Month: August 2021

#Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for August 19, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. XIV Kal. Sept. 2774 AUC ~ 11 Metageitnion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

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We sit down to talk to the fabulous Professor Ray Laurence from Macquarie University in this special episode about urban space in Pompeii and the place of children within the society. These topics are close to his heart as his work mostly focuses on:

An exploration of Thetis, the daughter of Nereus, wife to King Peleus, and mother of Achilles. She played a pivotal role in Achilles’ life and in the fallout of the Trojan War.

Hades and Persephone have one of the most well-known myths, but did you know the whole debacle might be Aphrodite and Eros’ fault? In this episode, we delve deep into the origins of the myth with the Homeric Hymns’ and Ovid’s poetry to examine the way they treat Demeter’s smothering, Hades’ villainization and Persephone’s agency. Joining us for this episode is Queen’s University doctoral candidate, Jessica Caravaggio.

Long time listeners of our show will know we are now on summer break. However, we didn’t want to leave you lonely this summer, so we are taking some of our classic episodes and taking out some of the more offensive language in case you ever wanted to share with more sensitive ears. Today we’re re-visiting the epic life of Cleopatra (comin’ atcha). Enjoy!

Dr. Stephen Sansom, a Classics postdoc at Cornell University, joins Lexie to discuss whether post baccalaureates are helpful to getting into grad school, talk about how studying poetry can make you cool, and explore how the field of “Classics” might benefit from a name change. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week’s exciting odyssey!

Linear A is the writing system that was used by Minoans on the Island of Crete in the Bronze Age. Undeciphered for over a century, Dr Brent Davis, The University of Melbourne, joins the show to explain what is and isn’t known about this ancient writing system.

It is the one possible case of urbanisation in Britain prior to the arrival of the Romans, and that is just the start of the story of Colchester. In this chat with Tristan, Dr Frank Hargrave from Colchester Museum reveals the city’s long and prestigious ancient history. From the Bronze Age to Boudica.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends murders being committed by women and members of the servile class.

… 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 August 18, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. XV Kal. Sept. 2774 AUC ~ 10 Metageitnion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

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Howard talks to University of Oxford classicist and musician Armand D’Angour about the challenges of reconstructing ancient Greek music, what the young Socrates might have been like and how we might reliably comprehend what life in Periclean Athens was really like.

What better way to ring in our 50th than with the ribald, ridiculous, and righteous ruckus that is Athenian Old Comedy? After a quick trip through the quasi-mythic origins of comedy, Dave and Jeff dive into the particulars of Aristophanes’ Frogs.  In this play we find ourselves in 405 BC and the great tragedian Euripides has just died. Dionysus, the god of tragedy itself, decides that because there are now no good poets left he’ll go down into Hades and bring Euripides back from the dead. And from there it just gets weirder. So settle in with a big bowl of beef-n-bean stew and see whether Dave can keep from blushing from all the scatology, orJeff can stop from gushing over his own translation. Oh, and watch out for that little bottle of oil.

The fifth century BCE was not only important for the history of theatre in Athens, but formative for the industry, as a whole. Dr. Andrew Walker White, George Mason University, joins the show to treat this period in history and drama.

Michela Luiselli gives us a brilliant overview of religion and every day worship in Ancient Egypt.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends civil war.

… 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 August 16, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. XVI Kal. Sept. 2774 AUC ~ 9 Metageitnion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

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He was one of the greatest rebels of Rome from the 1st century AD, but his name is not one you might initially think of. Derided by Roman historians as being little more than a bandit, the truth is very much the opposite. For several years, between 17 and 24 AD, Tacfarinas led a revolt against the Romans in North Africa, sending the province into turmoil and becoming the bane of all troops stationed there to fight him. Several times the Romans believed they defeated Tacfarinas and his Berber followers. Several times they were proved wrong as time after time Tacfarinas emerged from the desert with a new force to wreak havoc on wealthy North Africa. For too long, Tacfarinas’ name has been side-lined in favour of more famous 1st century AD Roman rebels such as Boudica, Arminius and Caratacus. Now we’re going to right that wrong. Joining Tristan on today’s podcast is Dr Jo Ball, an Ancients veteran having been on the show twice before. Together Tristan and Jo talk through the incredible story of Tacfarinas and why he really was ‘the Desert Hydra.’

By many standards, Ptolemy’s reign in Egypt was successful, including an heir, Ptolemy II, who succeeded him without turbulence. Professor Ian Worthington, Macquarie University, returns to the show to analyze Ptolemy’s pharaohship in Egypt.

It’s all about Mary this week on the podcast! We are joined by archaeologist and PtP webmaster Dr. Sabrina Higgins, who takes us through catacombs, churches, and monasteries in Egypt, Syria, and Rome to trace the emergence of the cult of the Virgin Mary in the Mediterranean. Dr. Higgins discusses how Mariologists uncover signs of early worship of the mother of Jesus Christ, and emphasizes the role of artistic depictions of the saint and other material culture in tracing the diffusion of Marian veneration.

It’s time for a reckoning! Or, to be more accurate, a number of reckonings. We talk to Dr. Stephen Chrisomalis, a linguistic anthropologist who specializes in the anthropology of mathematics and the interaction of language, cognition, and culture, about his new book Reckonings. It’s a fascinating discussion of how we write and represent numbers, and how that’s changed over the years. Why don’t we use Roman numerals any more? It’s more complicated than you might think…

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends sadness for the lower classes.

… 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 August 15, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. XVII Kal. Sept. 2774 AUC ~ 8 Metageitnion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

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Heus, you want to learn Latin? Salve sodalis, you have come to the right place. This is a Latin podcast for beginners. With the series “Litterae Latinae Simplices”, you will set up for a journey into Latin literature, in easy spoken Latin.

Pompeii comes into the records in the seventh century BCE, and more materially, in the sixth. Dr. Ivo Van der Graaff, University of New Hampshire, Durham, joins the show to discuss what scholars know about Pompeii in the sixth century BCE.

Persepolis is arguably the most famous ancient site associated with the Achaemenid Persian Empire, but it certainly wasn’t the only administrative centre of this ancient superpower. In this second part of our interview with Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd talks us through some of the other key urban centres of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. From Susa to Ecbatana to Pasargadae. Lloyd is a Professor in Ancient History at Cardiff University. His new book, Persians: The Age of Great Kings, will be out next year.

We’re shifting gears a little with this episode as I’m joined by Dr Jeremy Swist, lecturer and classicist at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. Dr Swist is an expert in the field of classical reception within the genre of Heavy Metal Music. This style exhibits a very particular type of Laconophilia or, affection for Sparta. In our discussion we go back to the beginnings of Laconophilia and trace its transcendence through time to the current era. Classical reception itself is a fascinating field and we take a look at its traditions and various facets along with the burgeoning study of it within fields a little more eclectic. The concepts of duty, defiance and dedication are ones easily associated with Sparta and in turn, lend themselves to Heavy Metal which was born out of governmental tyrannies, real and perceived of the early 1970s. This episode was the most fun I’ve ever had on the show since its inception and I wholeheartedly thank Dr Swist for his time and expertise. So, put your index and pinky finger up proudly and enjoy the latest from Spartan History Podcast.

As the power couple of the Mediterranean, Ptolemy III and Berenice II Euergetes (Benefactor)would oversee the apogee of Hellenistic Egypt. Ptolemy’s successful blitzkrieg against the Seleucid Empire during the Third Syrian War would see a near-total conquest of Syria and Mesopotamia, and brought their northern rivals to their knees. As one of the most formidable women in all of the ancient world, Berenice would be immortalized through the poetry of Callimachus and possessed an unprecedented amount of personal power compared to any royal lady of the time.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends an enduring peace.

… 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 August 14, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. XIX Kal. Sept. 2774 AUC ~ 6 Metageitnion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

In the News

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Anchorites rejected many aspects of ordinary life and practiced denying various bodily pleasures. Professor Andrew Jotischky, Royal Holloway, University of London, returns to the show to discuss ancient anchorites in the Mediterranean Basin.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends war for everyone but an abundance of crops.

… 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)