Back when I was teaching at the university level, I often likened Alcibiades’ last minutes to the closing scene of Scarface … I guess if I were teaching now, it would look something like this:

via: Yes(Chronos Mystic’s Compendium)

From the Guardian:

My friend and colleague Brian Shefton, who has died aged 92, was a distinguished scholar of Greek and Etruscan archaeology. One of his most significant achievements was a collection of Greek and Etruscan artefacts which he established in 1956 when he was given a grant of £25 to purchase three Greek pots. The collection expanded to include nearly 1,000 objects, many of which can now be seen at the Great North Museum: Hancock, in Newcastle upon Tyne. Brian also built up an important collection of books on Greek and Etruscan archaeology, which make up the Shefton collection in the library at Newcastle University.

Brian was born in Cologne, the son of Isidor Scheftelowitz, professor of Sanskrit at Cologne University, and his wife, Frieda. In 1933 the family moved to Britain to escape Nazi oppression. Brian thrived in Britain and, after military service during which he changed his name to Shefton, he graduated from Oriel College, Oxford, in 1947. He then spent three years travelling in Greece before taking up a lectureship at Exeter University.

In 1955 he arrived at King’s College in Durham (now Newcastle University) as a lecturer in Greek archaeology and ancient history. He remained there for the rest of his career, becoming professor of Greek art and archaeology in 1979. To Brian, the archaeology collection and library holdings at Newcastle were his greatest achievements.

His scholarship was truly international. He was an enthusiastic traveller with an extensive network of colleagues and friends. He attended international conferences frequently, and also received prestigious fellowships and honours, including an honorary doctorate from Cologne University and the British Academy’s Kenyon medal.

His enthusiasm for his discipline stayed with him until the end. He spoke at a conference in Basle, Switzerland, on Etruscan archaeology in October 2011 and continued to work on research projects. He was an incredibly generous scholar who always had time for others. His irrepressible energy and curiosity were an inspiration to all those who knew him.

Brian is survived by his wife, Jutta, whom he married in 1960, and his daughter, Penny.

• via: Brian Shefton obituary (Guardian)

Seen on the Classicists list (this sounds awesome!!!)

EUROCLASSICA

THE 15th ACADEMIA HOMERICA

6-15/16 July 2012

The 15th Academia Homerica will take place 6-15 July 2012, in Athens and on the island of Chios.

The student programme will include:

· In Athens on 7 July a visit to the Acropolis, the new Acropolis Museum, and the National Archaeological Museum

· On Chios, 8-15 July, sessions most days on the Greek text of Iliad 6 and a programme of lectures on Homer, Mycenaean archaeology, and Troy. All sessions will be in English

· Visits on the island of Chios, including the Chios Archaeological Museum, the Mycenaean and Iron Age site of Emporios, the medieval monastery of Nea Moni, and the island of Oinousses.

Applications

Please register your application before May 10, 2012 on the following website:www.euroclassica.eu > (Activities) > Academiae > Academia Homerica > Registration.

Fees

The cost of the conference is 500 EUROS (this covers full board in Athens and Chios in mostly double rooms, ferry tickets, and all excursions). Flight tickets to and from Athens are not included.

Students should have their University or school identity card for free entrance to the museums, the Acropolis and the Archaeological sites.

All participants should also have valid travel and health insurance for their stay in Greece.

Final information about the programme, bus, metros and the hotel in Athens will be sent to participants in June.

Director of the Conference: Dr Maria-Eleftheria Giatrakou

Director of the Student Programme: Prof John Thorley, assisted by Dr Antony Makrinos

For further information, please contact Prof John Thorley on jt275 AT etherway.net

I saw this earlier in an Italian piece and wasn’t sure if I was reading it right … alas, I was … via ANSA we learn that a chunk from the Temple of Jupiter:

A yard-long piece of plaster fell off the ancient Temple of Jupiter in Pompeii on Wednesday, the archaeological superintendency said. The portion broke off from the external face of the east wall of the cell of the temple in an area without frescoes.

Supervisors at the site said they had already collected the fragments and would reattach them on site. In late December a pillar collapsed in the garden of the House of Loreius Tiburtinus, famous for its extensive gardens and outdoor ornamentation, in particular its Euripi, fountains that feature many frescoes and statuettes.

At the end of November the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO and the Italian government agreed to join forces to restore rain-damaged Pompeii after several recent collapses.

UNESCO said it would work with Italy over a nine-month period to rebuild villas and other parts of the famed Roman site that have collapsed over the last year.

Under the deal, UNESCO said it would provide expert advice to the Italian government on how to upgrade conservation.

In November 2010 there was a collapse in the House of the Gladiators which drew criticism from UNESCO and the European Union.

It was followed soon after by a collapse at the famed House of the Moralist, spurring further criticism from international conservation groups.

In October there were another three minor cave-ins, including one at the House of Diomedes, after a fresh bout of heavy rain and an outcry when an eight-square metre section of a wall fell near the Nola Gate. […]

• via: Piece falls off Temple of Jupiter in Pompeii (ANSA)

cf: Pompei, si sgretola il tempio di Giove(Corriere del Mezzogiorno)

• 2012.02.43:  Vishwa Adluri, Parmenides, Plato, and Mortal Philosophy: Return from Transcendence. Continuum studies in ancient philosophy.
• 2012.02.42:  Mark Woolmer, Ancient Phoenicia: An Introduction. Classical world series.
• 2012.02.41:  Anna Maria Wasyl, Genres Rediscovered: Studies in Latin Miniature Epic, Love Elegy, and Epigram of the Romano-Barbaric Age.
• 2012.02.40:  W. V. Harris, Rome’s Imperial Economy: Twelve Essays. Oxford; New York: 2011. Pp. xiv, 370. $150.00. ISBN 9780199595167.
  Reviewed by Miko Flohr.
• 2012.02.39:  Kristi Upson-Saia, Early Christian Dress: Gender, Virtue, and Authority. Routledge Studies in Ancient History, 3.
• 2012.02.38:  Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles.