rogueclassicism

kalendas decembres

rites in honour of Neptune (connected with an altar rededication or a temple dedication?)
rites in honour of Pietas near the Circus Flaminius (not much known about this one, apparently)
147 A.D. -- Annia Galeria Faustina, wife of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, is given the title of Augusta

::Wednesday, December 01, 2004 5:38:09 AM::

Today's words:

ne plus ultra @ Dictionary.com

fidelity @ Merriam-Webster

sic @ Wordsmith (somewhat misleading, this one)

inimicitious @ Worthless Word for the Day

::Wednesday, December 01, 2004 5:30:27 AM::

~ Genitively Speaking

Folks might want to visit Campus Mawrtius for an account of the oddest (to me, so far) use of a genitive in Greek I've seen ... (I suspect my profs would have put it in the catch-all 'genitive of separation' category).

::Wednesday, December 01, 2004 5:25:54 AM::

~ Delenda Est

Over at Laudator, MG has a nice little piece on what that Cato guy is supposed to have ended every speech with ...

::Wednesday, December 01, 2004 5:19:30 AM::

~ Father Foster

This week, our favourite Carmelite talks about St. Andrew ...

::Wednesday, December 01, 2004 5:06:58 AM::

~ Akropolis World News

Latest headlines from Akropolis World News (in Classical Greek):

Michael Jordan's brother deployed to Irak - Getting the Bible back to its roots

::Wednesday, December 01, 2004 5:05:56 AM::

~ Cleopatra @ WSU

The South End gives some nice coverage to a course at WSU all about Cleopatra ... let's hope Dr. Moss packs them in:

Cleopatra is one figure from the ancient world who continues to intrigue imaginations. Classics Professor Jennifer Moss hopes that her new one-credit course on Cleopatra’s life will dispel some of the many myths that have always surrounded the Queen of Egypt.

“Cleopatra, the Myth and the Reality” is a seven-week course that will start at the beginning of this upcoming winter semester. Moss hopes the course might interest students unfamiliar with classics as a study at Wayne State University.

“Everyone could at least tell you two facts about Cleopatra. This course is something to offer students who’ve never taken a classics course before. I hope it will bring some students around to see what we do over here,” Moss said.

Cleopatra, the mythical seductress, however, is a rather different individual from the Cleopatra who gained great power in the ancient world. Her identity as a sex goddess seems to be more an invention by the Romans out of their fear of a strong foreign leader than from her exotic looks.

“It’s very hard to be an authority [on Cleopatra] because everything about her written [in antiquity] was biased,” Moss said.

“The Romans were afraid of foreigners in power. There’s an assumption that she had to have beauty to seduce, but the Romans really wanted her power.”

One fact that might work against Cleopatra’s image as a seductress is that she had only slept with two men in her life, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Moss was certain that if she had been more promiscuous, the Romans would have reported it since they were more than happy to find fault with her conduct. Because those two happened to be the most powerful men in the world at the time, her intelligence and adroitness at staying in power herself seems to gain credence over any idea that they were only interested in her beauty.

“Elizabeth Taylor’s portrayal of Cleopatra is almost entirely wrong, factually,” Moss said. “But she was so incredibly beautiful in that movie you could imagine her seducing anyone.”

While Cleopatra was certainly not a flawless figure — Moss said Cleopatra’s family would make the Sopranos look good — there are many inaccuracies that need to be straightened out to understand Cleopatra and her position in the ancient world in a more honest light.

::Wednesday, December 01, 2004 4:57:12 AM::

~ Greatest Canadian? Phtth.

Very little ClassCon in this one, but I feel I HAVE to vent about it. For the past month and a bit, the CBC has been running a thing called The Greatest Canadian and last night was the big vote. Up to this point, little biographies had been presented and then Canadians-with-no-chance-in-Hades-of-ever-being-nominated (i.e. media folk) "advocated" for one of the finalists. Canadians across the country then got to vote for the person they figured was the greatest Canadian. Who did they choose? Tommy Douglas ... he's the guy credited with creating the Canadian health care system. Seems benign (and perhaps obvious) enough. His "advocate", by the way was George Stroumboulopoulos, the guy with the longest name in Canadian broadcasting and basically a MuchMusic talking head who made the leap to more serious venues, but without any concomitant increase in required intelligence. I'd imagine George mentioned this or as part of TD's biography (and I admit I didn't watch it, even though it's available online ... I can't stomach the CBC when they're trying to tell us what Canadians should be like; heck, since the hockey strike, I don't think I've even put the CBC on): Tommy Douglas did his MA in Sociology at McMaster University, where, perhaps, some might be aware that I'm ABD in Roman Studies (that's the ClassCon). Well, once upon a time, knowing that Tommy Douglas had done his MA there, I meandered through the stacks at Mills and took it off the shelf. And what did I read the great founder of the New Democratic Party (or at least its precursor, the CCF) and the guy credited with creating our health care system advocating? Sterilizing the poor. Eugenics as a means of creating a more 'just' society. Keep them from breeding and everything will be just fine. Yep ... that's the "Greatest Canadian" alright. Twits.

::Wednesday, December 01, 2004 4:44:20 AM::

~ Explorator 7.31 FINALLY posted

Apologies to all, but it was brought to my attention that I didn't actually post last weekend's edition of Explorator. It is now up and operating and most of the links should work. Sorry for the confusion.

::Wednesday, December 01, 2004 4:42:09 AM::

~ AWOTV: On TV Today

8.00 p.m. |HINT|The Fabulous Centers of Hellenism
Between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, many cities in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) reached unprecedented artistic levels. They were the new centers of Hellenism--the fruit of the junction of Greek and Eastern civilizations. In this episode, we visit the cities of Ephesus and Pergamum. State-of-the art technology coupled with enhanced 3D graphics allows us to view the cities as only the original inhabitants could as we take a virtual tour of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Leptis Magna, and the Altar of Zeus complex at Pergamum, which the citizens considered a symbol of the cultural supremacy of Hellenistic people over the rest of the world. Features high-end location photography and insights from some of the world's leading archaeological experts.

8.30 p.m. |HINT| Visit of the Sanctuaries of Apollo
For many centuries, Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Egyptians turned to Apollo, the lunar god, in hopes of being granted good fortune. In this episode, we chronicle the sanctuaries built in Apollo's honor, and visit Delos in the Cyclades, Delphi in the region of Phocis, and Didymi in Ionia. Viewers experience the cutting edge of archaeological exploration as we explore these celebrated, ancient sites, and state-of-the art technology coupled with enhanced 3D graphics allow us to see them as only the original worshippers could. Features insights from some of the world's leading archaeological experts and high-end location photography.

9.00 p.m. |DCIVC| Ancient Evidence: Who Killed Jesus?
dna

10.00 p.m. |DCIVC| Hidden History of Rome with Terry Jones
dna

HINT = History International

DCIVC = Discovery Civilization (Canada)

::Wednesday, December 01, 2004 4:39:54 AM::