• Saturnalia (day 3) – major, popular festival in honour of Saturn with banquets, the wearing of soft caps (pilei), and general good cheer. Shops and schools were closed, gambling was legally permitted, gifts were exchanged and masters might even wait on their servants. Obviously this festival is often seen as a precursor to our modern-day Christmas celebrations.
• Opalia — unknown rituals in honour of Ops, the wife of Saturn
• rites in honour of Juventas (= Hebe?) — a somewhat mysterious festival, probably connected to Roman ‘coming of age’ rituals
• 69 A.D. — a major fire on the Capitoline hill in Rome, caused by Vitellius‘ troops
• 307 A.D. — martyrdom of Nemesius of Alexandria and Thea

===========================================================
LEGENDA
===========================================================
Pompeii: New frescoes unearthed in villa
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/article/new-frescoes-unearthed-in-villa-near-pompeii-show-extraordinary-details-and-colours/

If Mount Vesuvius Erupted in August, Why Were Pompeii Victims Wearing Heavy Wool Garments?
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/if-mount-vesuvius-erupted-in-august-why-were-pompeii-victims-wearing-heavy-wool-garments-180987895/

Italian restorers use laser beams to clean an ancient Roman column | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/rome-italy-column-marcus-aurelius-restoration-3fb9db4f8c02e33bda685ac0e4922beb

Rome’s New Colosseum Metro Station Is Stacked With Archaeological Treasures
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/rome-colosseum-metro-station-archaeology-2731534

What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us? Made Us Sicker, Apparently
https://www.zmescience.com/science/archaeology/roman-rule-health-decline/

Did the ancient Romans wear underwear? The truth is surprisingly complicated | HistoryExtra
https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/ancient-roman-underwear-fashion-complicated-truth/

What Did Ancient Greek Warriors Wear Into Battle?
https://www.history.com/articles/ancient-greek-warriors-real-armor-battle

Rare 1,300-year-old medallion decorated with menorahs found near Jerusalem’s Temple Mount | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/rare-1-300-year-old-medallion-decorated-with-menorahs-found-near-jerusalems-temple-mount

Research Sheds Light on Ancient Greek and Roman Houses at Darazya, Egypt – GreekReporter.com
https://greekreporter.com/2025/12/18/ancient-greek-roman-ruins-darazya-egypt/

The Collapse of the Bronze Age Gave Rise to the Creation of the First Warship: the Helladic Galley

The Collapse of the Bronze Age Gave Rise to the Creation of the First Warship: the Helladic Galley

Archaeologists May Have Finally Found Sparta’s Lost Mycenaean Palace – GreekReporter.com
https://greekreporter.com/2025/12/18/sparta-lost-mycenaean-palace/

The Parthenon Marbles: How Close Are We to a Resolution? – tovima.com

The Parthenon Marbles: How Close Are We to a Resolution?

Why the Vatican is reinvesting in Christian archaeology

Why the Vatican is reinvesting in Christian archaeology

Locusta: The dark history of Rome’s notorious poisoner
https://dangerousminds.net/history/locusta-the-dark-history-of-romes-notorious-poisoner/

Longtime Smith College professor dies in Northampton fire – Daily Hampshire Gazette

Longtime Smith College professor dies in Northampton fire

T.J. Clark · A Kouros at the Met
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n23/t.j.-clark/a-kouros-at-the-met

Philosophy Club Is Hot—Just Ask These Gen Z New Yorkers | Vogue
https://www.vogue.com/article/philosophy-club-is-hot-just-ask-these-gen-z-new-yorkers

Ancient Carthage’s Commemorative Military Armbands – The Historian’s Hut

Ancient Carthage’s Commemorative Military Armbands

Titus Manlius Torquatus Kills A Leader Of The Gauls, Taking His Golden Necklace, Illustrated by An Unknown 14th-century Artist – The Historian’s Hut

Titus Manlius Torquatus Kills A Leader Of The Gauls, Taking His Golden Necklace, Illustrated by An Unknown 14th-century Artist

Pet Monkeys Were Popular in Ancient Rome, Burials Reveal
https://hyperallergic.com/pet-monkeys-were-popular-in-ancient-rome-burials-reveal/

Oedipus goes to New York – by Elizabeth Bobrick
https://elizabethbobrick.substack.com/p/oedipus-goes-to-new-york?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1331359&post_id=181606748&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q7tlq&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Aristoteles over de Nijl – Mainzer Beobachter

Aristoteles over de Nijl

Tyranny and the Plot: Introducing Iliad 8 – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE

Tyranny and the Plot: Introducing Iliad 8

December 58 BCE: From Cicero (at Dyrrachium) to Atticus (in Rome)
https://epistulae.substack.com/p/december-58-bce-from-cicero-at-dyrrachium?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=944078&post_id=181941781&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q7tlq&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Thumos – The Trial of Socrates [Things You Might Have Missed 2025] | Angry Metal Guy
https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/banners/AMG-archenemy.jpg.webp

PaleoJudaica.com: Cracking the Qumran Cryptic B script?
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/cracking-qumran-cryptic-b-script.html

PaleoJudaica.com: On the Rockefeller Museum in East Jerusalem
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/on-rockefeller-museum-in-east-jerusalem.html

PaleoJudaica.com: ANE Today’s 2025 top archaeological discoveries list
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/ane-todays-2025-top-archaeological.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Nachbarschaft im Wandel: Untersuchungen zu keramischen Inventaren aus Siedlungen und Nekropolen in Oberägypten und Nubien (ca. 2300–1700 v. Chr.)
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/nachbarschaft-im-wandel-untersuchungen.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Serving the Gods: Artists, Craftsmen, Ritual Specialists in the Ancient World
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/serving-gods-artists-craftsmen-ritual.html

‘Diogenes’ by Inger N.I. Kuin | Book Review – WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/diogenes-review-a-philosophy-of-scandal-7bdb423b?st=L8wbmU&reflink=article_email_share

A dramatic event in late Roman Florence: the anomalous burial site discovered beneath the Uffizi Gallery – Bryn Mawr Classical Review
https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.12.27/

Playful classics: classical reception as a creative process – Bryn Mawr Classical Review
https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.12.26/

The Persephone myth in young adult fiction: from girl to woman – Bryn Mawr Classical Review
https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.12.25/

===========================================================
AUDIENDA
===========================================================
Salamis–When in Rome – Apple Podcasts

Peace and Peacemaking in ancient Greece and Rome–Visualising War and Peace – Apple Podcasts

Paestum: Ancient Greeks in Italy – The Ancients | Acast

===========================================================
VIDENDA
===========================================================
(61) Was Alexander the Great really that great? – Stephanie Honchell Smith – YouTube

(63) Nuovi scavi alla villa di Poppea di Oplontis – il cantiere svela nuovi affreschi, pavoni e maschere – YouTube

• Saturnalia (day 2) – major, popular festival in honour of Saturn with banquets, the wearing of soft caps (pilei), and general good cheer. Shops and schools were closed, gambling was legally permitted, gifts were exchanged and masters might even wait on their servants. Obviously this festival is often seen as a precursor to our modern-day Christmas celebrations …
• 69 A.D. — emperor-for-a-little-while Vitellius abdicates, but changes his mind later
• 1809 – Death of Alexander Adam, an eminent Classicist

===========================================================
LEGENDA
===========================================================
Pompeii victims were wearing woolen cloaks in August when they died — but experts are split on what that means | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/pompeii-victims-were-wearing-woolen-cloaks-in-august-when-they-died-but-experts-are-split-on-what-that-means

Pompeii’s Graffiti Captures Every Joke, Boast and Argument of an Ancient Roman City Frozen in Time
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pompeiis-graffiti-captures-every-joke-boast-and-argument-of-an-ancient-roman-city-frozen-in-time-180987831/

Roman-era Beachy Head Woman originated from southern UK – University of Reading
https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2025/Research-News/Roman-era-Beachy-Head-Woman-originated-from-southern-UK

Stolen Hercules Fresco Found to Belong to Ancient Pompeii Villa
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/pompeii-hercules-fresco-location-2730508

Ancient CT Scan Reveals the Last Meal That Got This Egyptian Crocodile Killed
https://www.zmescience.com/science/archaeology/ancient-ct-scan-reveals-the-last-meal-that-got-this-egyptian-crocodile-killed/

Rome opens long-awaited Colosseum subway station, with displays of unearthed artifacts – ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/rome-opens-long-awaited-colosseum-subway-station-displays-128453767

Ancient Egyptian valley temple excavated — and it’s connected to a massive upper temple dedicated to the sun god, Ra | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/ancient-egyptians/ancient-egyptian-valley-temple-excavated-and-its-connected-to-a-massive-upper-temple-dedicated-to-the-sun-god-ra

What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us? Made Us Sicker, Apparently
https://www.zmescience.com/science/archaeology/roman-rule-health-decline/

Did the Romans celebrate Saturnalia in Britain? | Great British Life
https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/cotswold/25703893.romans-celebrate-saturnalia-britain/

Greek Goddess Hestia Statue Head Unearthed at Ancient City in Turkey – GreekReporter.com
https://greekreporter.com/2025/12/17/greek-goddess-hestia-statue-head-ancient-city-turkey/

Spencer Alley: Renderings of Antiquities
https://spenceralley.blogspot.com/2025/12/renderings-of-antiquities.html

Ancient Greek History Gift Guide (Part 5): A Brief History of Ancient Greece
https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/en-ca/blogs/ancient-history-blog/ancient-greek-history-gift-guide-part-5-a-brief-history-of-ancient-greece

A visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum | Blog post | Mary Beard

A visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum

Aristotle’s Politics has wisdoms and warnings for our age of tech utopias and inequality
https://theconversation.com/aristotles-politics-has-wisdoms-and-warnings-for-our-age-of-tech-utopias-and-inequality-270154

Archaeology-washing apartheid: Why you should boycott the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) – Everyday Orientalism

Archaeology-washing apartheid: Why you should boycott the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)

Writing Wednesday: Contextualizing Lamps from Polis | Archaeology of the Mediterranean World

Writing Wednesday: Contextualizing Lamps from Polis

Vragen rond de jaarwisseling 2025 – Mainzer Beobachter

Vragen rond de jaarwisseling 2025

PaleoJudaica.com: A Persepolis conservation project
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/a-persepolis-conservation-project.html

PaleoJudaica.com: Ross on “Reevaluating Parataxis in the Septuagint”
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/ross-on-reevaluating-parataxis-in.html

PaleoJudaica.com: State Department grant for Albright Institute and Huqoq Excavation Project
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/state-department-grant-for-albright.html

PaleoJudaica.com: Who will play Metatron in Dogma 2?
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/who-will-play-metatron-in-dogma-2.html

PaleoJudaica.com: The Cyrus Cylinder
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-cyrus-cylinder.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Luwic Dialects and Anatolian: Inheritance and Diffusion
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/luwic-dialects-and-anatolian.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: El Próximo Oriente antiguo y el Egipto faraónico en España y Portugal. Viajeros, pioneros, coleccionistas, instituciones y recepción
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/el-proximo-oriente-antiguo-y-el-egipto.html

“There and back again” – The wreck of Portiţei A. An imperial-era empty cargo transporter in the Black Sea | Spartokos read

“There and back again” – The wreck of Portiţei A. An imperial-era empty cargo transporter in the Black Sea

August Boeckh: Encyclopädie der Philologie – Bryn Mawr Classical Review
https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.12.22/

Hellenistic monarchies in the Mediterranean world: building a new world order? – Bryn Mawr Classical Review
https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.12.24/

Xenophon’s anabasis: a Socratic history – Bryn Mawr Classical Review
https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.12.23/

The Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite at Syme Viannou VII: The Greek and Roman Pottery, Volume 1 By Antonis Kotsonas (Library of the Archaeological Society at Athens 348). Athens and New York: Archaeological Society of Athens and Institute for the Study of the Ancient World 2024. Pp. 651. ISBN 9781479830046 (hardcover) $85. | American Journal of Archaeology: Vol 130, No 1
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/739302?utm_source=Archaeological+Institute+of+America&utm_campaign=6f703e1d97-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_12_16_11_36_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-894de77e7c-215971384&mc_cid=6f703e1d97&mc_eid=693126d49d

Lycian Families in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods: A Regional Study of Inscriptions, Towards a Social and Legal Framework By Selen Kılıç Aslan (Brill Studies in Greek and Roman Epigraphy 19). Leiden: Brill 2023. Pp. 416. ISBN 978-90-04-54841-1 (hardcover) €147.40. | American Journal of Archaeology: Vol 130, No 1
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/738864?utm_source=Archaeological+Institute+of+America&utm_campaign=6f703e1d97-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_12_16_11_36_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-894de77e7c-215971384&mc_cid=6f703e1d97&mc_eid=693126d49d

Sacred Landscapes, Connecting Routes: Religious Topographies in the Graeco-Roman World Edited by Christina G. Williamson (Caeculus: Papers on Mediterranean Archaeology and Greek and Roman Studies 10). Leuven: Peeters 2024. Pp. 291. ISBN 9789042949782 (paperback) €69; ISBN 9789042949799 (ebook) €69. | American Journal of Archaeology: Vol 130, No 1
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/739301?utm_source=Archaeological+Institute+of+America&utm_campaign=6f703e1d97-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_12_16_11_36_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-894de77e7c-215971384&mc_cid=6f703e1d97&mc_eid=693126d49d

Sculture del Museo Archeologico al Teatro Romano di Verona Edited by Luigi Sperti and Margherita Bolla (Collezioni e Musei Archeologici del Veneto 49). Rome: Giorgio Bretschneider 2024. Pp. 333. ISBN 9788876893476 (hardcover) €170. | American Journal of Archaeology: Vol 130, No 1
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/738866?utm_source=Archaeological+Institute+of+America&utm_campaign=6f703e1d97-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_12_16_11_36_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-894de77e7c-215971384&mc_cid=6f703e1d97&mc_eid=693126d49d

===========================================================
AUDIENDA
===========================================================
TCP Talking Disability: Neurod…–The Classics Podcast – Apple Podcasts

H.I. Marrou’s A History of Education in Antiquity, Part XVIII (Ad Navseam, Episode 204) | Ad Navseam
https://adnavseam.podbean.com/e/hi-marrou-s-a-history-of-education-in-antiquity-part-xviii-ad-navseam-episode-204/
===========================================================
VIDENDA
===========================================================
(27) EES Oxyrhynchus Papyri collection – YouTube

(27) Does the REAL Odyssey Survive From the Ancient World? – YouTube

(27) Metro C Colosseo – Fori Imperiali opens! – YouTube

(29) Archaeological Find Near Temple Mount Rewrites Jewish History – YouTube

===========================================================
NOTANDA
===========================================================
Wiencke Postdoctoral Fellowship in Classics | Society for Classical Studies
https://www.classicalstudies.org/placement-service/2025-2026/39219/wiencke-postdoctoral-fellowship-classics

Call for Papers — Land and Power in the Later Roman World – Land and loyalty

Call for Papers — Land and Power in the Later Roman World

The Archaeology of Olive Oil Production in Roman and Pre-Roman Italy | January 2026 (130.1) | American Journal of Archaeology

The Archaeology of Olive Oil Production in Roman and Pre-Roman Italy

• Saturnalia (day 1) — major, popular festival in honour of Saturn with banquets, the wearing of soft caps (pilei), and general good cheer. Shops and schools were closed, gambling was legally permitted, gifts were exchanged and masters might even wait on their servants. Obviously this festival is often seen as a precursor to our modern-day Christmas celebrations …
• 246 B.C.E. — the Torah is translated into Greek (obviously not in one day)