Category: Popculch

Boris Johnson ‘On Tour’

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

As long as we’re talking about our favourite mayor of London, we might as well mention this item from the travel pages of the Australian … Johnson is taking the writer on a bicycle tour of the city … an excerpt of the Classical bits:

[…] Boris has written a book on “the people that made the city that changed the world”, and his publishers thought it would be fun if he re-enacted it for me. The plan was to start at the Monument at 7am, but within three seconds of arriving, the plans change. Boris announces we should start at Bishopsgate with Boudicca. “Oh, we’ve gone the wrong way,” he says, two minutes later.

“Let’s just do a U-turn here — we’ve got to break the law a bit. Although, just for the record, I want to say I wasn’t actually breaking the law. That was a perfectly legal manoeuvre.”

Some time later we’re on Bishopsgate as sort of planned and, with renewed composure and a crumpled suit flapping in the chill morning breeze, Boris asks me to imagine the wooden houses of AD60 instead of the glass and steel of 21st-century London.

“Act I, Scene I. This is where Suetonius Paulinus met the poor inhabitants of the colony — well, actually, the town. Colchester was the colony; London was already up-and-coming. And here he is, poor old Suetonius Paulinus. He’s come all the way down the A5 from North Wales.”

“Boris!” shouts a man on a bicycle. “Morning!” shouts Boris to the biker. “The Iceni are coming with a big-breasted Boudicca. An absolutely brass-bosomed, bonkers Boudicca — an Essex girl. A wronged woman. Suetonius Paulinus meets the Londoners and they beg him. They say, ‘Suetonius, help, we’re going to get massacred.’ And he says, ‘Sorry, folks, there’s nothing I can do.’ “

“Morning, Boris!” Another biker. “Morning! Right, off to the next place.” […]

via: On your bike, Boris (Australian)

Even More Classical Beer

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 4 Comments

Tip ‘o the pileus to Max Nelson of UWindsor fame for pointing us to some more beer brands to have at our ultimate Classical conference. We’ll just mention in passing this Caesar Augustus (a lager/IPA hybrid … hmmmm) and Julius (which is no longer in production). I was almost disappointed in the Hadrian Border Brewery’s offering, until I made it to the bottom of the page … this is a nice selection:

… and a couple more which I figure are worth mentioning:

… it’s starting to look like we’ll have to hold this conference in the UK to get the best variety. So our American friends will be responsible for bringing the Pliny the Elder, we Canucks will bring the Clamato for the Caesars, and we’ll see what’s in season when we get to the UK …

Just to keep the catering list together:

Boris Johnson Orates Armand D’Angour’s Olympian Ode!!

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Several tips ‘o the pileus accrue to Caroline Lawrence, who attended the unveiling of the official plaque — they’re big on plaques in the UK — commemorating Dr D’Angour’s Pindar-inspired Olympian Ode, at which event Boris Johnson reprised his performance thereof. It does not appear to be the sort of thing which could have been presented in a toga; not sure about Greek garb, but:

If you missed our previous coverage:

More Classical Beers for that Conference

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

As I notice an emperor (whose birthday was yesterday) pining on twitter (and I sort of feel responsible ):

Allow me to draw folks’ attention to the efforts of the fine folks at the Milton Brewery … first, they have an Imperator Collection:

… there are a few more in this category as well … the idea of a Julio-Claudian evening is kind of interesting though. They also feature a Classic Range (with assorted divinities/myths) and a Seven Wonders Range … a couple in the Ancient Cities range are within our purview as are several in the Specials range (more mythical types). Check them out at their website …

 

 

More Classical Gore Vidal

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Scoop has an interesting reprise of an interview with Gore Vidal by our long-time correspondent (in the ‘original’ sense that we have corresponded by email, not that she works for us) Susan Mazur … here’s the part that pertains to us:

[…] My chat with Gore Vidal follows:

Suzan Mazur: Did you eventually see the film Caligula?

Gore Vidal: I have never seen the film. I had no connection with the film that was made. I did read the dubbing script and that is all I have to say about the movie. Period.

Suzan Mazur: A good bit of the film was supposedly historically accurate.

Gore Vidal: You must discuss that with the people who made it. I didn’t.

Suzan Mazur: One subject that was not discussed were the years in exile of Caligula’s family — many of whom were sent to the Pontine Islands off the coast of Rome. Do you know what those islands were like then other than that they were probably very barren in 25 BC?

Gore Vidal: They’re still very barren. Capri’s marvelous. Capri had the villas of the Emperor Augustus, the villas that had been added to by Tiberius, who moved the government there pretty much during his last years. It was all very much built up.

Suzan Mazur: What about Ponza, Ventotene? You’ve been to these islands in recent years?

Gore Vidal: Rather barren. Was on a boat offshore once.

Suzan Mazur: The women of Caligula’s family seem to have gotten the short end of the stick. Scribonia, wife of Augustus, on down the Julio-Claudian tree to Nero’s first wife, Octavia, were exiled on Ventotene and Ponza. Why were the women always being sent into exile? Nero was born on Ponza These islands were where the imperial women were banished.

Gore Vidal: My period is 4th century AD. I wrote a book called Julian and of the 5th century BC, a book called Creation. The rest you can get from Suetonius and Tacitus, the only authorities we have on this period.

Suzan Mazur: But in researching the script for Caligula. .

Gore Vidal: Suetonius and Tacitus will tell you all you need to know. I’ve not read either book in quite some time. This movie was a mild footnote to my life and the period is not mine.

Suzan Mazur: Can you remember anything about Julia, daughter of Augustus? Her years of exile on the island of Pandataria, now called Ventotene?

Gore Vidal: I’ve read about it and forgotten it.

Suzan Mazur: Julia brought the cult of Venus-Isis to the island.

Gore Vidal: I would doubt that very much. The cult of Isis arrived in Rome about the 3rd century BC — long before she was born.

Suzan Mazur: Julia called it Venus-Isis, an adaptation.

Gore Vidal: Well Isis-Cibele was the one that came in the 3rd century BC. The temple can still be seen on Palatine Hill. This was perhaps a variation of it. I don’t know.

Suzan Mazur: Do you know what went on in these cults?

Gore Vidal: Mystery cults. We don’t know.

Suzan Mazur: Julia, who acquired a reputation as an adulteress, seems to have been a victim. Her first two husbands died. She then married Tiberius who was extremely cold to her and moved himself into his splended villa on Capri to get away from her, joined by scholars, slaves, etc. Julia was abandoned in Rome, then imprisoned on Ventotene. Do you have any thoughts about this?

Gore Vidal: Imperial women ladies had actually never read Betty Freidan or Gloria Steinem or Masters & Phillips or whatever they’re called. The world was a very different place. They got married for entirely political reasons because of who they were born. To expect them to have a happy, warm, mature relationship is, I think, too much to demand — nor do I think they would have demanded it. It was quite a different world and you have to think your way into it.

To apply any of today’s standards of — Was this a happy marriage or an unhappy marriage? — would never have crossed their minds. Is this a great marriage? — is what they would be thinking about.

Suzan Mazur: Do you recall Agrippina the elder, mother of Caligula? Was she too powerful for Tiberius? Is that basically why she was banished to Ventotene?

Gore Vidal: Suetonius. What little we know he will tell us.

Suzan Mazur: There were a series of exiles — Caligula even sent his sisters away — and there were many other banishments and deaths by starvation in the family. […]

… see the original for the context (Vidal seems to have had a late night previously) …
… if you missed yesterday’s post: ‘Classical’ Gore Vidal