Day: November 3, 2022

Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for November 3, 2022

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. III Non. Nov. 2775 AUC ~ 10 Maimakterion in the second year of the 700th Olympiad

In the News

In Case You Missed It

Classicists and Classics in the News

Greek/Latin News

Public Facing Classics

Fresh Bloggery

Other Blog-like Publications

Assorted Twitter Threads

Fresh Podcasts

Here’s a new podcast in spoken Latin for intermediate / advanced learners, “Rara avis”. Bene audite!

More than 3,000 years ago a group of powerful and intricately connected Mediterranean kingdoms collapsed over the course of just a few decades. The palaces of Mycenaean Greece were destroyed, entire cities in Hittite Turkey were abandoned, and whole empires disintegrated. Some civilisations disappeared completely. But what caused the so-called Bronze Age collapse – climate change, trade breakdown, internal rebellion, or a mysterious group of invaders known as the ‘Sea Peoples’? Some historians have called the aftermath a ‘dark age’, but was it really as gloomy as that, and might this period of wealth, pressure, and decline offer us any lessons today? Rajan Datar is joined by İlgi Gerçek, assistant professor of ancient Near Eastern languages and history at Bilkent University, in Ankara; Eric Cline, professor of classics, history, and anthropology at The George Washington University, in Washington DC, and author of ‘1177BC: The Year Civilisation Collapsed’; and Marc van de Mieroop, professor of history at Columbia University, in New York.

3/4. How much do we know about Tutankhamun, his short life and even shorter reign? Dan unravels the complicated legacy of Tutankhamun’s predecessor Akhenaten who changed the very fabric of Egyptian society, leaving his son Tutankhamun to change it back. In life, the boy pharaoh was plagued by health complications and died aged 18, leaving very little information about his life. Dan and Egyptologist Dr Campbell Price look to his tomb to see what it can tell us about his reign, death and funeral.

Tutankhamun is one of the most famous names in ancient history. Known as the ‘Boy King’, he ascended the Egyptian throne at the age of 9 and ruled for just under a decade. In this time, there’s evidence of his sporting activities, his religious restoration, and even his penchant for an ancient Egyptian board game. But is there more to the Boy King than his tomb tells us? In this episode, Tristan is joined by Professor Joyce Tyldesley to launch our new November mini-series diving into all things Tutankhamun. Together they discuss what the available sources tell us about Tutankhamun’s life, and help debunk some of the popular myths out there about King Tut.

We fly over to New Asgard and Omnipotence City to talk gods and god butchers with special guest Jason Nethercut. We dig into Thor in the MCU, the relation between myth and Marvel comics, and one big question that’s thundering our bolts: what is a god? Are we gods? Is the hammer a god? Are we the hammer? Probably no, on all counts…

Understanding ancient monuments requires a careful eye as well as detective work to delve into the representations and their layers of meaning. In this interview we are joined by Dr Victoria Austen to consider the representation of foliage on the Ara Pacis Augustae and the Garden Room of Livia’s villa. Both these structures hold a special place for scholars interested in the Augustan period and studying them together reveals fruitful connections for considering the messages Augustus sought to convey about his rule…

Serial killers may seem like a modern phenomenon. But there were serial killers in operation in the ancient world—or so it would seem. Evidence for them is everywhere—in mythology and in history, we see predators killing their victims in surprisingly modern ways. Was it easier to be a serial killer in ancient Greece and Rome? Could they find victims more easily and operate more anonymously than they can today? Were there roles and professions that gave cover to those born with an urge to kill? Were the streets of Rome and the hills of Greece a playground for serial killers? In this episode, author and expert Debbie Felton helps us answer those questions.

Fresh Youtubery

Book Reviews

Exhibition Related Things

Online Talks and Conference-Related Things

Jobs, Postdocs, and other Professional Matters

Alia

Diversions

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends a situation where the lower classes will oppress their superiors. 

… 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)