Hodie est a.d. IV Non. Oct. 2776 AUC ~ 20 Boedromion in the third year of the 700th Olympiad
In the News
- Jawbone fragment belonging to big cat species found in ancient city of Apemeia
- Ancient aqueduct from time of Roman occupation discovered in Jerusalem – The Jerusalem Post
- The inspiring Roman ruins that 50 per cent of Brits are obsessed with
- Kilns used to make bricks for Colchester’s Roman wall found – BBC News
- Roman kilns discovered during nature reserve project | Colchester City Council
In Case You Missed It
Classicists and Classics in the News
Public Facing Classics
Fresh Bloggery
- PaleoJudaica.com: Kraft obituary
- Laudator Temporis Acti: Three Poems by Agathias Scholasticus
- Survey Archaeology and Modern Greece: Some Fragments | Archaeology of the Mediterranean World
- Tragic Tyranny – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
- AWOL – The Ancient World Online: ASOR Early Career Member Resources
- AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Fascist Latin Texts
- AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Paul within Judaism: Perspectives on Paul and Jewish Identity
- Hesiod – The Historian’s Hut
- Terracotta Neck-Amphora Featuring Heracles And Eurystheus, By An Unknown Artist From The 6th century BCE – The Historian’s Hut
- Antonius Creticus And The Silver Bowl Incident – The Historian’s Hut
- The Simpsons: “I, Carumbus” (2020) – Animated Antiquity
- Dierendag – Mainzer Beobachter
- Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: Thinking Things Out: Guidance of British Metal Dectorists
- Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: PAS, What’s Happening in the Preston Museum Artefacts Case?
- #ClassicsTober23 4: Lycaon | Greek Myth Comix
- PaleoJudaica.com: More on that newly uncovered Jerusalem aqueduct
- PaleoJudaica.com: Postdoc on text of Ben Sira, using AI
- PaleoJudaica.com: Codex Sassoon is still “coming home.”
- PaleoJudaica.com: Did Enoch think Qohelet was wicked?
Other Blog-like Publications
- New findings have come to light in Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe
- 300-metre-long ancient aqueduct at Giv‘at Hamatos
- Roman farmstead excavated at Milton, Cambridgeshire | The Past
- If a tree falls in the North…
- 300-metre-long ancient aqueduct found at Giv‘at Hamatos | HeritageDaily – Archaeology News
- After 2 October 44 BCE: To Quintus Cornificius (on the way to Africa?) from Cicero (at Rome)
- Archaeological mission finds hundreds of sealed jars in tomb of Merit-Neith | HeritageDaily – Archaeology News
Fresh Podcasts
This week Jeff and Dave – with the help of Prof. Deborah Roberts (Emerita, Haverford College) – begin their look at tragedian Aeschylus’ magnum opus, Prometheus Bound. We get started with Prof. Roberts providing a lovely reading of the central passage of the play, in which Prometheus explains the many kindnesses he has wrought for the human race. Then we follow up by setting the table with the briefest of looks at the development of tragedy. Next, we dig into the main course with a bit of Greek from the play’s opening, and the fascinating dialogue between smith god Hephaestus and the personifications Power (Κράτος) and Violence (Βία). In addition to examining the perennial central questions of how this telling differs from Hesiod, whether Zeus can be just while mistreating so severely one of his own – who fought for him in fact in his war against the other Titans – we also take a few glances at the vexed question of who really wrote the play. And if threnodic literature is not your cup of tea, don’t worry, there are many wretched puns and inane surrealities along the way.
A small agile nation takes advantage of an unprecedented window of opportunity. As that start-up nation’s influence quickly spreads throughout the Holy Land, it gains the begrudging admiration of its neighboring frenemy states. Sound familiar? But of course, we’re not talking about the modern state of Israel’s hi-tech scene, rather the period in which ancient Israelites founded the biblical United Monarchy some 3,000 years ago. “It’s exactly the time when things changed dramatically. The Egyptian empire that was the ruler of the region collapsed, so the stabilizing force that was here to make sure that these nomads do not interfere and do not disrupt trade and the livelihood of the city-states, this force was not here anymore,” Tel Aviv University Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef, the head of the ongoing Timna Valley Archaeological Expedition, told The Times of Israel this week.
Achilles is one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology. The son of Peleus, a Greek King, and Thetis, a divine sea nymph, Achilles was a demigod with extraordinary strength and courage. The perfect combination to make a great warrior, he is perhaps best known from Homer’s epic poem the Iliad, which details his adventures in the final year of the Trojan War. He’s also gone down in history for his passionate love for his companion, Patroclus. Sources and mythology differ as to the nature of their relationship, and in this episode, we ask the question: was it really erotic? What do the sources say? Does our definition of love differ from that of the Ancient Greeks? And, how did it inspire one of the greatest military generals in history: Alexander of Macedon? To help explore these themes, host Tristan Hughes is joined by returning guest Professor Alastair Blanshard from the University of Queensland.
For the god of healing, Apollo sure does a lot of the exact opposite. Born to a mother on the run from a giant snake, Apollo’s life only gets more chaotic and destructive from there.
The Antonine Plague was a mysterious pandemic that hit the Roman Empire at the peak of its power. Historian Colin Elliott and I discuss what this historical pandemic was like, how the Romans reacted, parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic, and much more.
Book Reviews
- Mary Beard’s Emperor of Rome. Review | The Herald
- Spartokos a lu | guide à la navigation webpontique
- [BMCR] Marco Ercoles, Melanippidis Melii Testimonia et Fragmenta. Dithyrambographi graeci, 2. Pisa: Fabrizio Serra, 2021.
Online Talks and Conference-Related Things
- The Folds of Olympus: Mountains in Ancient Greek Culture
- See what’s happening today in Dr Pistone’s Online Classics Social Calendar
- SCS Events Calendar
Jobs, Postdocs, and other Professional Matters
Alia
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 lower classes gaining advantage over the upper classes and a period of healthy, mild air.
… 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)
rogueclassicism 