Hodie est a.d. IV Id. Mai. 2776 AUC ~ 22 Mounichion in the second year of the 700th Olympiad
[in catchup mode … more tomorrow]
In the News
- Declassified documents on Parthenon Marbles reveal rift between UK government and British Museum
- Ancient Roman coin found with metal detector in Poland | Miami Herald
- Copper artifacts reveal changing connections in prehistoric Europe
- Spell It: How ancient Egyptians were masters of iron, long before it was even discovered | Play – Gulf News
- Piazza della Repubblica, the Roman Tergeste re-emerges. The surprising discovery – TRIESTE.news
In Case You Missed It
- Roman fortlet rediscovered on Scotland’s Antonine Wall | The Past
- An International Effort to Tackle Antiquities Trafficking Seized More Than 11,000 Stolen Artifacts Across Europe Last Year
- Metropolitan Museum sets plan to probe collections for looted art | eKathimerini.com
Classicists and Classics in the News
- Pompeii Conservationist Stefania Giudice on Resurrecting the Past – ARTnews.com
- Investigating Iberian roman cities – The Portugal News
- Obituary: George Pepe, expert on Roman history and political theory, 83 – The Source – Washington University in St. Louis
Greek/Latin News
- Ephemeris ~ DE DIURNARIIS Praeconum obitus
- Akropolis World News ~ Ἡνωμένον Βασίλειον
- Ephemeris ~ NOVA PETITIO AB ISRAEL Bellum aërium inter Israelianos et Palaestinos
Public Facing Classics
- Happy ancient Roman Mother’s Day | Pursuit by The University of Melbourne
- King Charles and the implications of oaths | The Spectator
Fresh Bloggery
- Kolchians, Heniochians, Drillians, and others: Arrian on his journey along the Black Sea coast near the Caucasus mountains (ca. 131-132 CE) | Ethnic Relations and Migration in the Ancient World: The Websites of Philip A. Harland
- Mediterranean peoples: Dionysios of Alexandria’s poetic Guide to the Inhabited World (117-138 CE) | Ethnic Relations and Migration in the Ancient World: The Websites of Philip A. Harland
- Circumnavigation authors: A guide to voyage literature on this site | Ethnic Relations and Migration in the Ancient World: The Websites of Philip A. Harland
- Iberians and others: Avienus on a journey along the southern coast of Spain (mid-fourth century CE) | Ethnic Relations and Migration in the Ancient World: The Websites of Philip A. Harland
- PaleoJudaica.com: Shootings near the Djerba synagogue in Tunisia
- PaleoJudaica.com: Funding approved for development of Samaria/Sebastia
- Laudator Temporis Acti: Greek Particles
- Military honors? – Liv Mariah Yarrow
- AWOL – The Ancient World Online: New from the Institute for the Study of Ancien Cultures: ISACS 14. Seen Not Heard: Composition, Iconicity, and the Classifier Systems of Logosyllabic Scripts
- Praising Plato, by the Poet Aristotle – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
- AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Reciprocity, Truth, & Gender in Pindar and Aeschylus
- Trampling Snakes – Liv Mariah Yarrow
- Een muntschat uit de Vlaamse Ardennen – Mainzer Beobachter
- The Horatii Entering Rome, By Adrian van Stalbemt (c. 1580-1662) | The Historian’s Hut
- The Many Mates Of Zeus | The Historian’s Hut
- De slag bij Telamon (1) – Mainzer Beobachter
- De slag bij Telamon (2) – Mainzer Beobachter
- PaleoJudaica.com: Review of Cotton, Roman rule and Jewish life
- Laudator Temporis Acti: Evils
- Every Age a Clodius – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
- De slag bij Telamon (3) – Mainzer Beobachter
- Laudator Temporis Acti: The Moral Character of the Swine
- Casualizing Academic Research | Archaeology of the Mediterranean World
- AWOL – The Ancient World Online: AES AETERNUM: Die Restaurierungsgeschichte der Bronzen aus Berlins Antikensammlung
- AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Travailler à l’ombre du temple: Activités de production et lieux de culte dans le monde antique
- The History Girls: Just how Depraved was Ancient Rome? By L.J. Trafford
- Hoard of Roman Republic denarii on display – The History Blog
- Jordan Peterson Does Not Understand Ancient Languages – Tales of Times Forgotten
- Marketingtaal – Mainzer Beobachter
- Murder on the Nile – Papyrus Stories
- Happiness Can’t Make You Happy! – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
- Recreating Ancient Spectacle – Thoughts on Les Grands Jeux Romains
Association/Departmental Blogs and News
- „disiecta membra“: Ein neues Langzeitforschungsvorhaben zur römischen Steinarchitektur in Deutschland – crossing borders – building contacts
- The View Through the Camera. Photography in Archaeology – DAİstanbul
Other Blog-like Publications
- A new app brings the Acropolis to life
- The Battle of Plataea: A Decisive Victory that Changed History
- Does the Mesha Stele Really Reference the Dynasty of King David of the Bible? – Biblical Archaeology Society
- Late Roman watchtower discovered on Swiss border | HeritageDaily – Archaeology News
- Neoplatonism: How Does it Relate to Plato?
- Staging of religion on rock paintings that are thousands of years old in southern Egypt desert – Arkeonews
- May 12 | Fastorum Liber Quintus: Maius – by M. – Ovid Daily
- May 11 | Fastorum Liber Quintus: Maius – by M. – Ovid Daily
- Plato Solved Social Media’s Problem With Meanness 2,000 Years Ago
- 11 May 44 BCE: To Atticus (at Rome) from Cicero (at Puteoli)
- 11th May 44 BCE: To Atticus (at Lanuvium) from Cicero (at dinner with Vestorius)
- ANE Today – The Maritime Transport of Sculptures in the Ancient Mediterranean
- Rome and the Coinages of the Mediterranean Conference: Part II
- The mythical hero of Troy and Rome Aeneas’s peerless mosaic discovered in Türkiye – Arkeonews
Fresh Podcasts
The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the norm. Now there’s a push to return these works to their rightful owners. Sounds simple, right? It’s not. (Part 2 of “Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard.”)
In this episode of The Ancients, host Tristan Hughes speaks with historian Honor Cargill-Martin about the notorious Empress Messalina, third wife of Emperor Claudius. A lot has been said about Messalina over two millennia: that she was a nymphomaniac who organised orgies and engaged in prostitution, even going so far as to work as a prostitute in the streets of Rome, or had sex with 25 men in 24 hours, are just a few examples. Cargill-Martin sheds light on the political and social climate of ancient Rome during Messalina’s reign and how she was a complex figure who deserves a more nuanced understanding.
Welcome to 423 BCE and your introduction to the one and only Sextus Tempanius! You may not know his name just yet, but we’re pretty sure you’ll be as impressed with him as we are. Suffice it to say, 423 BCE is one of the more interesting and dramatic years of the decade….
Robert asks, ‘Why javelins? It seems that a bow would be a much better weapon for a skirmish in the ancient world, but it seems that javeLin armed light troops may have been the most common type in Europe. Additionally, if using javelins, why not an atlatl to throw them with? This would make a difference in hitting a target, but one has to believe that range would be an important factor while skirmishing.’
While much of the Roman Empire was lost during the rule of Gallienus, We don’t really know how much of that is his fault, or really get a sense of his reign. Was he responsible for the loss of territory, or was he just a victim of the time? Part IV of ‘Gallienus’ Guest: Associate Professor Caillan Davenport (Head of the Centre for Classical Studies at the Australian National University).
Rome eventually became the heart of one of the largest and most powerful empires the world has ever known, but in the beginning, it was just a collection of villages on the Tiber River. How those villages merged and became a city, then a state, is one of the crucial stories in human history.
Liv reads Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book 7, translated by Brookes More. It’s time for none other than MEDEA and Jason… and some other happenings including a hint of Theseus and the little Myrmidon ants.
Book Reviews
- BMCR ~ Milinda Hoo, Eurasian localisms: towards a translocal approach to Hellenism and inbetweenness in central Eurasia, third to first centuries BCE. Oriens et Occidens, 41. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2022.
- BMCR ~ Anna Magdalena Blomley, A landscape of conflict? Rural fortifications in the Argolid (400–146 BC). Abingdon: Archaeopress, 2022.
Online Talks and Conference-Related Things
- Dickinson Summer Latin Workshop 2023: Navigatio Brendani | Dickinson College Commentaries
- Dickinson Digital Latin Workshop July 12-15, 2023 | Dickinson College Commentaries
- Conventiculum Dickinsoniense 2023 | Dickinson College Commentaries
- Dickinson Summer Greek Workshop 2023: Plutarch, Bravery of Women | Dickinson College Commentaries
Jobs, Postdocs, and other Professional Matters
- Academic employee (f/m/d) in Classical Philology: Greek Literature
- Placement:Service | Society for Classical Studies
Alia
- Ancient Egyptian tablet is an “attendance sheet” listing excuses for missing work | Boing Boing
- Queen Cleopatra: 8 Reasons Why She Was Such a Powerful Ruler
- The Story of Oedipus: The Most Tragic of All Greek Myths
- The Mystery of the Ancient Greek Statues Found in Italy
Diversions
‘Sorting’ Out Your Day:
- Homeromanteion | Online Homeric Oracle
- Sortes Virgilianae (English)
- Sortes Virgilianae (Latin)
- Consult the Oracle at UCL
Today on the Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar:
If it thunders today, it portends the destruction of fish.
… 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)