Bulgarian Press varying amount of detail/clarity. We’ll begin, though, with one that just popped into my mailbox last night — the discovery of a second Peperikon-like sanctuary (hmmmm). Here’s the coverage from Standart:

Bulgarian speleologists have discovered a second Thracian sanctuary that may outshine the one at Perperikon, Mr. Evgeni Koev, chairman of the Dervent Speleology Club, broke the news.
“We have discovered a cave with four-meter-tall human statues and tombs inside. The whole complex is very well preserved and has a diameter of several kilometers. The site is close to the Danube, but its exact location is kept secret to prevent raids by black Archaeologists.
“I am ready to go and inspect the site immediately, although the comparison with the ancient Thracian sanctuary near Kurdzhali town has become very popular recently,” Prof. Nikolai Ovcharov told the Standart.
“If what these speleologists say is true, Bulgaria may have another cultural monument of global significance,” the professor stated.

We’ll assume that ‘black Archaeologists’ is some sort of bad translation of ‘illicit diggers’. Elsewhere:

The discovery of a tomb beneath a previously-looted tumulus near Dolno Izvorovo.:

A previously-unknown Roman settlement dating to the second/third century on the Black Sea Coast near Varna:

An “intact” Thracian settlement from the fifth century B.C. (or thereabouts) near Nova Zagora:

A “unique” Thracian tomb from Gagovo:

Plans to dig near Sliven:

Greek Street

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 2 Comments

Came across this while waiting for my Sirena to heat up for espresso … Greek Street is a very interesting looking comic which, to judge by descriptions all over the internet, reimagines Greek myths/tragedies as modern ‘street stories’. Newsarama has an interview with its creator — Peter Milligan (the guy who brought us John Constantine) — which includes this incipit:

The premise to Greek Street seems pretty straight forward – classic Greek dramas retold in modern-day London. How would you describe the series and what fans can expect?

PM: The premise might be straight forward enough. The reality of the comic is anything but. Greek Street is a very strange beast. I think of it as The Long Good Friday meets Agamemnon. A way of using those fantastically rich stories from Greek Tragedy to take a look at our world, and to explore some of the things I think about this world. I hope readers aren’t put off, thinking that this is somehow going to be dry or demand that they are well versed in Greek literature. The book is very sexy. IT has beautiful girls, beautiful boys, guns, tension, and the supernatural. The aim, or trick, is to forge something new. Something that refers to and echoes Greek Tragedy but that is also modern, new.

NRAMA: What drew you to retelling these greek legends?

PM: I’ve always been interested in the Greek Tragedies. A few years back a re-read a translation of the The Oresteia and that stayed with me, and slowly this idea of using some of those old legends and plays to tell a new story about modern urban life began to form.

There’s a preview of the first issue (and others) at Facebook, where one will see that this comic probably is ‘for mature audiences only’. The covers are definitely interesting … will have to track this one down.