Hodie est a.d. XII Kal. Iun. 2772 AUC ~ 29 Mounichion in the third year of the 699th Olympiad

In the News

nihil novum hodie!

In Case You Missed It

• Enigmatic rooms cut into the bedrock discovered under Western Wall – Israel News – Haaretz.com
• This 2,000-Year-Old Coin Commemorates a Jewish Rebellion Against Rome | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine
• Hobby Lobby, Christie’s and the Epic of Gilgamesh: a new chapter for ancient saga – Reuters
• Archaeologists uncover tomb of Iron Age woman adorned with jewellry
• Archaeologists discover a leather toy mouse from Roman Vindolanda – HeritageDaily – Archaeology News

Fresh Bloggery

• The Structure of Greek Tragedy: An Overview | The Kosmos Society
• Our Unexamined Fears: Reading Euripides’ “Trojan Women” online – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Punishments and rewards in the Roman army – Novo Scriptorium
• Laudator Temporis Acti: Prayer to Athena
• Comfort Classics: Flora Kirk – Classical Studies Support
• A Gift For Polydektes: Deep dive into Ex-Numis provenance search
• Congratulations to Erik Shell | Society for Classical Studies
• CLASSICAL CLIMAXES: SEX TOYS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
• Perfume and power: Killing Eve and the Roman emperors
• Roman Times: The kline as platform for the nuptial banquet
• Roman Times: A Despot’s Course
• Oxen, Horses, and Priam Are Not Happy – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Gaisford, Liddell, and a Motto for Any Library – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Ovid in Detroit – In Medias Res – Medium
• The last years of Justinian’s reign: Antioch sacked by Chosroes’ Persians – The Plague irreversibly weakens the Empire – Novo Scriptorium
• Misverstand: Carrhae – Mainzer Beobachter
• F**k Sleep, I’m Going to the Library! – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE

Fresh Podcasts

• Caligula #23.b – Finicky Anus | Life Of The Caesars

There’s nothing worse than having a Finicky Anus aka Lucius Annius Vinicianus. According to Josephus, Vinicianus was one of the main conspirators. As we’ll see, Vinicianus was a long history of conspiring against the Julio-Claudians – he was complicit in conspiracies to overthrow Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius. And his sons tried to overthrow Nero. The assassination of Caligula was planned to happen during the celebration of the Palatine games because Caligula had announced that he would be moving to Alexandria – perhaps permanently – the following day.

Professional Matters

• New England Classical Journal | College of the Holy Cross 

Alia

• Unprovenanced Antiquities: Learning the Hard Way – Biblical Archaeology Society
• Take a Free Video Tour of Blockbuster Pompeii and Herculaneum Exhibition | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine
• Connie Nielsen shares her wildest Gladiator memories and where things stand on the sequel

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

• Homeromanteion | Online Homeric Oracle
• Sortes Virgilianae (English)
• Sortes Virgilianae (Latin)
• Consult the Oracle at UCL

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends the need to make amends for terrible news.

… adapted from the text and translation of:

Jean MacIntosh Turfa, The Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar, in Nancy Thomson de Grummond and Erika Simon (eds.), The Religion of the Etruscans. University of Texas Press, 2006. (Kindle edition)

Hodie est a.d. XIII Kal. Iun. 2772 AUC ~ 28 Mounichion in the third year of the 699th Olympiad

In the News

• News | Diversity of funeral practices at the Premier … | Inrap
• Archaeologists discover 2000-year-old unique complex by the Western Wall – The Jerusalem Post
• Hobby Lobby sues Christie’s for selling it an antiquity authorities say was looted | The Art Newspaper
• Roman relics found at HS2 site near Solihull – and may know how area smelled – Birmingham Live
• KAS approves ministry plan for maximum building height around Acropolis Hill | News | ekathimerini.com
• Dig taking place at important Roman archaeological site in Colchester | Gazette

In Case You Missed It

• Ancient Leather ‘Mouse’ Highlights the Romans’ Sense of Humor | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine

Greek/Latin News

• [AkropolisWorldNews] Ἆρα ἴσως ἀντίδοτον εὑρήκασιν; 

Fresh Bloggery

• Really, We Have To Go to War – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• MoD | Patronen van misinformatie (slot) – Mainzer Beobachter
• Western Imperialism in the Classics Classroom – EIDOLON
• Laudator Temporis Acti: Equal in Death
• Kiwi Hellenist: How to make sense of ancient Greek colours
• Comfort Classics: Penny Whitworth – Classical Studies Support
• A Newly Catalogued Greek New Testament Manuscript (GA 0324) – Brice C. Jones
• Hexham Abbey and the Romans – Mainzer Beobachter
• Tawdry Tuesday, Imperial Edition: F*ck or Fight? (NSFW) – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Roman Times: Creative art at the birth of democracy!

Book Reviews

• [BMCR] Hubertus Busche, Matthias Perkams, Antike Interpretationen zur aristotelischen Lehre vom Geist: Texte von Theophrast, Alexander von Aphrodisias, Themistios, Johannes Philoponos, Priskian (bzw. “Simplikios”) und Stephanos (“Philoponos”). Philosophische Bibliothek, 694. Hamburg: Meiner, 2018.
• [BMCR] Joseph Roisman, Michael Edwards, Lycurgus: against Leocrates. Clarendon ancient history series. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
• Religion et pouvoir dans le monde romain de 218 avant notre ère à 235 de notre ère II | Spartokos a lu

Alia

• Taking a tour of Hadrian’s wall from your living room | The Northern Echo
• Carbon dating, the archaeological workhorse, is getting a major reboot

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

• Homeromanteion | Online Homeric Oracle
• Sortes Virgilianae (English)
• Sortes Virgilianae (Latin)
• Consult the Oracle at UCL

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends prosperity for those in the East, but the opposite for those in the West.

… adapted from the text and translation of:

Jean MacIntosh Turfa, The Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar, in Nancy Thomson de Grummond and Erika Simon (eds.), The Religion of the Etruscans. University of Texas Press, 2006. (Kindle edition)

Hodie est a.d. XIV Kal. Iun. 2772 AUC ~ 27 Mounichion in the third year of the 699th Olympiad

In the News

• Pompeii Live: they didn’t see catastrophe coming – and neither did we | Culture | The Guardian
• Civil action filed to forfeit rare cuneiform tablet from Hobby Lobby | ICE

In Case You Missed It

• Feast of snails and pig sheds life on Hellenist life in ancient Galilee – The Jerusalem Post
• Rome unearths ancient Roman sarcophagus at Ostia Antica
• When the Romans turned Jerusalem into a pagan city, Jews revolted and minted this coin | Live Science
• ‘Blank’ Dead Sea Scrolls Actually Contain Writing | History | Smithsonian Magazine
• Greece reopens the Acropolis along with hundreds of other ancient sites | Neos Kosmos

Classicists and Classics in the News

• News – Bringing ancient Sparta back to life during lockdown – University of Nottingham
• MIT Literature Professor Takes a New Look at Ancient Books

Greek/Latin News

• [Ephemeris] LEGATVS MORTVVS 

Public Facing Classics

• When is a (Roman) mouse not a mouse? – Column – Mary Beard: A Don’s life – TLS

Fresh Bloggery

• New Comic: Heracles’ Labours map, YouTube lessons, and Blossom discount! | Greek Myth Comix
• AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Odyssey-A-Day
• MoM | Patronen van misinformatie (3) – Mainzer Beobachter
• Comfort Classics: Katie Low – Classical Studies Support
• Being a “Senior Scholar” and Hope | Archaeology of the Mediterranean World
• Roman Times: Those who desire not to rule but to dominate
• Three Tragedians and One Poll – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Roman Times: Seventh century BCE Armor Fit For The Gods!
• Roman Archaeology Blog: Historical city travel guide: Rome, 1st century AD
• Western Imperialism in the Classics Classroom – EIDOLON
• Perfume and power: Killing Eve and the Roman emperors
• Theodosius Cistern | Turkish Archaeological News
• Laudator Temporis Acti: Nothing New Under the Sun
• Graeco-Roman and ‘Byzantine’ views on obesity – Novo Scriptorium
• AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Aeschylus Agamemnon Catalogue: A bibliography of the Agamemnon from 1518 to present
• Old Dudes, Keep on Bragging! – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Classics at the Intersections: Correcting Nonsense about the Ancient Greco-Roman Past
• Classics in Sarasota: Notes on Persuasion in Eumenides

Fresh Podcasts

• Episode 31: Heroes in the Time of COVID

We’re baaack! We’ve been hearing a lot about heroes in the news lately and it’s got us thinking. The word’s being used to describe doctors, nurses, paramedics, delivery people, truck drivers, and grocery store workers– all the people who are keeping our society going through the COVID-19 pandemic. But what do we really mean when we call someone a hero? Do our heroes today resemble the heroes of myth? Or are we using the label “hero” to escape societal responsibilities?

• ‎The Exploress Podcast: Cleopatra: She Came, She Saw, She Conquered, Part 2 on Apple Podcasts

In Part 1, we saw Cleopatra grow up in Alexandria amid luxury, excess, and the threat of death by family member. When her pharaoh father fled Egypt, she went with him, experiencing Rome for the very first time. Years later, he did something unfortunate: he left Egypt to Cleopatra AND her annoying brother Ptolemy XIII, and then he ALSO put them under Rome’s guardianship. She ruled well, but her brother conspired against her. Now Cleo’s a 21-year-old exile. How will she find her way back to greatness?

Book Reviews

• [BMCR] Carina Hasenzagl, North Tunisian red slip ware: from production sites in the Salomonson Survey (1960-1972). Babesch supplement, 37. Leuven: Peeters, 2019.
• [BMCR] M. David Litwa, How the Gospels became history: Jesus and Mediterranean myths. Synkrisis. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019.
• BATRACHOMYOMACHIA (Battle of the Frogs and Mice): Introduction, Text, Translation, and Commentary – Classics for All
• MoD | Patronen van misinformatie (4) – Mainzer Beobachter

Dramatic Receptions

• Diamond Theatre of Ligonier Holds Virtual Auditions for GREECE LIGHTNING THE MUSICAL

Alia

• How Boxing Became a Popular Sport in Ancient Greece | GreekReporter.com
• Antikythera Mechanism: The Ancient Greek Artifact that Continues to Amaze Scientists | GreekReporter.com
• Gladiator Is Still the Era’s Defining Swords & Sandals Epic | CBR
• Why The First Roman Emperor’s Motto Matters: Move Slowly To Move Quickly
• War and Power in Classical Greece: Lessons for Superpowers and the World – CounterPunch.org
• Past plagues offer lessons for society after the coronavirus pandemic | Science News
• Lessons from Antiquity for Our Current Pandemic | Merion West

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

• Homeromanteion | Online Homeric Oracle
• Sortes Virgilianae (English)
• Sortes Virgilianae (Latin)
• Consult the Oracle at UCL

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends that someone will be raised to the height of good fortune with the approval of the citizens.

… adapted from the text and translation of:

Jean MacIntosh Turfa, The Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar, in Nancy Thomson de Grummond and Erika Simon (eds.), The Religion of the Etruscans. University of Texas Press, 2006. (Kindle edition)

Hodie est a.d. XV Kal. Iun. 2772 AUC ~ 26 Mounichion in the third year of the 699th Olympiad

In the News

• Rome museums reopen after lockdown – Wanted in Rome
• Acropolis Re-Opens Along with 200 Greek Archaeological Sites | GreekReporter.com

In Case You Missed It

• Rome unearths ancient Roman sarcophagus at Ostia Antica
• Archaeologists discover joke Roman mouse made out of leather at Northumberland fort | Daily Mail Online

Fresh Bloggery

• Laudator Temporis Acti: Leaders and Their Influence
• Classics in Sarasota: “The whole fashion of your form”
• Roman Archaeology Blog: Practical joke or toy? Leather ‘mouse’ shows Romans’ playful side
• “A Little Bit, But Not Too Long”: One of Homer’s Most Chilling Passages – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• In Homeric Matters, Affirm Nothing! – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• MoM | Patronen van misinformatie (1) – Mainzer Beobachter
• Heracles’ Labours: a map | Greek Myth Comix
• PaleoJudaica.com: BAR 2020 Summer issue
• PaleoJudaica.com: Bethsaida (?) flooded
• Starting Fights with Doctors – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Misunderstanding: Female clergy – Mainzer Beobachter

Fresh Podcasts

• Thracians: Shoot the Messenger by Ancient History Fangirl

Who was Spartacus, really? It’s not an easy question to answer. The ancient sources agree that he was Thracian, but even this is up for debate. Still, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that to know Spartacus, you have to know the Thracians. The Thracians were a fierce warrior people, consummate mercenaries who fought in every major Greek and Roman war—and believed that they would never die. Join us as we try to breathe life into these epic people by exploring their unique mythology and religious beliefs.

• The History of Ancient Greece Podcast: ***Special Guest Episode on ‘Ovid and the Art of Love’ w/ Esme von Hoffman***

In today’s special guest episode, I am joined by director and screenwriter Esme von Hoffman (Festival of Cinema NYC 2019 Winner for Best Director) for her film, Ovid and the Art of Love. Esme and I discuss her background with Classics and Roman history, what drew her to make a film about the life of Ovid, her artistic vision in adapting the film to a modern audience, and some of the decisions that she made in writing its script.

• 045: Hellenistic Philosophy – Stoics & Stoicism by The Hellenistic Age Podcast

Arguably the most popular of the Hellenistic philosophies, the Stoic movement, with its emphasis on reason and self-control, attracted several famous figures such as the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, the Macedonian king Antigonus II Gonatas, and Seneca the Younger. Believing that wisdom is the highest good and can be achieved through philosophy, the Stoics encouraged the rejection of emotion and the embrace of rationality as a way to live in accordance with nature, which was granted an innate sense of orderliness and reason thanks to the embodiment of the cosmos by a rational deity.

Book Reviews

• [BMCR] Achille Vogliano, Scritti Minori I. Milano: LED Edizioni, 2019.
• [BMCR] Patrizia Mascoli, Iohannes de Segarellis. Elucidatio tragoediarum Senecae: Thyestes / Tantalus. Quaderni di “Invigilata lucernis”, 46. Bari: Edipuglia, 2018.
• [BMCR] Benedikt Boyxen, Fremde in der hellenistischen Polis Rhodos: zwischen Nähe und Distanz. Klio. Beihefte, Neue Folge, Band 29. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2018.
• Antigone Rising by Helen Morales review – the Greek myths get subversive | Books | The Guardian
• Monumentele Patriei Noastre  | Spartokos a lu

Alia

• Myth debunked: Did Pythagoras discover Pythagoras’ theorem?
• When in a pandemic… do as the Romans did – The Sunday Post
• How Boxing Became a Popular Sport in Ancient Greece | GreekReporter.com
• Antikythera Mechanism: The Ancient Greek Artefact that Continues to Amaze Scientists | GreekReporter.com

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

• Homeromanteion | Online Homeric Oracle
• Sortes Virgilianae (English)
• Sortes Virgilianae (Latin)
• Consult the Oracle at UCL

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends discord and from that will come a shortage of daily necessities.

… adapted from the text and translation of:

Jean MacIntosh Turfa, The Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar, in Nancy Thomson de Grummond and Erika Simon (eds.), The Religion of the Etruscans. University of Texas Press, 2006. (Kindle edition)

Hodie est a.d. XVI Kal. Iun. 2772 AUC ~ 25 Mounichion in the third year of the 699th Olympiad

In the News

• Practical joke or toy? Leather ‘mouse’ shows Romans’ playful side | UK news | The Guardian
• Ancient Athenian girl brought back to ‘life’ to fight coronavirus pandemic
• Vandals damage one of Wales’ most famous Roman ruins – Wales Online
• Ancient Greeks made the most of a feast (with donkey toes and gazelle brains) | World | The Times
• Olympus excavations to start in July
• Rome unearths ancient Roman sarcophagus at Ostia Antica

In Case You Missed It

• [not] This 2,000-Year-Old Sapphire Ring was Once Worn by Caligula
• British Museum to bring back record-breaking Pompeii exhibition with screening of live event | London Evening Standard

Classics and Classicists in the News

• Carpe Diem! Gloucester teacher brings Latin to life in the time of COVID XIX | Local News | gloucestertimes.com

Greek/Latin News

• [Ephemeris] AVE ATQVE VALE, AETIE! 

Public Facing Classics

• A groundbreaking classicist is irreverently acting out The Odyssey on YouTube and it’s great

Fresh Bloggery

• Bestiaria Latina Blog: Latin Proverbs and Fables Round-Up: May 15
• I Had to Put Myself In Power – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Laudator Temporis Acti: An Impenetrable Clique
• Laudator Temporis Acti: Divine Punishment
• English Seneca By Candlelight – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Blog: What is the Worth of a Masters in Classics? Some Advice on Terminal MAs | Society for Classical Studies
• Gallery | The Romans in North Britain: the Antonine Wall | The Kosmos Society
• Comfort Classics: Tom Mason – Classical Studies Support
• AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Aphrodisias Regional Survey Repository
• Historical city travel guide: Rome, 1st century AD – The British Museum Blog
• Isidorus’ Etymologieën – Mainzer Beobachter
• Roman Times: Terracotta sarcophagi of the Ionian Greeks at Clazomenae
• Weekend Reading: Pick up a Penguin – Classical Studies Support
• The Atlantic Article and Green Collection Cartonnage | Variant Readings
• Wounds Healed Just in Time – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Laudator Temporis Acti: What’s the Point of Life?
• Misverstand: Persepolis – Mainzer Beobachter
• Changing Nature and Isolation’s End – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• The Edithorial: Update from One Classicist’s Lockdown
• Laudator Temporis Acti: The Royals
• Roman Leather Toy Mouse Discovered | The Vindolanda Trust
• Ugly Object of the Month — May 2020 – The Kelsey Blog
• Roman Times: Nero: Hating those who denounce your mistakes
• Roman Times: Owls: Symbols of Wisdom or Harbingers of Death
• Apollo, Python, and Turner’s Art – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Roman Times: A physician as “lower middle class” in the Roman world
• Classics in Sarasota: The manner of Apollonian Justice – a brief digression.
• Heraclitus on the True Story of Lamia – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
• Misverstand: Aspasia – Mainzer Beobachter
• #SeeOvidI9 « The Classical Association in Northern Ireland
• Peoples of Much Suffering: Look – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE

‘Fresh Podcastery

• Caligula #22 – The Foot Stomp | Life Of The Caesars

The final conspiracy against Caligula involved Cassius Chaerea, an officer of the Praetorian Guard; Callistus, Caligula’s wealthy freedman adviser; and the senator Lucius Annius Vinicianus. Over the next three episodes, we’ll explore whether or not the conspiracy was about getting rid of Caligula because he was batshit crazy – or because they wanted to restore the Republic.

• ‎Raising Standards: Ian McNeice interview on Apple Podcasts

Ian McNeice played the Newsreader in Rome, a character who bought both a flourish and much needed exposition to the Roman forum!

Landscape Modery

note: as of next week (Saturday), we’ll be collecting Youtubery in a separate page … 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1LFNP_c0n0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o42jtELBQpY

Book Reviews

• [BMCR] P. A. Roche, Lucan. De Bello Civili. Book VII. Cambridge Greek and Latin classics. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2019.
• [BMCR] Dietrich Raue, Handbook of ancient Nubia. De Gruyter reference. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2019.
• [BMCR] Rolf Strootman, Empires of the sea: maritime power networks in world history. Cultural interactions in the Mediterranean, volume 4. Leiden: Brill, 2019.
• Les Scythes de la région du Nord de la mer Noire aux VIIe-IVe s. av. n. è. (anciens problèmes – nouvelles solutions) | Spartokos a lu

Dramatic Receptions

• Curtainless Theatre stages ‘Prometheus Bound’ via Zoom call | City Pulse

Professional Matters

• Teacher of Classics, Thurrock – Tes Jobs

Alia

• Stoicism and Islam – Stoicism — Philosophy as a Way of Life – Medium
• Ancient Accusations of Human Sacrifice – History of Yesterday – Medium
• The Myth of the Minotaur, the Legendary Beast We Can’t Forget | HowStuffWorks

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

• Homeromanteion | Online Homeric Oracle
• Sortes Virgilianae (English)
• Sortes Virgilianae (Latin)
• Consult the Oracle at UCL

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends rainy weather.

… adapted from the text and translation of:

Jean MacIntosh Turfa, The Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar, in Nancy Thomson de Grummond and Erika Simon (eds.), The Religion of the Etruscans. University of Texas Press, 2006. (Kindle edition)