Hodie est pr. Id. Mai. 2772 AUC ~ 22 Mounichion in the third year of the 699th Olympiad
In the News
- An Oxford Professor, a Hobby Lobby Collector, and a Missing Gospel of Mark – The Atlantic
- Israeli scholars discover corrections, erasures, revisions in oldest biblical manuscript – Archaeology – Haaretz.com
- Orlando Science Center, coronavirus postpone Pompeii exhibit – Orlando Sentinel
- Ancient Iranian relief depicting victory over enemies restored – Tehran Times
Fresh Bloggery
- Reading Aeschylus’ “Persians” Online – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
- The Debate on the Decline of Indo-Roman Trade. – History Notes
- New Article on Dirk Obbink in The Atlantic | Variant Readings
- Revisiting Rent-A-Roman: An Interview with Jermaine Bryant About JCL Slave Auctions | AD AEQUIORA
- Go Ahead, Fart at Dinner! – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
- NDQ 87.1/2 By the Numbers | Archaeology of the Mediterranean World
- Roman Times: Bellerophon: Heroic Hubris
- Comfort Classics: Simon Pulleyn – Classical Studies Support
- Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: A Mystery at Oxford The university has half a million ancient papyrus fragments. They started to go missing.
- Socrates and the Plague of Athens – The Good Men Project
- Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: Artefact Hunters’ Obligations to Landowners During Pandemic
- Fate-Breaker or Bag-boy? Some Odd Etymologies for the Trojan Paris – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
- Serjilla – The Dead City – HeritageDaily – Archaeology News
- Geen misverstand: Paardenstaart – Mainzer Beobachter
- ΜΕΛΟΣ ΦΙΛΟΜΗΛΗΣ – In Medias Res – Medium
- Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: “An Extensive Collection of Unpublished Papyri in Michigan”
- How to be a better ‘senior scholar’ | Aegean prehistory
Fresh Podcasts
In this most recent installment of the A.D. History Podcast, Paul and Patrick discuss the dramatic destruction by Roman forces of Jerusalem’s Second Temple in 70AD, as well as the Siege of Masada Fortress in 73AD. The Romans also conversely play a part in epic construction, namely of the Flavian Amphitheater, better known today as the world famous Roman Colosseum completed in 80AD.
Perpetua of Carthage is almost unique in the literature of her time. She is a woman and a writer. Over the course of centuries, traditional Greco-Roman culture produced very few female writers. Nor did ancient literature bother much with the particular concerns of women. So Perpetua stands out as a witness to women’s experience in the third century—and the changed status of women in the Church. A Christian martyr, she kept a diary while in jail. The diary records ordinary details, such as visits from family members and the conditions of the prison. But it also tells of extraordinary visions. Perpetua speaks of pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and weaning. In prison she emerges as a charismatic leader of her fellow Christians. Her diary is an extraordinary record, and it is a beautiful meditation on Christian life.’
Who was Spartacus, really? It’s not an easy question to answer. The ancient sources agree that he was Thracian, but even this is up for debate. Still, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that to know Spartacus, you have to know the Thracians. The Thracians were a fierce warrior people, consummate mercenaries who fought in every major Greek and Roman war—and believed that they would never die. Join us as we try to breathe life into these epic people by exploring their unique mythology and religious beliefs.
Book Reviews
- [BMCR] Mirjam Kotwick, Der Papyrus von Derveni : Griechisch-deutsch. Sammlung Tusculum. Berlin ; Boston: De Gruyter, 2017.
- [BMCR] John C. Barrett, Michael J. Boyd, From Stonehenge to Mycenae: the challenges of archaeological interpretation. Debates in archaeology . London; New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019.
- [BMCR] Lucys Audley-Miller, Beate Dignas, Wandering myths: transcultural uses of myth in the ancient world. . Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2018.
Professional Matters
Alia
- 6 Roman Mosaics You Can Visit And Explore In Britain – HistoryExtra
- Biblical archaeology: another casualty of the coronavirus – The Jerusalem Post
- Epicurus was not as bad as he is portrayed | Israel Drazin | The Blogs
- Dig This: An Online Field School for Junior Archaeologists – Atlas Obscura
‘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 an eastern war and a major shortage.
… 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 
