Day: October 4, 2020

#Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for the Weekend of October 3-4, 2020

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. IV Non. Oct, 2772 AUC ~ 17 Boedromion in the fourth year of the 699th Olympiad

In the News

In Case You Missed It

Greek/Latin News

Fresh Bloggery

Blog-like Publications

Fresh Podcasts

Bonus Material. Dr. Christensen, Brandeis University A small exchange on the question, “Do we really know what Ancient Greek sounded like?”

The Emperor Nero is one of antiquity’s most infamous figures, having a particularly hostile relationship with the Christians. But did the early Christians associate Nero with the Antichrist mentioned in the New Testament? Joining me to sort the fact from the fiction is Shushma Malik, Lecturer at the University of Roehampton and the author of The Nero-Antichrist: Founding and Fashioning a Paradigm. Shushma explains how this association between Nero and the Antichrist was invented in the 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries by later Christian writers of antiquity. We also explore how this association was revived in the 18th and 19th centuries and how widespread this revival’s influence became. Including its influence on the 1951 American epic historical drama Quo Vadis.

31 BCE – The Second Triumvirate had fallen apart and once again the place of conflict would be Greece.  An incredible naval battle with an unusual ending as Mark Antony and Octavian come to blows about the legacy of Julius Caesar and who would be at the forefront of its promotion.

15th official episode of Spartan History Podcast, Lycurgus the Wolf Worker.

Thermopylae and Artemisium were never intended to be decisive stands even though the defeat of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae has gone down in history as just such a stand. There were also 700 Thespians and 400 Thebans at that defeat but their sacrifice has been all but been ignored. (indeed the historian Herodotus goes out of his way to show the Thebans to be perfidious traitors). The other cities’ soldiers had already withdrawn, and fierce debate ensued to keep the alliance together.

In this week’s episode of PillarTalk, Lewis, Flo and Joe explore the ancient world of demons, deities and demonic possession. We discuss Mesopotamian deity and star of ‘The Exorcist’ – Pazuzu, The Seven Princes of Hell and the number of the beast. This festive Halloween episode raises the question about why the media and Hollywood loves making movies about demons and exorcism and we ponder the impact demons had on the everyday lives of ancient communities.

Book Reviews

Dramatic Receptions

Professional Matters

Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends the lower classes prevailing over their superiors and the mildness of the air will be healthy.

… 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)