Hodie est a.d. XVII Kal. Sextilies (Augustas) 2772 AUC ~ 15 Hekatombaion in the third year of the 699th Olympiad
In the News
- Gladiator arena found at ancient city in Turkey to shed light on region’s history – Daily Sabah
- The Legionary Marc Antony Denarii: A Featured Group in the Stack’s Bowers World & Ancient Coin ANA Auction
- Scientists believe they can now reproduce Ancient Roman concrete
- «A Versailles in the heart of Rome». A Journey inside the splendid Domus Aurea, the immense palace of Nero – Corriere TV
In Case You Missed It
- Researcher Identifies ‘Oldest Handwriting of a Christian’ In Ancient Papyrus Letter From Roman Egypt
Fresh Bloggery
- Roman Mysteries & Western Mysteries: Roman Mysteries Themes and Topics
- Classics at the Intersections: E Pluribus Plures: Identities in a Multiethnic Ancient Mediterranean
- Buried Under Mountains of Philology – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
- Pliny Goes on A Campus Tour – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
- Albarracín-Cella Roman Aqueduct – Gea de Albarracín, Spain – Atlas Obscura
Fresh Podcasts
The term “Western civilization” has long been a staple of the American Right, but with the recent resurgence of white nationalism, it is having something of a comeback. Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly are hosting a two-week Mediterranean “cruise thru history” to “explore the roots of Western civilization.” The Intellectual Dark Web’s Jordan Peterson tells us “The West is Right,” while The Daily Caller and Fox News are busy “celebrating the West.” Neo-Nazi Matthew Heimbach hails “Youth for Western Civilization.” Both the traditional and so-called alt-right ground their worldviews in a fictional moral arc of “The West” that bares little resemblance to reality.
Learning from the past and applying those lessons to the present is a good thing. But in pop political discourse, the Classics have been misused and abused to promote an origin story that never was – a white Greco-Roman world birthing our noble, so-called “Judeo-Christian” American empire to gloss over a history of exploitation, imperialism, slavery and conquest.
On this episode, we’ll explore the right-wing obsession with the ancient world, it’s influence on neoconservative empire-building and alt-right white nationalism alike, and how our common cultural understanding of the ancient world has been perpetually white-washed to promote a clash of civilizations narrative and racist pseudo-science.
We are joined by Dr. Sarah E. Bond, Associate Professor at the University of Iowa, and Dr. Cord Whitaker, Associate Professor at Wellesley College.
Today Jean is joined by ancient history enthusiast and my favourite murder fangirl Harriet Scott (from season one episode one and eight). Harriet brings the true crime genre to antiquity through discussing the various theories and unsolved questions surrounding the death of Cleopatra VIII – lover of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, ruler of Egypt, and fierce, intelligent woman. Was it suicide or was it murder?
Dramatic Receptions
- Newton Theatre Company’s ‘Helen’ in the limelight – News – Wicked Local Middleton – Middleton, MA
- Euripides Summer Festival Returns to New York City
Professional Matters
- Assistant/Associate Professor, Greek Literature and Culture (JPF04704) – UCLA Academic RECRUIT
- FIEC Statement on the Format of Abstracts and Keywords for the Submission of Articles | Society for Classical Studies
Alia
- AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Rome in Egypt: Roman Temples for Egyptian Gods
- British Museum Trustee Resigns, Citing Oil Funding and Restitution Inaction
‘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 there is any thunder today, [something about a king in the east falling in war?] and the hot weather will bring disease.
… adapted from the 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)
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