#Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for August 13, 2021

Hodie est id. Sext. 2774 AUC ~ 5 Metageitnion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

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The Mycenaeans were prehistoric Greek people. Dr. Kim Shelton, University of California, Berkley, joins the show to share what’s known about their settlements on mainland Greece and how the settlements would have been used in the Bronze Age.

Andrew sent us this question, ‘I was wondering how the intertwining of heroic figures into people’s lineage, was viewed by the common people.’ Murray gives us his opinion.

… In this first episode on Herodotus, we will look at who Herodotus was, as much as the known information lets us. We will also turn to looking at what his ambitious work, the Histories would cover. There is so much more than just a historical account, with geography, anthropology, ethnography, folklore and even hints of Philosophy. His work would be broken up into nine books into the medieval period, each book denoting a scroll that the Histories was originally written on. Within these books would be many digressions that Herodotus would become well known for and where we see many of the elements that would make this so much more than a history come into play. We also look at the potential sources Herodotus would have used, from written accounts, his enquires and his own observations. We take for granted the process of gathering sources today, but back 2500 years ago there would have been a number of hurdles for someone seeking reason for events in the past.

With Seneca out of the way, Tigellinus brings down the other prefect, Rufus. To strengthen his relationship with Nero, he increases his paranoia about the two men Nero had recently exiled for being threats to his power – Plautus and Sulla. Poppaea, not happy with Nero just divorcing Octavia, makes sure she gets rid of her forever.

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Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends a plague that will affect the bodies of both humans and animals

… 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 12, 2021

Hodie est pr. id. Sext. 2774 AUC ~ 4 Metageitnion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

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Among Pompeii’s great wealth of surviving artefacts is one with a rich globe trotting history that only goes to emphasise the interconnected nature of the ancient world: the Pompeii Lakshmi, a small statuette originally crafted in India. But what do we know about this object? Does it really depict Lakshmi? How might it have reached Pompeii? Where in India do we think it was crafted? Laura Weinstein came on the podcast to answer all these questions and talk through what we know about this iconic object.

It’s only four little letters, well maybe five, but another tiny Iron Age inscription has raised more than a few eyebrows. What’s the significance of this latest scribble? Is it the name of a biblical character, or the name of a guy who didn’t want his lunch stolen? And why are our panelists talking about being stuck in a suburban cul-de-sac?

This week the throw-down continues as Dave, Jeff, and Dr. Patrick M. Owens dig into a pile of Latin textbooks and see which ones are worthy of a podium finish. Need to brush up on your ecclesiastical Latin? You’d better know your Collins from your Henle. Do the names “Cambridge” and “Oxford” conjure images of Britishy erudition? Maybe not so fast. Dashed off caricatures of oddly proportioned “melon heads” not your thing? Learn which books NOT to open. So, tune in ( if you can take a break from gilding your cute little Duolingo owl and trying to advance to the Amethyst League). Also, Rosetta Stone, Ossa Latinitatis, and Hans Ørberg.

From the second she rolled out of the carpet in Caesar’s chambers (or climbed out of a sac) the chemistry between Cleopatra and Caesar is what legends are made of. However, their romance took place against a backdrop of civil war and siege. Who gains control of Egypt and where is Cleopatra’s brother/husband? Find out by tuning into this weeks episode!

To understand the Italian Community, Samnites, in the Iron Age (9th to 6th centuries), scholars predominantly rely on funerary evidence. Dr. Rafael Scopacasa returns to the show to share what’s known about the community in this period of time.

The Second Secession is a contested moment in Roman’s early republican history. The fallout from two key events lead us to this point according to our later written sources: one is the murder of Lucius Siccus Dentatus “the Roman Achilles” and the other is the murder of the young plebeian Verginia (also known as Virginia). We’ll be exploring what the sources can tell us and what we might make of this challenging moment in Rome’s history.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Catullus (c84-c54 BC) who wrote some of the most sublime poetry in the late Roman Republic, and some of the most obscene. He found a new way to write about love, in poems to the mysterious Lesbia, married and elusive, and he influenced Virgil and Ovid and others, yet his explicit poems were to blight his reputation for a thousand years. Once the one surviving manuscript was discovered in the Middle Ages, though, anecdotally as a plug in a wine butt, he inspired Petrarch and the Elizabethan poets, as he continues to inspire many today.

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‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

It it thunders today, it portends an abundance of cattle feed and acorns, but at the first season’s ripening, things will change for the worse.

… 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 11, 2021

Hodie est a.d. III id. Sext. 2774 AUC ~ 3 Metageitnion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

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The Pompeiians had a wide variety of products at their disposal. Dr Ria Berg, Director, Institutum Romanum Finlandiae, joins the show to discuss the products that were being used in Pompeii by the 1st century CE.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends a good harvest, but things will be bad for reptiles and harmful to humans.

… 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 10, 2021

Hodie est a.d. IV id. Sext. 2774 AUC ~ 2 Metageitnion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

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In the ancient period, Delphi offered highly sought-after oracular services, hosted quadrennial sporting games, and was a nexus for culture and information sharing. Professor Michael Scott, Warwick University, joins the show to discuss Delphi in the ancient period.

Magic was an essential part of the Roman world. You could use it in love, revenge, profit, life and death. All levels of Roman society made use of it, and it was an integral part of the understanding of both religion and medicine. Guest: Professor Daniel Ogden (Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter)

The sights, smells, and sounds of an ancient Roman bakery might surprise you…in this episode, historian and archaeologist Dr. Jared Benton joins the show to tell us all about the economics of ancient Roman bread-baking, from the household level to industrial-scale production and how that differed in Italy and North Africa. Come break bread with us as we take a tour of an ancient Roman bakery and listen in on a conversation that ranges from capitalism, social classes, Ostia, Djemila, and…donkeys!

B. C. is joined by Professor Ray Laurence for a talk about Ancient Roman cities. Their character, their components, their legacy. Gods and emperors at the games, ordinary folk in the streets.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends pain, suffering, and misery for the majority of people.

… 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 9, 2021

Hodie est a.d. V id. Sext. 2774 AUC ~ 1 Metageitnion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

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In 6 CE, inhabitants of the Province of Illyricum rebelled against Roman rule, resulting in a four-year war, known as the Batonian War (6-9 CE). Dr Danijel Džino, Macquarie University, joins the show to explain what’s known about the uprising.

In Greek mythology, the Trojan prince, Paris, choosing Aphrodite as the most beautiful Goddess, laid the antecedents for the Trojan War. Professor Joel Christensen, Brandeis University, returns to the show to discuss who Paris is in Greek tradition.

Often found high on the list of Rome’s worst emperors, the short reign of the teenager Elegabalus in the early 3rd century AD is filled with controversy. But it was also a time when several remarkable women came to the fore in the Roman Empire, playing central roles in both the rise and fall of this young emperor. In this podcast late Severan Empresses expert Matilda Brown, currently studying for her PhD at Edinburgh University and old amigo of Tristan, came on the show to shine a light on these female figures: Julia Maesa, Julia Soaemias and Julia Mamaea. From a dramatic battle outside Antioch to a deadly sibling rivalry that ended in bloodshed, this was an awesome chat.

Athanasius (c. 297-373) wrote a wildly popular biography of the desert hermit St. Antony, touting the ideals of asceticism and triumph over demonic temptation.

We take a brief trip to the Horn of Africa and the lands of the Blue Nile which became a significant trade centre as the gateway between the Red Sea and the oceans beyond.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends good health for people for a full year.

… 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)