Month: February 2021

#Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for February 5, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est Non. Feb. 2774 AUC ~ 22 Gamelion in the fourth year of the 699th Olympiad

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Have you ever wondered if there’s more to history than dates and major events, what some of the stories and daily lives of regular people looked like? Do you need a reminder that history is populated with real people, who had lives just like we do? Come take a sweeping journey back into the past … 

Was there etiquette to starting a battle, or did they just happen? Murray investigates.

Hermes is barely out of his cradle when he comes up with a tricky plan to join the other gods on Mount Olympus. Annoying his big brother Apollo is the first step. Live from Mount Olympus is a production of the Onassis Foundation, and co-produced by The TEAM…

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends a major harvest and destruction for men.

… 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)

#Thelxinoe ~ Classical News for February 4, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est pr. Non. Feb. 2774 AUC ~ 22 Gamelion in the fourth year of the 699th Olympiad

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19. Shiyanthi Thavapalan: Colour in Mesopotamia Shiyanthi throws light on how colour was interpreted in Mesopotamia. What cultural meanings were attached to colours? What was the relation between materials and colours? She explains where they sourced…

“I still cannot believe why the people all around the world—the public people, I mean, the governments or UNESCO, the UN, the others involved in the culture or in humanity—why they do nothing to preserve Palmyra, to stop the attack of the militants of Daesh.” By the 3rd century CE, the ancient city of Palmyra …

What was life like on Hadrian’s Wall? This week, we’re going to explore the living conditions along the Wall–at the forts and the milecastles, in the officers’ quarters and soldiers’ barracks, and in the bustling civilian towns that sprang up around the military encampments. There’s a treasure trove of archaeology at forts along the Wall–especially at Vindolanda, where fragile artifacts are perfectly preserved in deep anaerobic soil.

The four components of the Ancient Indian battlefield: infantry, cavalry, chariots … and elephants. These magnificent creatures were dominant in conflicts to the east of India, in South-East Asia, but also to the west, in Greece and Africa. For this episode, Anirudh Kanisetti and Tristan discussed the role of Indian war elephants, their strengths, weaknesses and training; and what they tell us about Ancient India.

The history of Rome is complex, even in the early Republic. Sometimes it’s hard to keep all the details straight so we thought it might be a good time to try something new. The Partial Recap series will be a scripted overview of each decade of Roman history. First cab off the rank is the decade of the 460s BCE. This is the last complete decade we’ve covered in our Foundation of Rome series, and we’ll be working through the previous decades over the next few months. Part of the benefit of these episodes will be to help refresh the memory of the key events of each year. We’re also trying out a scripted style that easy allows us to share a transcript, which is a good step forward in terms of accessibility for our podcast. As technology progresses, we’re hoping to automate accurate transcripts for our conversational episodes. Join us for a Partial Recap of the 460s BCE!

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, humans will not only appear to be troubled, but also will be troubled in their minds.

… 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)

#Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for February 3, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. III Non. Feb. 2774 AUC ~ 21 Gamelion in the fourth year of the 699th Olympiad

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Inspired by the work I’m doing with CSCP on Pompeii, this is part 1 of a rant so epic I had to cut it in half to fit it into ten minutes! Here are the first two (or last two?) points on my list of the four most annoying things people get wrong about Pompeii. (And thanks to Dr Sophie Hay who helped with Point 1/4!)

Claire Holleran takes us on a jaunt through the streets of Rome to introduce to the sights, sounds and shops!

Roughly two miles south of Hadrian’s Wall lie the remains of Roman Corbridge, the northernmost town of the Roman Empire. The site’s archaeology is unique. The remains highlight what was once a bustling town. As its centre was the high street. Covered walkways, street-side shops and an ornate fountain are just a few of the structures that we know were present along this central road, now known as the Stanegate. Metres away, however, you have the remains of very different structures surviving. Military buildings, ‘mini forts’ that were slotted into Corbridge’s bustling town landscape, when the legionaries returned here in the 2nd century. Though not on Hadrian’s Wall itself, this ancient cosmopolitan town had strong economic connections with those manning this frontier. It is a must-see site for anyone planning to visit Hadrian’s Wall. A few months back, I was fortunate enough to visit Corbridge and be shown around the site by English Heritage curator Dr Frances McIntosh.

Leukon was the tyrant, then king, of the Cimmerian Bosporus, a territory on the Crimean Peninsula, at the very edge of the Greek world. He took the territory, capitalized on its relationship to the rest of the Greek world to create an important Hellenized kingdom that would last for centuries.

In this first of countless (?) episodes on the Odyssey, Jeff and Dave wash ashore on the opening books, Castaway style. Here we find Odysseus’ wife and son, Penelope and Telemachus, besieged in their home on Ithaca by greedy, gluttonous, mindless suitors, and with no idea when Odysseus is ever coming home. As with the Iliad, we consider the first word of the poem — ἄνδρα (andra, man) — and investigate how this might be a guidestone for understanding the epic’s deeper themes. Other key questions: will Telemachus rise to the occasion? How do the meanings of names (glint-eyed Athena) give us insight into character? And what’s Lazy Steve doing in this neck of the woods? Don’t miss the concluding yogurt.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends civil unrest.

… 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)

#Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for February 2, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. IV Non. Feb. 2774 AUC ~ 20 Gamelion in the fourth year of the 699th Olympiad

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Sappho – the legendary gay Greek poet, whose poetry moves people just as much today, as it did in the 6th century. Guest: Daniel Mendelsohn

Tres sodales difficultates tractant, quae ad dormiendum et ad alias quasdam res pertinent.

The second part of our four-part series on Troy: Fall of a City, covering episodes two and three of that show. 

John, Leah, and Jac explore a series of mythologies about origins: world creation, state foundation, and, most rivetingly, the controversial and multi-faceted origins of two Olympian gods in particular.

Domitia was princess of the Julio-Claudians who caught the attention of a young Domitian. As Augusta she kept a low profile, and managed to survive and thrive across three imperial dynasties. Part VI of ‘Empresses of Rome’ Guest: Dr Trudie Fraser (Honorary Fellow, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne).

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends a shortage of wheat, but rather more barley and an increase in livestock. Humans will ail, however.

… 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)

#Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for February 1, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est Kal. Feb. 2774 AUC ~ 19 Gamelion in the fourth year of the 699th Olympiad

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The troubled reigns of Seleucus II Callinicus and Seleucus III marked over 20 years of instability for the empire. A 3rd Syrian War led by a vigorous Ptolemy III Euergetes would penetrate into Syria and Mesopotamia, Parthia saw the invasion of the nomadic Parni, and rebellious officials in places like Pergamon would test the limits of the Seleucid rulers to maintain their quickly fracturing realm. Above all else would be the “War of the Brothers”, as the usurper Antiochus Hierax (“the Hawk”) would challenge his brother Seleucus II and help bring the dynasty to the point of extinction less than a century after its foundation.

Learn the basic tenets and early history of Zoroastrianism, one of the most important and widespread religions in the ancient world, and possibly earth’s oldest living monotheism.

Terence had a short life and left only six complete comic plays, but he moved the genre on from Plautus and other earlier dramatists. The story of his beginnings as a slave and how he came to Rome The circles he moved in and how he got support from the Practician class and Caecilius Statius the best known comic dramatist of the day. A short word on the history of Caecilius Statius and Ambitious Turpio, producer and actor. Contemporary criticisms of Terence and his use of Greek comedies A brief review of the six surviving plays. The untimely death of Terence and his legacy.

The vivid stories of Delilah and Goliath have made the Philistines the most famous villains of the Hebrew Bible. But, for the last two hundred years, explorers, historians, archaeologists, and, now, even geneticists have been working to understand the ancient people behind these famous biblical tales. Join us for an exploration of Philistine origins.

We see how Rome fought the Antonine Plague compared to COVID-19 today, and uncover the unusual relationship between Rome & Han Dynasty China.

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‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends war and the downfall of wealthy men.

… 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)