Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for the Weekend of August 22-23, 2020

Hodie est a.d. X Kal. Sept. 2772 AUC ~ 5 Metageitnion in the fourth year of the 699th Olympiad

In the News

In Case You Missed It

Classicists and Classics in the News

Greek/Latin News

Public Facing Classics

Fresh Bloggery

Fresh Podcasts

Maximinus Thrax was an unorthodox Emperor, a man of lowborn status who kept to the frontlines with the military. It was only a matter of time before the Senate threw in with someone more on their level, but their choice, Gordian, would have the shortest rule of any Emperor. Guest: Dr Caillan Davenport (Senior Lecturer, Roman History, Macquarie University/Humboldt Research Fellow, Goethe University, Frankfurt)

Claudius was a builder and a visionary. Humble and generous. He liked gladiatorial contests a little too much. But then there was his wife. Valeria Messallina. Like Livia, Messallina often gets blamed for some of the deaths that occurred early in his reign.

Kalkriese is an archaeological site in Germany where the Roman army suffered one of its greatest defeats in the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest. It was here where three Roman legions were ambushed by German barbarians, virtually wiped out, bringing an end to the ambition of empire expansion in the area. Guest: Dr Joanne Ball (Battlefield archaeologist, University of Liverpool)

Recap and Q&A of the past 13 episodes

Join this episode to listen in on my discussion with Christchurch College Oxford alumni and all-round boffin, Mr S Hyams, over the biggest questions in Classics…

Was there Mental Illness in the ancient world? What did people think about Suicide or Schizophrenia? How did the philosophies of Epicurus or Hippocrates help? And what can this teach us about Mental Illness today? Michael Fontaine, Professor and…

This episode, we are setting the stage of the epic tale of Hercules/Heracles! With plentiful obscure Disney references, we cover: Ancient Greece, who that Heracles guy is, the Olympic gods, and so much more!

Around this time 2,499 years ago the famous Battle of Thermopylae was raging. But it is important to remember that this clash was not happening on its own. At the same time, to the east of Leonidas’ defence, another battle was underway at sea between Xerxes’ great armada and a much smaller Hellenic fleet plagued with internal problems. This was the Battle of Artemisium, an often-overlooked and overshadowed military encounter of the Persian Wars. Its importance, however, was sizeable. I was delighted to have Dr Owen Rees back on the show to talk through this clash, explaining its significance and how it paved the way for one of the most famous naval battles in history: Salamis. Owen is the author of ‘Great Naval Battles of the Ancient Greek World.’

47 BCE – Veni, vidi, vici.  Julius Caesar was short handed when he felt obliged to deal with the Pontic problem.  Discover how Pontus still caused headaches for the Romans, even after the reign and lifetime of the great Mithridates VI.

Book Reviews

Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today with lightning, it portends a massacre..

… 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)

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