Month: November 2021

#Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for November 30, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est pr. Kal. Dec. 2774 AUC ~ 26 Maimakterion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

In the News

In Case You Missed It

Greek/Latin News

Public Facing Classics

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Association/Departmental Blogs and News

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Assorted Twitter Threads

Fresh Podcasts

It’s time to welcome LJ Trafford back onto the podcast and talk about her new book, Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Rome. We discuss a number of topics, from homosexuality through to what the sexual expectations were of the time. What did the Romans view as acceptable to get up to and what was considered shameful? Obviously the content here is adult so please bear that it mind.

How might the field of Classics address the unique concerns and questions posed by its students from diverse backgrounds? One valuable way to answer this question is to privilege approaches to the ancient world traditionally eclipsed by literary studies: that is, studying the legacy of ancient works, ideas and associations in other contexts, especially via the study of material culture and classical reception. A complementary approach to the above question is to turn to the classical literary canon itself and consider the potential limits of the texts that are traditionally offered to students as the best of what the ancient world has to offer. It is often by moving outside of these boundaries that students can encounter voices that corroborate their own findings in ancient texts: voices that reject many of the traditional hierarchies still upheld in Classics today and that suggest a classical antiquity already pushing back against its self-valorisation. In this episode, Shivaike Shah speaks to Dr Kathleen Cruz from the University of California at Davis about these very issues.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends god-like conditions for mortals to live in; of course, evils will come eventually.

… 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 November 29, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. III Kal. Dec. 2774 AUC ~ 25 Maimakterion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

In the News

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Fresh Podcasts

Was Homer was influenced by the stories of civilizations to the east of Greece? Joining us to discuss the Hittites and their potential (direct and indirect) influences on the Greek epic tradition is Mary Bachvarova, professor of classics at Willamette University and author of From Hittite to Homer: The Anatolian Background of Ancient Greek Epic

Over the past half a century no one has done more to forward the field of ancient Spartan research than Professor Paul Cartledge. His gravitas and authority on the topic are second to none and his eloquence in describing these ancient warriors is more akin to poetry than prose. His presence on the Spartan History Podcast is most fitting, in that without his extensive body of work, the show would in all likelihood not exist. This is the final episode on the topic of archaic, or more specifically Lycurgan, Sparta . Having previously described the different facets of Spartan societal, political and religious reforms I invited the Professor on to bring’s his considerable knowledge to bear in a succinct summary of the time frame. The conversation at certain points got extremely academic and specific in it’s approach to the task of summary, just the way I like it. It added immense value to my understanding of this confusing era and I trust it adds value to your own.

…In this episode we return to Northumberland to speak to Dr Andrew Birley and Marta Alberti who, alongside their team of archaeologists and volunteers, are constantly discovering more about the people who lived and passed through the site. They describe their findings from 2021, including more information about the other animals at Vindolanda and the post-Roman uses of the fortifications. We also get a glimpse of what we can expect from next year’s work.

This week Patrick and a panel of biographers, historians and classicists discuss the life and legacy of Roman General Scipio Africanus. Joining Patrick on the show are: Author and Historian Adrian Goldsworthy, Dr Catherine Steel, Professor of Classics, University of Glasgow, Dr David Levene, Professor of Classics, Department of Classics, New York University, Professor Federico Santangelo, Professor of Ancient History, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University and Dr John Serrati, Department of Classics and Religious Studies, University of Ottawa.

Thanks to his role in the Maccabean Revolt, Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire played an important part in the history of Judaism. From the prophecies of Daniel to the histories of Josephus, Dr. Joseph Scales joins the show to talk about the perception of Antiochus IV in the Jewish literary tradition, viewed as both an incompetent ruler and great persecutor, and the prototype of the Antichrist.

Nero has some freedmen executed but the stories are murky. The Parthians decide to try their luck taking back Armenia while Corbulo tries to keep the peace.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends good things for the lower classes, but the anticipated fruit harvest will be destroyed.

… 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 November 27, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. V Kal. Dec. 2774 AUC ~ 23 Maimakterion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

In the News

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It’s been a while, but here’s finally a new episode of the Ancient World Magazine podcast. In this episode, Dr Joshua Hall talks with Dr Ulla Rajala (Stockholm University) about Early Rome, with special reference to a number of books that have recently been published on this topic.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

[Saturday] If it thunders today, it portends the same thing (presumably as yesterday)

[Sunday] If it thunders today, it portends the ruin of many wealthy council members due to their cowardice/

… 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 November 26, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. VI Kal. Dec. 2774 AUC ~ 22 Maimakterion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

In the News

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Yes, we’re still here at ASOR, but now we’re interrogating an entirely new crowd about the question of conferences, namely Dr. Margaret Cohen, Professor Alexandra Ratzlaff and Professor Andrea Berlin. The questions are mostly the same, but the answers from these three leading female scholars are quite different.

Josh sent this question in for Murray to ponder over. During the Roman period, we have evidence of reasonably specific units based on (original) area of recruitment. I was wondering if we have anything similar for the Hellenistic/Successor period. Outside of names that were originally geographic but likely became generic terms for a certain type of unit, do we know of any specific recruiting grounds for the innumerable phalangites, thureophoroi, etc. who fought for the Diadochoi?

From Gladiator to Rome Total War to Star Wars, today the Praetorians are one of the most distinctive military units of Imperial Rome. It was their job to protect the Roman Emperor and his household, a task for which they hold a somewhat ‘chequered’ record (especially when we focus in on the Praetorian Prefects). But what do we know about this unit’s origins? How did this powerful force become protectors of the Emperor and his household? What other functions did they serve? And how did they differ from the standard Roman legions in their structure? To talk through the rise of the Praetorian Guard, with a specific focus on the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, Tristan caught up with historian Lindsay Powell at Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex for the Ancients Podcast. Lindsay is the author of several books about the Early Roman Imperial Period. His latest book, Bar Kokhba: The Jew Who Defied Hadrian and Challenged the Might of Rome, is out now.

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Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends civil war and the death of many..

… 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 November 25, 2021

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. VII Kal. Dec. 2774 AUC ~ 21 Maimakterion in the first year of the 700th Olympiad

In the News

In Case You Missed It

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Assorted Twitter Threads

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This is simultaneously an excavation of both Imperial Rome and late 60’s Italian cinema. Joined by the amazing Sarah E. Bond and Gregory Hays, we dig into Frederico Fellini’s dreamlike, even frenetic, adaptation of the Satyricon by Petronius. This is a film which has a lot of offer when it comes to classical reception. In lieu of ‘historically accuracy’ (if we care about such things), Fellini presents us with a fantastical and at times unnerving vision of ancient Rome. In some ways, Fellini Satyricon is the true embodiment of how we receive both Petronius’ work and the ancient world at large: fragmentary, perplexing and often unknowable. Final Verdict (courtesy of SEB): Watch more movies! Care less about accuracy!

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of Plato’s most striking dialogues, in which he addresses the real nature of power and freedom, and the relationship between pleasure and true self-interest. As he tests these ideas, Plato creates powerful speeches, notably from Callicles who claims that laws of nature trump man-made laws, that might is right, and that rules are made by weak people to constrain the strong in defiance of what is natural and proper. Gorgias is arguably the most personal of all of Plato’s dialogues, with its hints of a simmering fury at the system in Athens that put his mentor Socrates to death, and where rhetoric held too much sway over people.

Despite inspiring desire of all kinds in people of all genders, Aphrodite herself is often depicted as a cisgender woman. But not always. Ancient writers tell us of mystery cults that worshipped Aphrodite as a transgender woman–or perhaps as nonbinary or intersex. And when you delve into her most ancient roots, there’s an even older tradition of worship led by transgender priestesses.

What happens when a bunch of archaeologists start drinking bourbon and let their graying hair down? It’s an after hours edition with the one and only Professor James Hardin, who rather charmingly, can’t stay on script. He takes us to some surprising places, including some related to archaeological storytelling.

Classical Greece and Rome have long been intertwined with colonialism. India was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and there were extensive trade and cultural contacts between South Asia and the Mediterranean region. When British colonial rule began in India, one of the frames through which Britons viewed the region was that of Greek and Roman antiquity: they imagined themselves following in the footsteps of Alexander the Great or legendary Roman conquerors. In this episode, Shivaike Shah speaks to Professor Phiroze Vasunia from University College London about the rich and fascinating connections between antiquity, Britain and India in the era of modern colonialism. Their discussions range from Macaulay’s ‘Minute’ on Indian education, to Gandhi’s interest in Greek philosophy and the British scholarly obsession with Indian cultures.

Fresh Youtubery

Book Reviews

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Online Talks and Professional Matters

Alia

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends a dangerous 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)