Month: February 2023

Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for February 3, 2023

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. III Non. Feb. 2776 AUC ~ 13 Gamelion 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

Association/Departmental Blogs and News

Other Blog-like Publications

Assorted Twitter Threads

Fresh Podcasts

We’re back with a special, in-person episode recorded at the annual SCS/AIA meeting in New Orleans, LA. Christie pitches us on looking at the second season of HBO’s The White Lotus through the lens of Hesiod and the idea of kalon kakon, the beautiful and the bad. We talk sex, relationships, betrayal, murder, tragedy, didactic poetry and the dangers women pose to your grain storage.

An interesting ‘what if’ quest from Jeff, who asks Murray for his thoughts on ‘what if the Roman Empire had never fallen and was still around today, what would the world look like? And what do you think a modern Roman Empire would be like?”

Part of the making of Octavian was the victories he had early in his career. He defeated his rivals, conquered territory, and united the senate behind him whether they liked it or not. One of those territories was Illyria, in which he conducted campaigns during the quiet years before his final battles against Egypt and Antony. It’s perhaps in Illyria that we see Octavian display his greatest acts of bravery, if not ability. Guest: Dr Christopher Gribbin (Adjunct Lecturer, La Trobe University)

Liv speaks with Stephen Hodkinson, expert in all things Sparta. They discuss Sparta throughout history including its use in politics from the founding of the USA to Nazi Germany to modern day misuses of Spartan culture and history.

In the second of two episodes on Roman Scotland the chat turns to the three main campaigns which Rome undertook there. What was Rome trying to achieve? What do we really know about them? How did they differ and what can they tell us in a wider context? We discuss this and much more (including answering some questions sent in).

Fresh Youtubery

Book Reviews

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 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, 2023

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est a.d. IV Non. Feb. 2776 AUC ~ 12 Gamelion in the second year of the 700th Olympiad

In the News

In Case You Missed It

Greek/Latin News

Public Facing Classics

Fresh Bloggery

Association/Departmental Blogs and News

Other Blog-like Publications

Assorted Twitter Threads

Fresh Podcasts

We’re joined today by Sara Richard—our Eisner and Ringo Award–nominated illustrator for the Women of Myth series. Sara worked with us to create the amazing illustrations for Women of Myth. Join us as we take you behind the scenes to discuss what it was like illustrating these incredible characters; which women of myth Sara felt the strongest connection to; Sara and Jenny’s shared love of SKULLS and historic graveyards; and what’s in Sara’s Cabinet of Curiosities.

The Iron Age Mediterranean’s new density of connections between people and places was about more than the economy and trade; it also remade the culture of the whole region, bringing new ideas and practices – such as wine-drinking and the alphabet – across its entire expanse. Professor Tamar Hodos is one of the world’s leading experts on the Iron Age Mediterranean, and she joins me to talk about archaeology, globalization, and the tools we can use to understand the past.

After nearly four centuries of Roman rule, the Roman Empire decides to abandon Britain in circa 410AD, initiating the near century long chaos of “Sub-Roman Britain.” Sub-Roman Britain is known best for the vacuum of power it created, as well as the rise of the Anglo-Saxsons in Britain. We also meet a most singular figure, the notoriously charismatic Alaric I: The Scourge of Rome, that would go on to sacking the city of Rome itself!

Fresh Youtubery

Book Reviews

Exhibition Related Things

Dramatic Receptions

Online Talks and Conference-Related Things

Jobs, Postdocs, and other Professional Matters

Research Papers of Possible Interest

Alia

Diversions

‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:

Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:

If it thunders today, it portends a decline in wheat, an increase in barley, and an increase in livestock, but humans will be hungry.

… 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, 2023

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Hodie est Kal. Feb. 2776 AUC ~ 11 Gamelion in the second year of the 700th Olympiad

In the News

In Case You Missed It

Classicists and Classics in the News

Fresh Bloggery

Other Blog-like Publications

Assorted Twitter Threads

Fresh Podcasts

The Iron Age Mediterranean’s new density of connections between people and places was about more than the economy and trade; it also remade the culture of the whole region, bringing new ideas and practices – such as wine-drinking and the alphabet – across its entire expanse. Professor Tamar Hodos is one of the world’s leading experts on the Iron Age Mediterranean, and she joins me to talk about archaeology, globalization, and the tools we can use to understand the past.

“The Nineveh Wall has been restored and all the commercial developments surrounding it have been stopped.”

This is the city, Uruk. I was working the day shift out of the Eanna Temple when the call came in about a missing sheep and tunic. We picked up the perp pretty quickly and he started to sing, so we rolled up 39 of his pals. But word came down that the great and the good were putting up bail. That’s when the king got involved and things got interesting.

This week, Anna has some big questions about the Pleiades, a group of bright, beautiful stars also known as the Seven Sisters. The myth of seven sisters that were turned into stars is remarkably consistent across multiple cultures. Also, it’s always seven sisters, even though you can really only make out six with the naked eye. So what’s going on? IS IT ALIENS?? No, of course not. It’s much more interesting than that. Tune in to learn just how long humans have been telling each other stories under the stars.

In this episode we talk to the authors of two new books on Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the Latin epic poem he wrote in 8 CE. Stephanie McCarter has published a new translation of the poem, and Gareth Williams has written a short interpretive introductory work on the epic to go with the Columbia Core Curriculum. We talked with both of them about the way Ovid fits into contemporary society, what considerations there are when teaching this epic, and the joys and difficulties of engaging with Ovid’s poetic brilliance.

How does the presence of a cultural heritage site on the battlefield change wartime decision making? In 1944, as Allied generals postponed an attack on an Axis stronghold—located at the culturally important Catholic abbey Monte Cassino—they had to consider the potential for loss of life, the cultural significance of the abbey, the negative propaganda they would face for attacking a religious site, and the possible strategic alternatives to an all-out attack. Political scientists Ron E. Hassner and Scott D. Sagan make the case that the presence of cultural heritage sites is always an important consideration for troops in both offensive and defensive positions—even in cases where those sites are ultimately destroyed. In this episode, hosted by former Getty President Jim Cuno, Hassner and Sagan discuss battles from WWII through the current war in Ukraine to explore how politicians and military officials think about cultural heritage sites during times of war.

Fresh Youtubery

Book Reviews

Exhibition Related Things

Dramatic Receptions

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 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)