Not bad …

An excerpt from the Star:

But John Witte Jr., a law professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., said the origins of polygamy in the West extend far beyond religion.

“The prohibitions against polygamy are pre-Christian and post-Christian in their formulation,” said Witte, who was testifying for the federal government.

“Pre-Christian in that we have these formulations in Greek texts and pre-Christian Roman law. And post-Christian in that the architects of modern liberalism are making clear that if you want to respect rights, if you want to respect dignity, it is critical to maintain the institution of monogamy and prohibit and criminalize the institution of polygamy.”

Witte traced the history of marriage back to ancient Greece and Rome, and he said Western cultures have consistently promoted monogamy and denounced polygamy for 2,500 years.

He said ancient Greek and Roman philosophers described monogamous marriage as “natural and necessary” to foster mutual love, respect and companionship among husbands and wives.

In contrast, he said the Roman emperors who established the first anti-polygamy laws in the third century denounced the practice as “unnatural and dangerous,” placing it in the same category as rape and incest. In some cases, polygamy was punishable by death.

Witte said those early beliefs about marriage have informed every Western culture since, from early Christians, the Catholic and Protestant churches, the Enlightenment— which eschewed religion and Christianity — and modern-day England and America.

“The Greeks and Romans are in many ways the forefathers and foremothers of our Western civilization,” he said.

“We received from them ideas of liberty, ideas of constitutional order, ideas of rights. … It is a fundamental part of who we are as Western people.”

• via Reason — not religion — behind ban on polygamy, prof tells B.C. court | The Star.

Foremother?

Interesting project for Channel 4 in the UK … I’ve always wondered what the Romans used to make concrete forms; perhaps this series will give me an idea …

• Rome wasn’t built in a day: Channel 4 series build Roman villa using ancient methods | Mail Online.

How Great a General was Alexander? Good discussion here …

• via How Great a General was Alexander? |Forbes.

Brief item from the South Bend Tribune:

The University of Notre Dame is launching a new master’s degree program in classics.

The program will admit two to three students per year, beginning next fall. Full tuition scholarships and stipends are available, and the application deadline for the first cohort is Jan. 15.

Students in the new degree program will take 36 credits over two years and may choose from several areas of emphasis, including language and literature, history and archaeology, late antiquity and philosophy.

For more information and details about how to apply, visit classics.nd.edu/graduate-students/ma-in-classics.

via Notre Dame adds master’s degree in classics | South Bend Tribune.