This just in from the Guardian:

Women in Ancient Greece were major power brokers in their own right, researchers have discovered, and often played key roles in running affairs of state. Until now it was thought they were treated little better than servants.

The discovery is part of an investigation by Manchester researchers into the founders of Mycenae, Europe's first great city-state and capital of King Agamemnon's domains.

'It was thought that in those days women were rated as little more than chattels in Ancient Greece,' said Professor Terry Brown, of the faculty of life sciences at Manchester University. 'Our work now suggests that notion is wrong.'

Mycenae is one of the most important and evocative archaeological sites in Europe. According to legend, Agamemnon led his armies from Mycenae to Troy to bring back Helen - the wife of his ally, Menelaus - who had run off with the Trojan prince Paris.

The citadel was first excavated in the 1870s by Heinrich Schliemann, who uncovered tombs containing crumbling bones draped with jewels and gold face masks. 'I have discovered the graves of Agamemnon, Eurymedon, and their companions, all slain at a banquet by Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthos,' he told the King of Greece.

In fact, the graves have since been dated and shown to be too old for those of Agamemnon. Nevertheless, Mycenae has since proved to be a treasure trove of archaeological riches. Most recently, these have involved scientists using a range of new techniques, including facial reconstruction work carried out by Manchester researchers John Prag and Richard Neave. They recreated the faces of seven individuals whose skeletons had been excavated at a circle of graves inside the citadel.

The images provided scientists with a family picture album for the rulers of Europe's first great city-state. However, genetics experts have now taken this work a stage further by attempting to extract DNA from 22 of the 35 bodies found in the grave circle. 'The facial reconstructions were carried out 10 years ago, but it is only now that scientists have developed sensitive enough techniques to get DNA from skeletons as old as these,' said Brown. 'In each case we had to deal with a single cell's worth of DNA.'

The genetic material isolated by the scientists is known as mitochondrial DNA, which humans inherit exclusively from their mothers. However, of the 22 skeletons that were tested, only four produced enough DNA for full analysis. Nevertheless, findings from these provided a shock for the team from Manchester.

While two of the males had DNA that indicated they were unrelated, the genetic material extracted from the remaining pair, a man and a woman, revealed they were brother and sister. They had been thought to have been man and wife.

'To be precise our DNA evidence suggests the pair were closely related, possibly siblings or possibly cousins. However, the facial reconstruction work of Prag and Neave also shows they were very similar in appearance which indicates they were brother and sister,' said Brown.

The critical point, he said, was that the woman was thought to have been buried in a richly endowed grave because she was the wife of a powerful man. That was in keeping with previous ideas about Ancient Greece - that women had little power and could only exert influence through their husbands.

'But this discovery shows both the man and the woman were of equal status and had equal power,' he said. 'Women in Ancient Greece held positions of power by right of birth, it now appears.

'The problem has been that up until recently our interpretation of life in Ancient Greece has been the work of a previous generations of archaeologists, then a male-oriented profession and who interpreted their findings in a male-oriented way. That is changing now and women in Ancient Greece are being seen in a new light.'

As I recall, there were a couple of infants buried at Mycenae as well. So taking this argument to its logical extreme conclusion, we see that infants must also have been major power brokers. All those who think they're reading waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much into this, raise your hand ... thought so.

This seems to have been compressed beyond understanding ... from ANSA:

Historical artifacts found during the construction of a primary school in Milas district of Mugla revealed the existence of a circus area in the second century B.C.. The chamber grave, unearthed during the construction of Zekeriya Gumuskesen primary school, was reported to belong to an artist family lived in the second century B.C., Turkish daily news reported. Historical artifacts found in the chamber grave are now on display at Milas Museum. Milas Museum director Erol Ozen said: "This is a different and a special situation, as well as an important historical development. Because of a theater mask of Heracles' head and a figure of Apollo in the grave we think that the chamber grave belonged to a family of artists." Ozen added that scientific research on the project continues. "There is also an earthen bear figure with a bell around his neck. This indicates that there was a circus area in the region in the ancient times. We focused on the subject, and found that the bear was caught by the people living there and that it probably participated in circus shows. We can get important clues about the social life of the city with these findings," he explained.

Not sure about the bear with the bell ... never saw this sort of thing before. There is a nice photo of a bear sculpture/bronze in the Met here ... no bell, though.

From PressTV:

Geological surveys in the south of Iran have revealed rectangular formations inspired by Greek architecture dating to the Sassanid era.

Archeologists say the structures located in Fars Province are part of the urban planning of the ancient Achaemenid city of Istakhr during the Sassanid period (226-651 CE).

“The design is loaned from Hippodamus' style of urban planning during a series of armed conflicts with Persia's great rival to the west, the Roman Empire,” said Ali Asadi, archeologist and expert on the archeology of Istakhr.

“The wars during the first two Sassanid kings, Ardashir I (206-241 CE) and Shapur I (241-272 CE), brought Roman slaves to the country. The Greek architecture penetrated Iran through the work of the slaves,” Asadi added.

Istakhr was once the capital of the Sassanid Empire but today only the archaeological sites of the city remain. The ancient city once contained the original Avesta before it was burned by Alexander of Macedonia.

Hippodamus (498 BC - 408 BC) was an ancient Greek architect and urban planner famous for his designs of repeated square geometric shapes.

They're bringing this up again ... from Kathimerini:

The relationship between the Culture Ministry’s archaeological authorities and the Hellenic Festival, the organizer of the drama and music productions at the ancient Herod Atticus and Epidaurus theaters, has always been difficult. But the problems just seem to be getting bigger.

The debt owed to the TAP archaeological fund for various productions staged at the Herod Atticus and Epidaurus has reached 1.5 million euros, and complaints have grown regarding the lack of respect shown to the ancient venues by both visitors and production teams.

For years now, the Central Archaeological Council (KAS) has been discussing the negative impact of over 350,000 annual show-goers on the Herod Atticus.

Up until a few years ago, the number of shows hosted by the ancient venues was KAS’s main concern.

Irreverent ways

Now, the inappropriate behavior of attendants has become another major concern.

High-heeled shoes worn by some members of the audience and the unbelievably irreverent behavior of many who leave behind their chewing gum are a couple of KAS’s concerns regarding the public.

As for the production teams putting on shows at the ancient venues, KAS is not happy with their comportment either. Many of the stage sets, KAS contends, are incongruous with the ancient venues’ nature.

Also, despite repeated warnings, the stage sets seem to be getting bigger and the decibel levels louder. Authorities fear these higher volumes could be inflicting damage on the ancient structures.

KAS regulations

KAS regulations specify that stage sets should not be heavy and the colors used must not be discordant with the venue. Also, sound levels are not permitted to exceed 100 decibels.

Highlighting the overall neglect of KAS standards and procedures, a National Opera application for permission to use the Herod Atticus made it to the archaeological authority just four days ahead of show time.

Disregard

Relegating KAS’s approval to a matter of routine, many producers send in their applications very late, which goes to show how little they respect KAS’s concerns for the ancient venues.

And this lax attitude has only aggravated the problem. The stage setting for the National Opera’s production which will begin the proceedings at the Herod Atticus this summer was deemed as being incongruent with the venue. It covers two-thirds of the stage. Worse still, it has already been set up.

The bulk of Hellenic Festival performances at the Herod Atticus run until July 31.

The festival has also booked an additional four nights in September for Anatoly Vasiliev’s “Medea.” The ancient venue is given a respite in August.

As for the Little Epidaurus Theater, which has been used to host concerts since its relatively recent reintroduction, KAS authorities expressed reservations about also making that venue available for theatrical productions.

A small number of conditional approvals for plays at the small theater have been granted.

From the Cyprus Mail:

PROFESSIONAL and amateur divers yesterday began the process of hauling up ancient urns buried onboard the Mazotos shipwreck.

The shipwreck, possibly the largest commercial ship located in open Cypriot waters, sank in 350 BC en route from the Greek island of Chios carrying around 1,000 urns filled with wine. Today it is buried 45 metres below sea level and is the oldest shipwreck found off the coast of Cyprus to date. The Kyrenia II shipwreck, found almost 50 years ago, dates back to 300 BC.

The Antiquities Department said last year it was one of the very few shipwrecks of the Classical period found in such a good state of preservation.

Around 500 urns are visible while the remainder are believed to be buried under one or two layers of sand.

The shipwreck is guarded by the competent security services 24 hours around the clock and no one is allowed near it without permission.

Dr Stella Demesticha, Visiting Lecturer of Underwater Archaeology at the University of Cyprus who is carrying out the research, said the find was an important event for Cyprus’ history.

The project was undertaken by the Research Unit of Archaeology of the University of Cyprus in agreement with the Department of Antiquities and with funding and logistical support from the Thetis Foundation. It is the first time a project of this kind has been exclusively undertaking by Cypriot institutions.

From the Chronicle:

THE MANAGER of a city centre hotel has questioned why Chester’s amphitheatre has been filled in after complaints from guests about its condition.

Damon Yoxall, general manager of the Westminster Hotel, City Road, has stopped recommending the ancient site because of the number of complaints he has received from tourists staying at the hotel.

He said: “I would like to know what plans there are for the amphitheatre – I have had many complaints about the state of the site and would not recommend a visit for any of my guests or myself as a local.

“A quarter has been filled in and I want to know why it was not grassed over to match in with the other quarter, and what is happening with the derelict building? It remains because it is the only Georgian building in Chester but it is being left to crumble.”

As the hotel relies on tourism for its survival, Damon has also questioned the development of other areas of the city which he says have a detrimental effect on business.

“Why spend money on Chester Gateway outside the train station and not on the other end of City Road?

“The city should be attracting the same clients as Harrogate or York – after all we charge the same prices to stay here and charge the same prices for the local attractions.”

Chris Brown, chief executive of Visit Chester and Cheshire, said: “We cannot take our eye off the ball and move Chester forward. People who visit Chester are our customers and we cannot afford for them to go away having had a poor experience.”

Chester city council say the amphitheatre was backfilled with sand and limestone chips to conserve the findings whilst the long-term conservation and development of the site is considered.

Spokesman Kathryn McGiveron said: “Protecting our city’s heritage and boosting Chester’s position as an international tourist attraction are both important priorities and the council is looking forward to exploring options of how it can make the most of this internationally important site.”

Saw this in the continuing comments at Mary Beard's blog ... Paul Zanker weighs in on the Caesar bust thing:

Vor ein paar Tagen rauschte der Blätterwald gewaltig. Die Begeisterung galt einer von französischen Unterwasser-Archäologen bei Arles aus der Rhone gezogenen, wohlerhaltenen Büste, in der der glückliche Finder Luc Long keinen Geringeren als Julius Caesar zu erkennen glaubte. Die Journalisten zögerten nicht, der Welt das neue, "wahre" Gesicht des Diktators vor Augen zu führen, und versuchten sogleich, in den Charakter des Dargestellten einzudringen.

Luc Lang erfand einen passenden Anlass für die Anfertigung des Bildnisses und war sich sicher, dass Caesar dem Bildhauer Modell gesessen hat. Es tut mir leid, dass ich Essig in diesen Wein gießen muss. Denn leider handelt es sich bei dem Dargestellten nicht um Caesar, sondern um einen Zeitgenossen, der mit dem Diktator lediglich sein hageres Gesicht und seine Halbglatze gemein hatte.

Die einzig sicher zu Lebzeiten Caesars entstandenen Bildnisse sind die Münzporträts. Zu Beginn des Jahres 44 v. Chr. hatte der Senat Caesar zusammen mit anderen übertriebenen Ehrungen das Recht verliehen, sein Bildnis auf die Münzen zu prägen, eine Ehre, wie sie keinem Römer vor ihm zuteil geworden.

Diese Münzen stellen den damals 56-jährigen Caesar mit magerem Gesicht, scharf ausgeprägten, ebenmäßigen Zügen und einem langen faltigen Hals mit stark hervortretendem Kehlkopf dar.

Diesen Münzbildnissen entspricht nun aber in allen wesentlichen Zügen ein seit langem bekanntes Bildnis, das bereits im 19. Jahrhundert auf dem ehemaligen Forum von Tusculum ausgegraben worden ist und sich heute im archäologischen Museum von Turin befindet. Bislang sind 6 Kopien dieses Bildnisses bekannt geworden, es handelt sich also um einen festen "Bildnistypus", was die Glaubwürdigkeit des Kopfes aus Tusculum als Caesar-Porträt verstärkt.

Dazu kommt, dass die Kopien des nach Caesars Tod entstandenen Bildnistypus "Vatikan-Pisa" - ein Bildnis mit längerem Stirnhaar und jugendlichen, im Stil des augusteischen Klassizismus geschönten Zügen - wesentliche Elemente derselben Physiognomie aufweist.

Ein langer, faltiger Hals

Vergleicht man nun dieses gut beglaubigte Bildnis aus Tusculum mit dem aus der Rhone gefischten, so wird man kaum umhin können festzustellen, dass wir es mit zwei verschiedenen Männern zu tun haben. Sieht man von der Halbglatze ab, sind alle wesentlichen Merkmale wie Schädelform, Mundpartie, Augen unterschiedlich, ganz zu schweigen von dem völlig verschiedenen Ausdruck.

Der unentschieden nachdenklichen Stimmung des neuen Porträts mit seinem leicht geneigten Kopf steht ein Gesicht voller Energie gegenüber. Der Künstler, dem wir das Urbild des Kopfes in Turin verdanken, hat sich um eine detaillierte Wiedergabe der physischen Erscheinung des alternden Diktators bemüht. Wir sehen einen langen, faltigen Hals, einen extrem weit ausladenden Hinterkopf, eine Schädeldecke, die sich im Profil muldenartig einsenkt. Das schmal zulaufende Gesicht kennzeichnen scharf ausgeprägte Falten, fast eingefallene Wangen, kleine Augen und ein breit ausladender Schädel mit hoher Stirn.

Aber auch etwas von Cäsars Charakter ist darin zu erfassen. Die kaum merkliche Bewegung des leicht angehobenen Kopfes und die momentane Konzentration der Stirn und des Mundes sprechen von einer wachen, überlegenen Präsenz. Dem Blick aus den leicht zusammengekniffenen Augen meint man gleicherweise aristokratische Distanz wie einen Zug von Ironie ablesen zu können.

So problematisch solche Charakterisierungen auch sind, sie machen deutlich, dass es sich bei dem Mann aus der Rhone nicht um das Gesicht Caesars handeln kann. Der mit der kaiserzeitlichen Bildniskunst Vertraute wird zusätzlich dadurch bestärkt, dass der neue Kopf mit dem Bildnistypus Tusculum in keiner Weise übereinstimmt, dass von ihm selbst aber keine Kopien bekannt sind.

Der neue Kopf ist im übrigen nur einer von zahlreichen Bildnissen aus der Zeit Caesars und des jungen Augustus, die in ihrer Magerkeit, ihrem Gesichtsschnitt, ihren Stirnfalten und ihren tiefen Einbuchtungen über der Stirn an Caesar erinnern, sich aber gleichwohl durch jeweils individuelle eigene Physiognomien unterscheiden. Es handelt sich bei diesem Gesichts-Schema um ein ausgesprochenes "Zeitgesicht", das vielleicht von den überall präsenten Caesarstatuen in Mode gekommen sein könnte.

Es ist jedenfalls zum ersten Mal, dass wir in der römischen Porträtkunst dieses Phänomen des "Zeitgesichtes" beobachten, das dann unter den beliebteren Kaisern immer wieder in Erscheinung tritt, ein Phänomen, das uns ja auch heute von den Größen des Show-Geschäftes vertraut ist.

Also nicht Caesar, sondern ein vermutlich nicht unwichtiger Mann, dem es geschmeichelt hätte, wenn er gehört hätte, sein Aussehen erinnere an das des Diktators. Denn vermutlich ist der Kopf erst in der Augustus-Zeit entstanden.

From BMCR:

Susan E. Alcock, Robin Osborne, Classical Archaeology. Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology, 10.

Hendrik Lorenz, The Brute Within: Appetitive Desire in Plato and Aristotle.

Scot McKendrick, Kathleen Doyle, Bible Manuscripts: 1400 Years of Scribes and Scripture.

L.B. van der Meer, Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis. The Linen Book of Zagreb. A Comment on the Longest Etruscan Text. Monographs on Antiquity, 4.

Miranda Marvin, The Language of the Muses: The Dialogue Between Greek and Roman Sculpture.

Christian Mann, Die Demagogen und das Volk. Zur politischen Kommunikation im Athen des 5. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. Klio, Beitraege zur Alten Geschichte, Beihefte, Neue Folge Band 13.

Gyburg Radke, Die Kindheit des Mythos--die Erfindung der Literaturgeschichte in der Antike.

Christiane Reitz, Literatur im Zeitalter Neros, Klassische Philologie kompakt.

Colin F. Macdonald, Carl Knappett, Knossos: Protopalatial Deposits in Early Magazine A and the South-West Houses. Supplementary Volume No. 41.

J. Theodore Pena, Roman Pottery in the Archaeological Record.

Jaclyn L. Maxwell, Christianization and Communication in Late Antiquity.

Pierre Vidal-Naquet, The Atlantis Story: A Short History of Plato's Myth. Translated by Janet Lloyd.

Robin F. Rhodes (ed.), The Acquisition and Exhibition of Classical Antiquities. Professional, Legal, and Ethical Perspectives. A symposium held at the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, February 24, 2007.

M. A. R. Habib, A History of Literary Theory and Criticism from Plato to the Present.

Siriol Davies, Jack L. Davis, Between Venice and Istanbul. Colonial landscape in early modern Greece. Hesperia Supplement 40.

Maria Michela Sassi (ed.), La costruzione del discorso filosofico nell'eta dei Presocratici. The Construction of Philosophical Discourse in the Age of the Presocratics.

Peter Wilson (ed.), The Greek Theatre and Festivals. Documentary Studies. Oxford Studies in Ancient Documents.

H. Boerm, Prokop und die Perser. Oriens et Occidens 16.

Daniele Malfitana, Jeroen Poblome, John Lund, Old Pottery in a New Century: Innovating Perspectives on Roman Pottery Studies (Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi, Catania, 22-24 Aprile 2004), Monografie dell'Istituto per i beni archeologici e monumentali.

From Classical Journal:

REINHARDT and WINTERBOTTOM, eds., Quintilian Institutio Oratoria Book 2

GRIFFITH and MARKS, A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Agora. Ancient Greek and Roman Humour

ante diem iii kalendas junias

339 A.D. -- death of Eusebius

grandee @ Dictionary.com

fabulist @ Worthless Word for the Day

garrulous @ Merriam-Webster

From Art Daily:

In 1734, a group of young British gentlemen, all alumni of the Grand Tour in Italy, formed a dining club in London. Calling themselves the Society of Dilettanti (from the Italian dilettare, to take delight), this close-knit association transformed classical antiquity from a private pleasure to a public benefit by sponsoring archaeological expeditions, forming collections, and publishing influential books on ancient architecture and sculpture. The Society’s first century is explored in Grecian Taste and Roman Spirit: The Society of Dilettanti, on view from August 7–October 27, 2008, at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa.

The exhibition presents the Society of Dilettanti as connoisseurs—of statues, sexuality, and the science of antiquity. Over 100 objects will be on view, primarily drawn from the collections of the Getty Research Institute (GRI) and the Society of Dilettanti in London. Most of the works are on display for the first time in the United States, and many of them have never been seen by the public. The installation features oil portraits, sculptures, drawings, caricatures, artifacts, and rare books that tell the story of the Society, whose cultural ambitions flourished in an atmosphere of Dionysian revels and aesthetic refinement.

“The Library of the Getty Research Institute holds an archive of exceptional drawings commissioned by the Society, including rare examples of the work of John Samuel Agar, recognized as among the finest ever made of sculpture,” said Claire Lyons, co-curator of the exhibition and curator of Antiquities at the Getty Museum. “We soon recognized that many antiquities, sculptures and paintings in the Museum’s collection can also be linked to the 18th-century Dilettanti. This offers us a fruitful opportunity to display these collections together, and to explore a widely influential but little known network of artists, architects, and their aristocratic patrons."

The exhibition’s companion publication, Dilettanti: The Antic and the Antique in Eighteenth-Century England was written by Bruce Redford, co-curator of the exhibition and professor of Art History and English at Boston University. “Convivial social intercourse was the Society of Dilettanti’s raison d’être, but cultivating the public taste for classical antiquity was its primary mission. Ultimately, they set a fresh course for the field of classical archaeology,” says Redford.

Generous sponsors of expeditions to Greece, the Ionian coast of Asia Minor, and the Middle East—regions then still largely unknown to Continental travelers—the Society published lavish folios that set unprecedented standards for objective archaeological research. In 1762, the Society underwrote the three-year sojourn of painter James "Athenian" Stuart (1713–88) and architect Nicholas Revett (1720–1804) in Athens, where they measured, excavated, and drew the city's classical monuments. Stuart and Revett's findings were presented in The Antiquities of Athens, an imposing three-volume publication that inspired Greek Revival architects and designers for the next century. Important books underwritten by the membership also circulated the observations of teams sent out to map ancient lands and explore ruins in Ionia, Baalbek, Palmyra, and Attica.

Membership in the Society was far from all scholarly fieldwork. Meeting in taverns to discuss "those objects which had contributed to their entertainment abroad," they elevated "convivial intercourse" to a high art. Echoing the Roman poets Virgil and Horace, their drinking toasts and mottoes signaled the Society’s priorities: “Seria Ludo” (serious matters in a playful spirit), “Res est Severa Voluptas” (pleasure is a serious business), and “Viva la Virtù” (long live the fine arts). As the English novelist Horace Walpole (1717-1797) waspishly observed, “The nominal qualification [for membership] is having been in Italy, and the real one, being drunk.”

Ribald and profane, the Society nurtured a lively curiosity for ancient erotica, piqued by the sensational finds of sexually explicit art in Herculaneum and Pompeii. They made a subversive contribution to the interpretation of ancient mythology and religion with A Discourse on the Worship of Priapus, which drew from reports of a phallic cult in southern Italy. Designed both to inform and to titillate, this daring treatise argued that all art is rooted in religion, and all religion in sexuality. The exhibition Grecian Taste and Roman Spirit includes what scandalized critics termed "obscene" artifacts, installed in an intimate, dimly lit gallery evoking the “museo segreto,” or a cabinet of erotic curiosities.

Taking inspiration from such groups as the libertine Hell Fire Clubs, the esoteric Freemasons, and the Arcadian Academy in Rome, the Dilettanti carried out traditional rituals in rooms hung with witty portraits by George Knapton and Sir Joshua Reynolds. The president draped himself in a scarlet toga and sat in a mahogany armchair called the “sella curulis,” after the official chair occupied by Roman consuls. Other officers included an "arch master" and an "imp" who sported a tail. Suitably decorated with sensual and suggestive imagery, a mahogany "Tomb of Bacchus" and balloting box were used to conduct business and to collect fines as "face money" for failure to present a portrait. During the Society’s early years, the most colorful members were Sir Francis Dashwood (1701–1781) 11th Baron le Despencer, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1762–1763) and the founder of the notorious Hell Fire Club; and Charles Sackville (1711–1769), 2nd Duke of Dorset, an impresario of Italian opera in London.

The Dilettanti's reputation for revelry and riot was tempered by their stature as "arbiters of fashionable virtù." The last of their monumental publishing enterprises, Specimens of Antient Sculpture, features collections of Greek and Roman art created by such prominent members as author Richard Payne Knight (1751-1824), Charles Townley (1737-1805), and Thomas Hope (1769-1831). Hope’s collection is also explored in The Hope Hygieia: Restoring a Statue’s History, on view at the Getty Villa through September 8.

Celebrated connoisseurs, Dilettanti members established and enlarged some of the finest antiquities galleries in England, including the collections at Castle Howard, Shugborough, Towneley Hall, Lansdowne House, Woburn Abbey, and Rokeby Hall.

Members of the Dilettanti emerged on the wrong side of history in the aesthetic disputes over the controversial 1816 acquisition of Lord Elgin's Parthenon sculptures by the British Museum, and as a result the Society's prestige suffered a serious blow. The Dilettanti nevertheless revolutionized the study of classical architecture and sculpture, eastern Mediterranean topography, and ancient religion, setting the stage for the great archaeological endeavors of the 19th century.

With 60 members, today's Society of Dilettanti still counts among its ranks distinguished figures from the world of the arts and culture including collectors, museum directors, art historians, authors, and aristocrats who have inherited great collections of paintings and sculpture. The Society meets five times a year at Brooks’ Club in London for dinners which are celebrated with traditional rituals, regalia, and toasts dating back to the eighteenth century. Vacancies in this “men only” group arise on death or retirement and are filled through an election in which each member can propose or second a candidate.

Current members include artist David Hockney, continuing a tradition of distinguished artist-members which began with George Knapton and includes Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Sir Martin Archer Shee, Lord Leighton, and John Singer Sargent. With the aim of reviving its original mission to support projects connected with archaeology and the arts, the Society established a charitable trust in 1977 and makes grants to cultural institutions, research centers, and young scholars of classical art and architecture.

“Grecian Taste and Roman Spirit brings together objects from across the Getty to illuminate a singular episode in the history of classical archaeology and neoclassical taste,” said Michael Brand, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “The Getty Villa’s classically inspired architecture provides the perfect setting and a vivid reminder of how Greek and Roman art has resonated, due in no small part to Dilettanti collectors and explorers.”

“We are very grateful for the generous loans that the Society of Dilettanti has made available,” adds Thomas Gaehtgens, director of the Getty Research Institute. “Their cooperation allows us to view our own archive through the enlightened eyes of travelers rediscovering ancient Mediterranean sites for the first time.”

From the Observer:

Chichester's Roman baths have been uncovered for the first time in 17 years.
The baths are to be the main attraction of the new £6.9m District Museum planned for the Tower Street site.

On Tuesday, archaeologists began exploratory work of the ancient remains currently buried underneath a car park.

Archaeology South East closed the car park for a four-week period while they assess the site's condition.

Project manager Diccon Hart hopes the new exploration will bring the previous findings up to date.

He said: "We are excited to be working on the site. It is one of the more significant sites in the Chichester area. We wish to fully and accurately locate the previous findings using modern equipment to assess any changes to 17 years ago."

First discovered in the 1970s by Chichester archaeologist Alec Down and a team of volunteers, the baths are due to undergo a full re-excavation to be on permanent display as the centrepiece of the new museum.

Cllr Nick Thomas, responsible for culture and sport, said: "Although access to the car park will be closed, members of the public will be able to see the work in progress from the footpaths around the edge of the car park, giving them a glimpse of what they can expect to see at the proposed museum."

Cllr Thomas believes that the Roman baths will bring something extra-special to the museum.

He said: "Having these remains is a great bonus. The whole team is looking forward to seeing the remains and checking their condition so we can safeguard them in the new building."

The archaeologists will also examine areas underneath a proposed housing development on the site.

"This is to ensure the building design will not damage any archaeological remains, and allow them to be preserved for the future," said a district council spokesman.

"It will also reduce the risk of any new archaeological discoveries during the main construction period which could cause delays and extra costs."

Following the excavations, the lower, larger part of the car park will be re-opened, but to protect the remains, the upper area will stay closed.

From ANA:

Did the ancient Greeks and Gauls have a foretaste of cabernet wine 2,000 years ago?

In "Desert Island Wine," wine expert Miles Lambert-Gocs outlines his theory that the balisca wine, which Pliny identified as Greek in the 1st century AD, had a key role in the evolution of grapes in southwest France, including Bordeaux, and is the oldest specifiable source of cabernet.

According to a Wine Appreciation Guild announcement, Pliny wrote that the balisca was already present in Rome's Spanish provinces in his time. "It is likely," says Lambert-Gocs, "that the balisca began crossing over the Pyrenees into southwestern France as early as that, since its quality was already recognized." Pliny paid attention to the balisca and became knowledgeable about it precisely because of its quality, which was also noted by the first-century Roman writer and agriculturist Columella.

By comparing Pliny's information with modern Greek and Albanian descriptions of native grapes, Lambert-Gocs traces the identity of Pliny's balisca and the 'black volitsa' of the northwestern Peloponnese, and the "vlosh" of coastal Albania -- where ancient Greek colonies flourished. Further, key traits of the volitsa (balisca) are seen in Cabernet Sauvignon, as specified and sourced in the addendum report in 'Desert Island Wine,' according to the author.

Lambert-Gocs is a long-time researcher on Greek wine history. His previous books are 'The Wines of Greece' (1990) and 'Greek Salad: A Dionysian Travelogue' (2004).

... we had an earlier post on this; some folks are skeptical of the claim (actually, the post is virtually identical, with the skeptical bit snipped)...

ante diem iv kalendas Iunias

Ambarvalia (?)

1905 -- birth of E. Togo Salmon (Samnium and the Samnites)

durable @ Merriam-Webster

The fine folks at Scholia are in the midst of installing a new server and have given me permission to post reviews here for now:

Scholia Reviews ns 17 (2008) 17.

James B. Rives, Religion in the Roman Empire. Blackwell Ancient Religions 2. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2007. Pp. x + 237, incl. 11 half-tones, 4 maps, 6 text boxes and two glossaries. ISBN 1-4051-0656-5. US$34.95.

Alison B. Griffith
Department of Classics, University of Canterbury
Christchurch, New Zealand

In this recent volume on Roman religion James Rives undertakes the daunting task of providing an overview to religion in the Roman Empire for undergraduates, secondary teachers, and other interested readers. The result is a concise, readable, stimulating, and adroitly organized introduction to a vast, cumbersome topic. Though only the second in the ‘Blackwell Ancient Religions’ series, the present volume joins a now steady stream of introductory texts and sourcebooks on Roman religion.[[1]] Readers will undoubtedly find it a welcome update for John Ferguson's The Religions of the Roman Empire,[[2]] its long- serving predecessor.

Given his audience, Rives wisely approaches the topic in terms that contrast ancient religion with modern preconceptions -- derived mainly from the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions -- which readers might understandably bring to the subject. This is most apparent in the introduction (pp. 1-12), where he explains the choice of words in the title -- specifically, why 'religions' is a modern term that cannot be applied to religious practices in antiquity, and what exactly is meant by 'Roman Empire' (rightly acknowledged as simultaneously a geographical, chronological, and political term on pp. 1f.). Throughout the book Rives demonstrates his thorough familiarity with a wide range of primary sources for the subject by using an eclectic and, on the whole, judicious selection of ancient evidence to illustrate the nature of ancient religion and the extent to which it differs from its modern counterparts. That said, pictures and plans are few, and archaeological evidence for religious practices, particularly those outside the mainstream traditions, is not used as much as literary and epigraphic evidence.

It is in drawing the distinction between religion then and now that Rives introduces the concept of a ‘Graeco-Roman normative tradition’ in religion, a ‘sort of implicit religious standard, a set of practices and beliefs that the [Greek and Roman] social and cultural elite of the empire regarded as normal’ (p. 6), that underlies his entire approach to this subject. Chapter 1, ‘Identifying Religion in the Graeco-Roman World’ (pp. 14-53), addresses more fully the ancient norms that constituted what is otherwise an elusive concept of religion -- the broad notion of ‘the divine’ and the manifold ways in which ancient gods were approached through cult, myth, art, and philosophy. Rives concludes with a discussion of the most palpable differences: the nature and role of authority, belief, and morality in defining people's experience with religion. What he does not do, and perhaps should, is defend more explicitly his argument that the Graeco-Roman normative tradition is a more useful device for understanding religion in the Roman Empire on a general level. The point that Roman religion was one of so many local traditions and was not imposed on the conquered is made somewhat indirectly and sporadically.

In Chapter 2, ‘Regional Religious Traditions of the Empire’ (pp. 54-88), Rives argues that the variety of local observances, even under Roman rule was another aspect of the Graeco-Roman norm, in which each cultural group had its own gods and religious practices. His aim is to show how these many local traditions were both similar to and different from the Graeco-Roman tradition, and thus he begins not with Italy but with Greece (followed by Asia Minor), whose culture was as pervasive as that of Rome and was adopted by members of the Roman elite and spread even further by conquest. Thus the reader gains the impression that the center of gravity in the Graeco-Roman norm sits decidedly east of the Adriatic, and this is reinforced by the discussion of religion in Italy which, despite a clear description of major differences between Roman and Greek practices and beliefs, emphasizes Greek influence. Apart from this, Rives accomplishes the difficult task of summarizing regional religious traditions in other parts of the empire in a manner that is succinct, informative, and gives a clear idea of practices before and after Roman conquest.

The nature of the divinity, only briefly described in the first chapter, is examined in more detail in Chapter 3, ‘The Presence of the Gods’ (pp. 89-104). Rives begins with the greatest commonality, the recognition of divine power in features of the natural world -- especially groves, caves, and water, and the omnipresence of shrines and altars honouring divine presence. In the second part of the chapter he makes effective use of inscriptions and votives to show how ordinary people, in invoking or thanking gods for assistance, perceived divine power of the gods and acknowledged the gods' direct intervention in their lives.

In Chapter 4, ‘Religion and Community’ (pp. 105-31), Rives explores religion as a social phenomenon that shaped group identity and social hierarchy. In contrast to the emphasis on personal experience in the previous chapter, he notes that any individual dedication attests not just a personal encounter with a god, but also that individual's relationship with a range of groups. The ensuing examination of the role of religion in shaping group identity and people's everyday experience in the most important communities -- city, household, and voluntary association -- stems from Aristotle's identification of natural human relationships in Politics 1.2. In the section on the city, Rives ably illustrates how urban spatial and temporal organization was oriented around temples and festivals, as well as how benefaction of these defined and reinforced social hierarchy. The story is much the same on the household level, where both cults specific to the family (for example, worship of the dead) as well as those that reduplicated public cult on a micro-scale (for example, worship of the Lares) influenced physical space and familial structure. In the final section Rives examines the role of religion in groups formed among those with shared religious beliefs, ethnicity, or occupation.

The next two chapters are devoted to the variety of gods and religious options within the Roman Empire. In Chapter 5, ‘Religion and Empire’ (pp. 32-57) Rives explains the ‘religious integration’ of the empire as the result of near universal recognition of the multiplicity of gods in conjunction with the mobility of worshippers to specific, specialized sites, and the transportability of gods with the relocation of their followers (especially slaves, soldiers, traders, and other officials). Such movement also spread the worship of initially local gods to entirely new places and social networks, and fueled the consequential process of syncretism and interpretatio. An examination of the historical development and importance of the deified figure of the emperor as a unifying factor concludes this chapter. Chapter 6, ‘Religious Options’ (pp. 158-81), looks at the other side of the coin; religious alternatives offering an experience or teachings outside the mainstream religious tradition that constituted the integration described in the previous chapter. The discussion is remarkable for the breadth of cults and source material addressed with concise clarity. Rives skillfully organizes the vast array of cults under the subheadings ‘Attractions’ and ‘Advantages’ and returns, implicitly, to his initial focus -- the substantial difference between modern and ancient definition of religion -- to show where Judaean and early Christian teachings fit in the range of options. Though he rightly represents the various options as offering a difference in degree and intensity rather than substance, the word ‘cult’ creeps in, as it must, without any discussion of the Latin word, or acknowledgement of the pejorative connotations that its English cognate carries today.

In Chapter 7, ‘Roman Religious Policy’ (pp. 182-201), Rives returns again to the idea of a Graeco-Roman tradition to describe the extent to which there was a religious policy, given the existence and nominal acceptance of multiple, overlapping traditions. He defines important terms such as atheism, impiety, and superstition from a Graeco-Roman point of view, which was largely bound up in the idea of showing respect for the gods through proper, traditional religious observances. Here superstition is represented as a question of degree and substance. Accepting that direct intervention in religious matters was rare, and more often took the form of ‘indirect pressures and incentives’, Rives examines the negative impact of Roman rule in terms of exertion of or disregard for authority and three instances of active suppression (magic and monotheism in Judaean and Christian practice).

Some features of the book, including further reading sections at the end of each chapter, a full bibliography, and two glossaries (of major deities and of authors and texts) will assist readers new to the subject. The intra- textual citations (pp. 69, 128, 129, 134, and 139) are conspicuous by their paucity and send a mixed message to students about the necessity of proper citation. The six text boxes are well chosen and provide a stimulating point of departure for discussion, but this is not a source book per se, especially since there is no index of the hundreds of other references to ancient source material in the text.

None of the criticisms herein should detract in any major way from this book, which offers a fresh view on a broad, even intractable subject in a manner that is both accessible and understandable for the uninitiated. It will, no doubt, become one of the staple texts for any introductory course on Roman religion and grace many a ‘further reading’ list in Roman imperial history and civilization courses.

NOTES



[[1]] C. Ando (ed.) Roman Religion (Edinburgh 2003); M. Beard, J. North and S. Price Religions of Rome. Vol. 1: A History. Vol. 2: A Sourcebook (Cambridge 1998); J. North Roman Religion. Greece & Rome New Surveys in the Classics, No.30 (Oxford 2000); V. Warrior Roman Religion: A Sourcebook (Newburyport, MA 2002); J. Scheid (tr. J. Lloyd), An Introduction to Roman Religion (Bloomington, IN 2003).

[[2]] John Ferguson, Religions of the Roman Empire (Ithaca, New York 1970).

Interesting item from the Jerusalem Post:

Can a 6,000-year-old shroud uncovered in the Judean Desert in 1993 help illuminate the centuries-old debate over the Shroud of Turin?

That is the question posed by Olga Negnevitsky, a conservator at the Israel Museum who was involved in the conservation of the lesser-known shroud for the Antiquities Authority after it was discovered inside a small cave near Jericho.

The idea to use the older shroud to learn more about the famous one came to Negnevitsky this week after she listened to an address on the Shroud of Turin at the International Art Conference in Jerusalem on the conservation of cultural and environmental heritage.

"If we reexamine the [Jericho] shroud with all the latest modern technology, then maybe we will find out more information that will help solve the secrets of the Shroud of Turin," Negnevitsky said Wednesday.

The finely-decorated shroud, which is 7 meters by 2 m., was found by Israeli archeologists at the entrance to what has been dubbed the Cave of the Warrior, during a search for additional Dead Sea Scrolls near Wadi el-Makkukah.

Instead of finding biblical scrolls, the archeologists stumbled on the 6,000-year-old tomb of a nobleman whose body was wrapped in an elaborate linen shroud.

The skeleton was accompanied by a long flint blade, wooden bowls, sandals of thick leather, and bows.

The shroud, like the Shroud of Turin, had signs of blood on it, likely from a wound suffered by the bandaged warrior, Negnevitsky said.

After painstaking preservation, the shroud was displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in 1998 and then at the Israel Museum in 2003 before being placed in the storeroom of the Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem, she said.

The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth, about 4.3 m. long and 90 cm. wide, that is kept in a cathedral in Turin, Italy. It bears the faint image of a blood-covered man and is believed by some to be Jesus's burial cloth.

A 1998 radiocarbon test dated the cloth from some time between 1260 and 1390 CE, ruling out any connection with Jesus.

Other studies suggested that the radiocarbon test was flawed and that the shroud was anywhere from 1,300 to 3,000 years old. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have said that pollen and plant images on it put its origins in Jerusalem sometime before the eighth century.

Despite numerous tests carried out over the years, the Shroud of Turin, which was first documented in 1357 in Lirey, France, has remained a puzzle as debate continues over whether it is a major Christian find, a fascinating example of medieval folk art, or a fraud.

The hope is that, provided the Antiquities Authority gives the go-ahead, a comparison with the Jericho-area shroud - found relatively near where scholars believe the Shroud of Turin was discovered - will lead to a more accurate estimate of the latter shroud's age, as well as other information.

"This is another source that could shed light on the mystery of the Shroud of Turin," said Prof. Amos Notea of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, who is the Israel chairman of the conservation conference that brought together scholars from around the world.

"It was here the whole time, but no one connected it until now," Notea said.

ante diem v kalendas Iunias

585 B.C. -- solar eclipse predicted by Thales of Miletus occurs during the battle of the Halys (another possible date)

20 A.D. -- Drusus "Minor", the son of the emperor Tiberius, celebrates an ovatio for his victories in Illyricum

ca 250 A.D. -- martyrdom of Heliconis

krotoscope @ Worthless Word for the Day

heliolatry @ Merriam-Webster

From Ha'aretz:

A Roman-era bronze figurine of a woman and an intact ceramic pitcher more than a meter high were among dozens of antiquities that Haifa law-enforcement authorities discovered Monday while raiding the home of a man suspected of planning to sell the goods.

The finds - which also include three anchors from ancient ships, pottery, ancient coins, and glass and bronze tools - were allegedly recovered during illegal dives to undersea archaeological sites in the north.

The suspect has confessed to retrieving the antiquities, and the prosecution is set to decide in the next few days whether to indict him.

Inspectors from the Israel Antiquities Authority unit for the prevention of antiquities theft, who conducted the raid with the assistance of the Haifa police, said they were particularly surprised to find the intact Amphora pitcher, which has two handles and a pointed base. They said it was in the hold of a ship that apparently sank in the Mediterranean in antiquity.

One of the handles bears the imprint of a seal with a Greek inscription that is expected to tell archaeologists where the cargo was shipped from, what kind of goods were sent, and most important, when they were sent.

Amir Ganor, the director of the antiquities theft prevention unit, said removing antiquities from sunken ships is illegal and hampers archaeological research.

"If you dive and accidentally discover antiquities on the sea floor, do not remove the antiquities from the sea," Ganor said. "Try to mark the location and try to get exact coordinates, and immediately report it to the Antiquities Authority. Diving and removing antiquities from sunken ships on the sea floor sabotages archaeological research and erases important historical evidence. In addition, it is illegal."

This is in Wired today!:

585 B.C.: A solar eclipse in Asia Minor brings an abrupt halt to a battle, as the warring armies lay down their arms and declare a truce. Historical astronomy later sets a likely date, providing a debatable calculation point for pinning down some dates in ancient history.

This was not the first recorded solar eclipse. After failing to predict one such in 2300 B.C., two Chinese astrologers attached to the emperor's court were soon detached from their heads. Clay tablets from Babylon record an eclipse in Ugarit in 1375 B.C. Later records identify total solar eclipses that "turned day into night" in 1063 and 763 B.C.

But the 585 B.C. eclipse was the first we know that was predicted. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that Thales of Milete predicted an eclipse in a year when the Medians and the Lydians were at war. Using the same calculating methods that predict future eclipses, astronomers have been able to calculate when eclipses occurred in the past. You can run the planetary clock in reverse as well as forward. To coin a word, you can postdict as well as predict.

The most likely candidate for Thales' eclipse took place on May 28, 585 B.C., though some authorities believe it may have been 25 years earlier in 610 B.C. Hundreds of scholars have debated this for nearly two millenniums.

Predicting a solar eclipse is not easy. You need to calculate not only when it will happen, but where it will be visible. In a lunar eclipse, when the moon passes through the Earth's huge sun shadow, the event is visible on the whole side of the Earth that's in nighttime, and totality often lasts more than an hour. But in a solar eclipse, the moon's shadow falls across the Earth in a relatively narrow path, and the maximum duration of totality at any given place is only about 7½ minutes.

So you need to know the moon's orbit in great detail -- within a small fraction of a degree of arc. The early Greeks did not have this data.

We do not know the method Thales used to make his prediction. The method may have been used only once, because we have no other records of the Greeks of this era accurately predicting further eclipses. Thales is believed to have studied the Egyptians' techniques of land measurement (geo metry in Greek) later codified by Euclid. One has to wonder whether Thales made the famous eclipse prediction himself, or if he simply borrowed it from the Egyptians.

However he made the prediction, and however precise or vague it may have been, the eclipse occurred. Aylattes, the king of Lydia, was battling Cyaxares, king of the Medes, probably near the River Halys in what is now central Turkey.

The heavens darkened. Soldiers of both kings put down their weapons. The battle was over. And so was the war.

After 15 years of back-and-forth fighting between the Medes and the Lydians, the kings of Cilicia and Babylon intervened and negotiated a treaty. The River Halys, where the Battle of the Eclipse was fought, became the border between the Lydians and the Medes.

Here's an interesting detail from Dominican Today:

A Dominican archaeologist sponsors an expedition in Egypt that experts think is about to locate the Egyptian queen Cleopatra’s tomb who sedated Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony.

Kathleen Martinez, defined by a Catalonia newspaper as a rich explorer born in Santo Domingo, began her quest in 2004 when she traveled to Egypt to implement her ambitious project.

"Under her orders and paid from her own pocket, a team of 30 people removed from soil from the temple Tabusiris Magna, near Alexandria, in search of what would be the greatest archaeological discovery since Tutankhamen’s tomb," explains the website Egyptology Friends (EA).

The press agency AFP said Martinez is part of a Dominican-Egyptian expedition allegedly found "Cleopatra’s alabaster head.”

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Comments
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Rick Darby scripsit:

Julius Caesar and Mark Antony were sedated by Cleopatra's tomb? Was it
injected into them, or were they just next to her tomb when they were
sedated? In either case, a bold new theory. I love this kind of thinking
outside the box, or tomb.

"The press agency AFP said Martinez is part of a Dominican-Egyptian
expedition allegedly found 'Cleopatra¹s alabaster head.'

If her head was made of alabaster, no wonder she was able to keep it when
all about her were losing theirs (like Pompey).

I'm sorry, I get these spells sometimes.

From the Catholic News Agency:

The crypt below St. Peter’s basilica, which houses tombs from the first centuries of the Church and some Roman families, has had its largest mausoleum refurbished, Cardinal Angelo Comastri announced today.

Cardinal Comastri, who is the archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican, presented the results of the recently-completed restoration of the Valerii Mausoleum at a press conference this morning.

The mausoleum, which dates from the 2nd century A.D. and is famous for its stucco decorations, can be found as one walks through the middle of the necropolis toward the tomb of St. Peter.

According to a Vatican press release, the stuccowork was in need of restoration because it had been damaged by the instability of the microclimate in the necropolis and by earlier restoration using inappropriate materials.

The operation, which lasted ten months and was undertaken by a team of experts specializing in underground restorations, was carried out using scalpels, mini drills and, for the most delicate areas, laser equipment. Furthermore, by studying stucco fragments conserved in the storerooms of the Fabric of St. Peter's, it was also possible to recompose three of the four-sided Greek columns known as hermae.

The Valerii family mausoleum has been covered within a glass case to allow viewing while maintaining a proper internal microclimate, which is constantly monitored by a high-precision computerized system. New illumination, using fiber optic cables, makes it possible to admire the colored surfaces, frescoed to imitate polychrome marble, and the white stucco decorations, modeled to replicate marble statues.

The restoration work was made possible with help from the "Fondazione pro Musica e Arte Sacra."

Diana Wright sent this one in (thanks!) ... from the Times:

A 2,500-year-old gold cup that has spent the past 60 years in a box under its owner’s bed is expected to fetch up to £100,000 after being rediscovered during a house move.

The cup was given to John Webber by his grandfather, a rag-and-bone man, who acquired it in the 1930s.

Because his grandfather, William Sparks, dealt in brass and copper scrap, Mr Webber assumed that it was made from those metals until he had the unusual piece valued this year.

The cup, which is 5.5in (14 cm) high, is embossed with two female faces, each wearing a crown formed from snakes. It baffled experts from the British Museum until metallurgical tests identified its likely origins as the Middle East or North Africa between three and four centuries before Christ.
Related Links

Mr Webber, 70, has no idea how his grandfather came to acquire the cup or what it was doing in Taunton, Somerset, where he had his business before and during the Second World War. “My grandfather was originally a proper rag-and-bone man from Romany stock and lived in a caravan. He formed a scrap metal company in the 1930s and made enough to have his own house built.

“My father died in the war and afterwards my grandfather gave me some things shortly before he died. One of the things was the cup, which I remember playing with. I put it in a box and forgot about it. Then last year I moved house and took it out to have a look and I realised it wasn’t bronze or brass.”

Double-headed bowls and tableware depicting the two faces of Janus, the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings, were common in Roman times. But in Roman mythology, Janus was usually depicted as a hirsute male, not a beautiful female.

Experts from the British Museum advised Mr Webber to have the gold tested to establish its precise make-up. He said: “I paid quite a bit of money for it to be examined by a lab the museum recommended. They found that the gold dated from the 3rd or 4th century BC.

“I really don’t know where it came from, but I remember it from when I was a small boy. It’s been quite exciting finding out what it was.”

An analysis of trace elements in a gold sample taken from the cup was carried out by Harwell Scientifics, of Didcot, Oxfordshire, and the University of Oxford. The Oxford Materials Characterisation Services, part of the university, concluded that the method of manufacture and the composition of the gold were found to be “consistent with Achaemenid gold and gold smithing”. The Achaemenid empire, the first of the Persian empires to rule over significant portions of Greater Iran, was wiped out by Alexander the Great in 330BC.

Stating that the cup was probably made in the latter years during the empire, the Oxford study states: “It would be reasonable to argue here that the presence of cadmium could be connected with the addition of silver and copper to the alloy and not the gold — if this is the case it would argue that the gold in the cup is refined and this might place it later rather than earlier in the Achaemenid period.”

Peter Northover, the scientist who reported on the gold analysis, said in his report: “Although Janus was not part of Achaemenid mythology, cups and beakers made with high-relief heads do appear in Achaemenid art. The analysis of the gold might place it later rather than earlier in the period.”

Jeannine Davis-Kimball, an American expert on the ancient peoples of Central Asia, said: “The cup is stunning, just stunning. The heraldic snakes relate to the iconography found in eastern Iran, especially during the early Elamite period.”

Guy Schwinge, of Duke’s auctioneers in Dorchester, Dorset, which is selling the cup, said: “The scientific analysis of the cup speaks for itself. Bearing in mind the differing views of the experts it will be fascinating to see what happens on day of auction.”

Two other items passed down from Mr Webber’s grandfather are also for sale at the auction on June 5. They are a Roman gold spoon valued at £10,000 and a “Hellenistic” gold mount with a figure thought to be Ajax, probably from the second century BC and valued at up to £2,000.

The Daily Mail seems to have the best photos:

THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
School of History, Classics and Archaeology

Cicero Awayday V

A one-day conference to mark the 2,050th anniversary of the death of M.
Tullius Cicero

Friday 20 June 2008

Room 6.11, David Hume Tower, George Square, Edinburgh


10.30-12.30: Soldiers, Morals and Historians
Chair: Dr Dominic Berry

Katherine Liong (University of Edinburgh)
“To be or not to be a general: Cicero’s varying views on the value of
military service”

Dr Jakob Wisse (Newcastle University)
“Not in that imaginary Republic of Plato’s: Cicero on the ethics of
rhetoric”

Professor Andrew Lintott (Worcester College, Oxford)
“Cicero and Greek historiography”

12.30-1.45: lunch

1.45-3.45: Cicero’s Speeches
Chair: Professor Andrew Lintott

Dr Dominic Berry (University of Edinburgh)
“What are Cicero’s Catilinarians?”

Dr Gesine Manuwald (University College, London)
“Permiscenda laus: on the function and uses of panegyric in Cicero’s
speeches”

Professor Jonathan Powell and Professor Lene Rubinstein (Royal Holloway,
London)
“Sextus Roscius’ defence team”

3.45-4.10: tea

4.10-5.30: Oratory and Rhetoric
Chairs: Professor Jonathan Powell and Professor Lene Rubinstein

Dr Henriette van der Blom (Merton College, Oxford)
“The formation of an orator: Lucius Crassus in Cicero’s works”

Dr Kathryn Tempest (Roehampton University)
“Attic oratory and Cicero’s rhetorical strategy”

5.30-6: wine reception


Conference organiser: Dr Dominic Berry (University of Edinburgh)
Email: d.h.berry AT ed.ac.uk

Lunch will be available at a local restaurant at an approximate cost of
£10-12 per person, payable to the restaurant on the day.

The conference is open to all, but those intending to come should inform
the conference organiser Dr Berry in advance, indicating whether or not
they wish to reserve a place for lunch.

The conference will be held in Room 6.11, David Hume Tower, George
Square. David Hume Tower is 15 minutes’ walk from Waverley train
station. Maps may be found at www.ed.ac.uk/about/maps. Details of the
bus service between Edinburgh airport and the terminus at Waverley Bridge
may be found at www.flybybus.com.

Bed and breakfast accommodation may be available at the University’s
Kenneth Mackenzie Suite, which is 15 minutes’ walk from Waverley train
station and three minutes’ walk from David Hume Tower. Please contact:
Kenneth Mackenzie Suite, The University of Edinburgh, 7 Richmond Place,
Edinburgh EH8 9ST (tel. 0131 651 2007; fax 0131 668 3821; email
bed.breakfast AT ed.ac.uk). The cost is £49 per night for a single bedroom,
£54 per night for a double bedroom occupied by one person, and £69 per
night for a double bedroom occupied by two people.

From a press release:

As a chemical engineering major, James Morrison has earned the top ranking in the department and a reputation among his professors as one of the most impressive students they have taught at Princeton.

But it is Morrison's love of Latin that will be highlighted at Princeton's Commencement ceremony on June 3, when he will deliver the traditional Latin address as the salutatorian of the class of 2008.

From exploring political themes in Roman poetry to experimenting with potential advances in nanoelectronics, Morrison has tackled an array of intellectual challenges over the past four years -- just what he envisioned when deciding to attend Princeton.

"I ended up choosing Princeton because it offered me a wider variety of experiences and a liberal arts education even though I would be studying engineering," he said.

Morrison, who is from Kensington, Md., has taken courses in 12 departments and programs. A student of Latin throughout middle school and high school, he continued that path by taking five courses in classics at Princeton, engaging his particular interest in Roman literature -- all while majoring in chemical engineering and pursuing a certificate in engineering physics.

"There is a common thread of puzzle-solving, in that decoding a physical problem is somewhat the same idea as decoding a Latin text," Morrison said. "But ultimately I think they are a very good complement, because it uses different parts of your brain to engage a more artistic side as opposed to a very quantitative side."

Andrew Feldherr, an associate professor of classics, taught Morrison in courses on the poet Horace and on Roman civilization. Noting that Morrison demonstrated "flawless Latin" in his upper-level course on Horace, Feldherr said, "I was impressed not only with James' overall mastery of the material, but also with his thoughtfulness about how to interpret it."

For that course, Morrison wrote an original political interpretation of one of Horace's odes that Feldherr called "probably the single best idea on a piece of Latin literature that I have heard from an undergraduate in 10 years of teaching here."

Morrison earned similar praise from faculty in the chemical engineering department, where he earned the highest ranking in class on the strength of A+ grades in more than half of his courses.

"James is one of the most outstanding students I have encountered during my 16 years of service at Princeton," said Ilhan Aksay, professor of chemical engineering. "During the last four years, he worked in my group on various research projects. On all projects, he excelled and produced impressive results."

Pablo Debenedetti, the Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science, added that Morrison "is one of the five best undergraduates (out of a total of approximately 600) that I have taught in my 23 years at Princeton. He is truly off-scale."

As a sophomore, Morrison took a course on thermodynamics with Debenedetti, in which "he demonstrated superior mastery and understanding of this complex and challenging subject, and excelled in every aspect of the course," Debenedetti said. "His questions, both in class and during office hours, and the overall quality of his work revealed a truly unusual appreciation for the nuances and subtleties of thermodynamics."

Morrison excelled the next year in a graduate-level course on that subject with Debenedetti, who also co-advised Morrison on his senior thesis project along with Aksay.

In his thesis, which involved theoretical and experimental research, Morrison investigated methods for patterning surfaces with very small particles, which could ultimately have applications in nanoelectronics.

For Morrison, this project capped an academic journey that more than lived up to his expectations of Princeton.

"I will remember the amazing intellectual experience that I had here -- having outstanding researchers talk with me and teach my classes. I will remember the ability I've had to do independent work in chemical engineering, which has been very rewarding," Morrison said. "And I will remember, certainly, the personal relationships that I've had with my friends."

Morrison earned the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and served as vice president of Princeton's chapter of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society. Outside the classroom, he sang bass in the Chapel Choir for four years, performing solos in Bach's "Magnificat" and Mozart's "Requiem" this year. After graduation, he will work in quantitative finance for Goldman Sachs in New York City, and he may pursue graduate studies in applied physics in the future.

"He is, in short, one of a kind: a deep thinker and an extraordinarily gifted and creative individual," Debenedetti said.

An interview from Focus (a Bulgarian magazine):

The new archeologist season in the region of Sliven will be launched soon. The excavations organized by the Regional Historical Museum and Thracian Expedition for Tumular Investigations /TEMP/ continue.
Archeologist Nikolay Sirakov, deputy head of the excavations, tells more about the Thracian urban culture in an interview with Focus News Agency.


FOCUS: Mr. Sirakov, the urban culture is usually an indicator of the achievements of a civilization – since when have there been cities in Thrace?
Nikolay Sirakov: The first cities south of the Balkan Mountains /Stara Planina/ date back to IV century BC. These cities were different from the Greek polis because of differences in relations of ownership and urban life organization. Usually such cities are labeled neopolis – Philippoupolis, Seuthopolis, Kabile, Uskudama, ect. The region between the upper and middle course of the Tundzha river is of enormous industrial, cultural, military and politician significance for the entire history of Thrace.

FOCUS: What is the area of influence of these cities?
Nikolay Sirakov: Roads are an important factor in the flourishing commercial relations in the region. They connected the central settlements with commercial centers along the eastern and southern seaside. Using the numismatic material obtained from Kabile’s hinterland we can approximately determine the border of the urban territory of the Thracian settlement. Kabile’s northern border reaches the foot of Eastern Balkan Mountains. In the west Kabile spreads to St. Iliyski and Manastirski hills, in the south – to northern slopes of Strandzha and Sakar mountains, in the east – to Apollonia and Mesambria.
Another big Thracian center – Seuthopolis – includes most probably the upper course of the Tundzha river, bordering on Kabile in the east. In the south it reaches the foot of Sredna Gora mountains and in the north – Balkan Mountains.

FOCUS: What did Thracian cities look like?
Nikolay Sirakov: The urban planning of the two Thracian cities mirrors the development stage of the social and economic relations in the Odrysian kingdom – a union of Thracian tribes who lived in the two cities at the end of IV and beginning of III century BC. What is typical for the Early Hellenistic period is agora (an open place of assembly) and temples. The city’s reinforced part was built by means of the so-called Hippodamus urban planning system. The houses’ foundations were made of stones soldered with mud and an additional storey made of timber framework and adobe. The roof is wooden and covered with tiles. The Thracian cities’ hinterland contains the already discovered sub-tumulus temples and tumuli with burials. The temples differentiate according to their planning. They date back between the end of VI and beginning of II century BC. The plan of the Thracian temple-tombs is almost one and the same. There is a central chamber – round or rectangular with a dome or an arch and a dromos (corridor), which leads to the chamber. Sometimes the chamber and dromos are separated by a door, thus stressing on the isolation from the outer world and heightening the sacral.

From News.bg comes word of a possible temple to Dionysus in Bulgaria:

Over the tomb of Sevt III (on the coin) in the mound Goliama Kosmatka near Shipka town (Central Bulgaria) is most probably located the temple of Dionysius - the God of Fruitfulness.

The news was reported in Kazanluk city by the director of local History Museum Kosio Zarev.

According to Zarev's words the conclusion was made after the detailed geo-radar examinations of the mound executed by a private team.

The researches showed that immediately over the Sevt III's tomb, revealed three years ago, is located a premises, similar to a temple, in which left outlet was defined a presence of big bronze statute.

The scientists believe that the discovery treats the unrevealed until now, but existing in ancient times temple of Dionysius, for who is known for sure that was by the river valley of Tundja River (South - Eastern Bulgaria).

Kosio Zarev supposes that firstly was created the temple pf Dionysius by Sevt himself, who had praised the God of Fruitfulness.

According to the Kazanluk Museum's chief the temple was active until the moment it was turned into a religious spot.

This summer are expected to start examination excavations in the region of the sanctuary.

If in the mound of Goliama Kosmatka will be discovered the disappearing temple of the Thracian God, the valley will become big scientific world sensation.

8.00 p.m. |HISTC| RE-INVENTORS, THE II | Roman Crane
Ancient structures like the Coliseum and Hadrian’s Wall give testament to the skill and knowledge that builders had thousands of years ago. Join The Re-Inventors as they give due to the power behind these creations – the Roman Crane. This massive piece of equipment, powered by a human-sized hamster wheel, was responsible for building some of the most impressive structures in history. The Re-Inventors have a few questions though: How did it work? How much could it lift? Matt and Jeremy are going to build it and find out.

HISTC = History Television (Canada)

ante diem vii kalendas junias

17 A.D. -- Germanicus celebrates a triumph for his victories in Germany

106 A.D. -- martyrdom of Zachary in Gaul

107 A.D. -- Trajan arrives in Rome and celebrates a triumph for his victories over the Dacians

303 A.D. -- martyrdom of Felicissimus, Heraclius, and others at what is now Todi (Umbria)

vehement @ Dictionary.com

exeleutherostomize @ Worthless Word for the Day

garboil @ Wordsmith

decorous @ Merriam-Webster

From the Turkish Daily News:

An ancient Roman structure discovered in the eastern city of Malatya's Kuluncak district will be brought to the surface during an archaeological excavation set to begin this year.

The building, known as an agora, is believed to have acted as an important trading center and courtroom in the Roman era.

"The center, which was found during excavations carried out in Kuluncak's Kaynarca village, was the foundation of an agora," said Malatya Archaeology Museum Director İzzet Esen. "We have been carrying out excavations in the village for the last year. When we first saw the mosaic in Kuluncak we thought it did not cover a very large area and that we could bring it to the surface easily."

He said the archaeologists had originally planned to take the mosaic to a museum, but further excavations showed that it covered a larger area than they originally imagined. Instead, they were standing on the ground of a complex structure, a "Basilica," located in an Agora that acted as a trading center and courtroom in the ancient Roman city.

Esen believes the excavations to be conducted in September or October will bring the complete structure to the surface. He said the museum has also prepared a project for the mosaics, which will be covered with wood and turned into an open-air museum. He promised that the museum will take the necessary security measures and protect the structure from environmental damage.

"This structure shows that it was a significant settlement area in the Roman era. This is why it is also important in tourism," he said.

Esen added that the museum plans to ask the Culture and Tourism Ministry for YTL 25,000 for the open-air museum project and excavations.

A piece in the Independent begins by suggesting:

Stone Age Britons had a sophisticated knowledge of geometry to rival Pythagoras – 2,000 years before the Greek "father of numbers" was born, according to a new study of Stonehenge.

Five years of detailed research, carried out by the Oxford University landscape archaeologist Anthony Johnson, claims that Stonehenge was designed and built using advanced geometry.

The discovery has immense implications for understanding the monument – and the people who built it. It also suggests it is more rooted in the study of geometry than early astronomy – as is often speculated.

Mr Johnson believes the geometrical knowledge eventually used to plan, pre-fabricate and erect Stonehenge was learnt empirically hundreds of years earlier through the construction of much simpler monuments.

He also argues that this knowledge was regarded as a form of arcane wisdom or magic that conferred a privileged status on the elite who possessed it, as it also featured on gold artefacts found in prehistoric graves.

The most complex geometrical achievement at Stonehenge is an 87-metre diameter circle of chalk-cut pits which mark the points of a 56-sided polygon, created immediately within themonument's perimeter earthwork.

Mr Johnson used computer analysis and experimental archaeology to demonstrate that this outer polygon was laid out using square and circle geometry. He believes the surveyors started by using a rope to create a circle, then laid out the four corners of a square on its circumference, before laying out a second similar square, thus creating an inner octagon. The points of the octagon were then utilised as anchors for a surveyor's rope which was used to "draw" arcs which intersected the circumference so as to progressively create the sides of a vast polygon.

Indeed, his work has demonstrated that a 56-sided polygon is the most complex that can easily be created purely through square and circle geometry using a single piece of rope.

It then goes on to say:

It is likely that this basic limitation determined the number of sides of Stonehenge's outer polygon – and may also have led to the 56-sided polygon concept becoming important within wider European religious belief. Ancient Greek classical mythology associated just such a 56-sided polygon with Zeus's great rival for divine supremacy, the weather god Typhon.

I've heard of Typhon having a hundred heads (sources compiled at Theoi), but never this 56-sided polygon claim ....

From the Miami Herald:

The ancient language spoken in the Roman Empire is gaining popularity at one Broward high school.

Latin has been a part of the World Languages curriculum at Cypress Bay High since the school opened several years ago. Instructor Declan Lyons says more students are learning how important it can be in their studies.

Latin words form the basis for much of the vocabulary in the English language, according to Lyons, who teaches Ancient Classical Languages and French at the Weston school, one of just a handful in Broward that teaches the language.

Latin is one of six languages taught at Cypress Bay, along with French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and American Sign Language.

The program offers several levels of instruction, from beginner to two different Advanced Placement Latin courses.

In one of those courses, students read the ancient Roman love poets Ovid and Catullus.

In another, they tackle Virgil's epic poem, the Aeneid, written in the first century B.C.

''Latin is a gift they will carry with them and a knowledge base which will always help them understand English. It is not something they will ever lose,'' Lyons said.

For the first time, 23 of his students were recently inducted into the National Junior Classical League Latin Honor Society, whose members include more than 50,000 students from around the world.

Student Jake Marika said he has enjoyed learning Latin because it helps him break down words and better understand their context.

''When you learn a language structurally, it happens step by step and you understand what's going on,'' the 17-year-old senior from Weston said.

Lyons said he approaches the class not only from a grammatical and linguistic point but also from a literary, historical and cultural perspective.

''I teach them the love of words and the culture and history that surrounds those words,'' he said.

The priority is not on learning how to actually speak the language but on its structure and format.

Lyons said having a Latin base can often provide the key to unlocking words students don't know and help boost vocabulary.

Junior Anne Salsbury of Southwest Ranches said that during a recent SAT practice, she relied on her Latin to help her figure out several questions.

''I knew that taking it would help me with SAT's or any kind of language,'' she said.

The incipit of an item at Catalyst (it's a transcript of an interview):

Narration: What’s the fast growing source of greenhouse gas?

You might be surprised but it’s cement.

Cement’s already the 3rd largest man-made source of carbon dioxide - more than two billion tonnes of it a year. That’s after fossil fuels and defrorestation.

And because of all the construction going on around the world, cement’s carbon footprint is growing rapidly.

We desperately need greener concrete.

Professor Jannie van Deventer’s team at the University of Melbourne has found one. And surprisingly it’s chemically similar to a cement used by the ancient Romans.

Professor Janine van Deventer: The good properties of geopolymeric concrete are also present in the old Roman structures, so old roman concrete be made along similar lines in terms of the chemistry.

Narration: Over time the Roman knowledge was lost. The cement we know and use was invented in the 19th Century. The problem with it is its fundamental chemistry.

Narration: 60% of the carbon emissions from cement manufacture come from the chemical reaction required to make it.

Calcium carbonate is heated until breaks down into calcium oxide – which is needed in the cement – and the by-product Carbon dioxide.

An environmentally-friendly cement will need a completely different chemical reaction.

... here's the rest ...

Martin Conde has put up some interesting clippings from the New York Times from the early 1900s, including one which shows that the controversy surrounding the Monteleone Chariot is a longstanding one -- the sale appears to have been approved due to the "negligence" of a public official. There's something else odd about the report ... it claims the chariot was discovered in Umbria and had been buried by the ashes of Vesuvius. Now as far as I know, there was no eruption of Vesuvius between archaic times and 79 A.D., so that doesn't quite make sense. Umbria and Vesuvius are also rather distant from each other and I'm not sure how one could get significant ashfall from an eruption at such a distance. Something doesn't add up here ... whether bad reportage or deliberate deception ...

9.00 p.m. |HISTC| ROME II | a Necessary Fiction
Octavian proclaims a new era of virtue in Rome, issuing a stern mandate that proves impossible for his family and subordinates to obey. A shipment of gold is mysteriously hijacked while en route to the Roman treasury, casting suspicion everywhere and sending Vorenus on a mission to learn who betrayed whom. In the wake of personal tragedy, Pullo channels his grief and fury on Memmio, Omnipor and their henchmen. After courting an “appropriate” bride named Livia, Octavian turns his attentions to more important matters, issuing to Mark Antony an ultimatum he knows he can’t refuse.

HISTC = History Television (Canada)

Online Videos by Veoh.com

... preview (such as it is); full version available on Veoh TV ...

From the Buzzard (what a great name for a newspaper):

PART of a Romano/British ring found by a Leighton metal detectorist in fields near Hockliffe has been declared treaure.
The ring, which has provided archaeologists with the missing link to a bloodthirsty ancient Celtic warrior god, was unearthed by Greg Dyer of Churchill Road in September 2005.

At an inquest last Tuesday, Beds coroner David Morris told the court that the piece of ring, thought to be from the third century AD, contains 2.98 grammes of silver.

The piece of jewellery, inscribed with the words 'Deo Tota Felix' is currently in the British Museum waiting to be valued.

In a report, the museum said that the missing part of the ring would almost certainly be inscribed with the word 'Vtere', as the four words together mean 'Use this ring happily'.

The god in question is Toutatis, of course ... we've had reports of rings for him before ...

The hype's picking up ... from the Times:

A flamboyant archeologist known worldwide for his trademark Indiana Jones hat believes he has identified the site where Cleopatra is buried.

Now, with a team of 12 archeologists and 70 excavators, Zahi Hawass, 60, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, has started searching for the entrance to her tomb.

And after a breakthrough two weeks ago he hopes to find her lover, the Roman general Mark Antony, sharing her last resting place at the site of a temple, the Taposiris Magna, 28 miles west of Alexandria.

Hawass has discovered a 400ft tunnel beneath the temple containing clues that the supposedly beautiful queen may lie beneath. “We’ve found tunnels with statues of Cleopatra and many coins bearing her face, things you wouldn’t expect in a typical temple,” he said.
Related Links

A fortnight ago Hawass’s team discovered a bust of Mark Antony, the Roman general who became Cleopatra’s lover and had three children with her before their ambitions for an Egyptian empire brought them into conflict with Rome.

They committed suicide – he with his sword, she reputedly by clutching an asp to her breast – after being defeated by Octavian in the battle of Actium in 31BC. “Our theory is that both Cleopatra and Mark Antony are buried here,” said Hawass.

The archeologist, best known in Britain for demanding the return of the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum and for promoting the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2 dome in London, believes the temple’s location would have made it a perfect place for Cleopatra to hide from Octavian’s army.

Work on the site has been suspended until the summer heat abates and is due to resume in November, when Hawass will use radar to search for hidden chambers.

The queen’s life and death were immortalised in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, and the Hollywood movie Cleopatra – starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who fell in love during the filming – but the location of her tomb has remained a mystery.

If Hawass is right, he could make the greatest archeological discovery in Egypt since Tutankhamun’s tomb was uncovered by the British archeologist Howard Carter in 1922.

Other experts are cautious, though. John Baines, professor of Egyptology at Oxford University, warned that searching for royal tombs often proved a “hopeless” task. He also doubted that Antony would be buried alongside his lover.

“It’s unlikely Mark Antony would have a tomb that anyone would be able to discover because he was the enemy at the time he died,” he said.

Hawass, however, remains defiant. “This is our theory. Others may disagree, but we are searching to see if we can prove it,” he said.

... worth checking out our earlier coverage of this one ...

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Comments
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Ramiro Sánchez-Crespo Dalmau scripsit:

It is amazing how Mr. Hawass keeps manufacturing amazing headlines. One day is a lost mummy, the other is some nasty detail about the death of a teenage pharaoh, or some never seen before opening of a sarcophagus...

... to me there are only 3 possible explanations to such media frenzy:

1. this man is a vedette, hungry for magazine covers, or...
2. there is a well orchestrated campaign to keep Egypt on the media, and continue attracting (cultural) tourism to the country. In these days, competition among rival touristic destinations is fierce, and promoting your country through this kind of news could be a good idea. I developed this idea further and wrote about it in a past article in my blog. I found that (surprisingly enough), Egypt's tourist statistics are not as impressive as one might expect, being surpassed by theoretically less interesting established in all Western countries and keeps many tourists from flying to Egypt. I suppose that, should you have to change Western people minds, cooperating with Discovery Channel or National Geographic is again the best you can do.

The Department of Classics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville,
has been authorized to make a two-year sabbatical-replacement
appointment at the level of Lecturer, to start in August 2008. Ph.D.
preferred. The preferred area of expertise is Greek philology. The
successful candidate should expect to teach introductory-level courses
in both Greek and Latin; there will be opportunities to teach
upper-division language courses as well as courses in translation.
Ability to teach an upper-division undergraduate survey of Greek history
would be a plus. Please contact Dr. David Tandy (dtandy AT utk.edu
), Professor and Head, with expressions of
interest.

Still poking around Veoh -- there's tons of stuff of interest there -- I find some of these items are a 'preview' with options to watch the whole thing on Veoh TV. This is extremely useful for folks who follow my Ancient World on Television listings and don't have access, e.g., to the History Channel or whatever. Much of this does seem to be available on Veoh. What I am putting below, however, is a preview of an item on the Antikythera Mechanism. Hopefully the option to see the full thing on Veoh TV also gets embedded:



UPDATE: It does seem to work -- then again, I have Veoh TV installed. YMMV, but it seems like this might be definitely a good thing ... if you have a decent video connection, you can actually contemplate downloading these things (40 min videos are in the 350 mb range) ...

ante diem x kalendas junias

Tubilustrium -- a purification of the battle trumpets which, like the one which occurred in March, was designed to prepare the troops for war (perhaps ... this tubilustrium is somehow connected with the following)

Festival of Vulcan

1270 B.C. -- Pierre Henri-Archer suggests this day for the fall of Troy

63 B.C. -- Pompey takes Jerusalem (by one reckoning)

37 B.C. -- Herod takes control of Jerusalem

ca. 303 A.D. -- martyrs of Cappadocia

1617 -- birth of Elias Ashmole

antejentacular @ Worthless Word for the Day

Cinematical is reporting that a production of Rosemary Sutcliff's Eagle of the Ninth is in the works ...

The Artemidorus Papyrus
A one-day conference at St John's College, Oxford,
on Friday, June 13th, 2008

The so-called Papyrus of Artemidorus with it three parts - a text, a
map, and images - is one of the most spectacular artefacts published in
this decade.

The one-day conference at St John's College, Oxford, aims to bring
specialists on all aspects of the papyrus together. We are especially
glad that colleagues from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the UK, and the
USA have agreed to participate: While Luciano Canfora (Bari/Italy) has
had to cancel due to other commitments, we shall hear Margarethe
Billerbeck (Fribourg/CH), Baerbel Kramer (Trier/Germany), Dirk Obbink
(Oxford/UK), Peter Parsons (Oxford/UK), Nicholas Purcell (Oxford/UK),
Richard Talbert (UNC Chapel Hill/USA), Nigel Wilson (Oxford/UK), and others.

The aim of the conference, organized by Kai Brodersen and Jas Elsner, is
to study the artefact, and its text, map, and images, as "gobbets" first
(in a well-established Oxford tradition), thus contributing to a deeper
understanding of what the papyrus presents, before discussing
probabilities and authenticities.

You can find further information, and registration details, on
www.artemidorus.de

Oxford Plutarch Conference 14-15 July 2008

http://www.classics.ox.ac.uk/plutarch/index.htm

STUDENT BURSARIES AVAILABLE-DEADLINE FOR BOOKINGS: 10 JUNE 2008

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plutarch and Philosophy- scholarship and/or dilettantism?

Plutarch quite possibly would have wanted to be remembered as a
philosopher or teacher of philosophy. Yet it is his monumental Lives of
Greek and Roman statesmen that, for the most part, have lent him a
standing reputation through the centuries. Plutarch’s philosophical side
remained more or less in the shadow of his moralist biographies partly, it
seems, because of its dilettante and popularised appearance and partly
because of its sometimes mystical obscurity. Fortunately, this no longer
seems to be the case: in the last few decades there has been a growing
interest in, and appreciation of, Plutarch as a philosopher-scholar. The
conference on ‘Plutarch and Philosophy’ seeks to appraise the changing
tide in the approaches to Plutarch’s philosophical activity and move the
debate forward, by bringing together international scholars with expertise
on different aspects of Plutarch’s oeuvre.

Keynote Address: Professor Donald Russell (Emeritus Professor, University
of Oxford)

Speakers: Prof. Keimpe Algra (Utrecht), Dr Mauro Bonazzi (Milan), Prof.
Frederick Brenk (Pontifical Biblical Institute of Rome), Prof. John Dillon
(Trinity College Dublin), Prof. Heinz Gerd Ingenkamp (Bonn), Prof. Judith
Mossman (Nottingham), Prof. Jan Opsomer (Cologne), Prof. Chris Pelling
(Oxford), Prof. Aurelio Pérez Jiménez (Málaga), Prof. Luc van der Stockt
(Leuven), Prof. Frances Titchener (Utah State University), Dr James Warren
(Cambridge)

Conference Organiser: Dr Eleni Kechagia (Keble College, Oxford)

Venue: Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies, 66 St Giles,
Oxford

The Conference is funded by: the John Fell OUP Fund, the Hellenic Society,
the Classical Association and the Faculty of Classics, University of
Oxford.

For further information please see:
http://www.classics.ox.ac.uk/plutarch/index.htm
or contact the conference organiser eleni.kechagia AT classics.ox.ac.uk

8.00 p.m. |DCIVC|Searching For Lost Worlds: Atlantis - Mystery Of The Minoans
A lost civilization uncovered at Knossos, Crete in the early 1900s displayed many similarities to Plato's descriptions of Atlantis; but in 1939, it was proposed that the island of Thera might be the lost city.

8.00 p.m. |HISTC| CITIES OF THE UNDERWORLD | Rome's Hidden Empire
Rome, Italy is a city where the past meets the present on every street, and below them. Caesar. Augustus. Nero. Rome has had some of the most infamous rulers, and each one of them has left their mark on the city - and left remnants of his reign underground. A secret cult practiced right next to the Circus Maximus, and their temple still remains beneath the street. The famous Piazza Navona sits on top of Domitian's Stadium. Pieces of Trajan's Basilica can be found under a gallery owned by fashion dynasty, Fendi. Rome's underground is filled with evidence of life during the Empire. Join host Eric Geller as he discovers what life was like during Nero's tyranny and Augustus' reforms. We're peeling back the layers of time on Cities of the Underworld: Rome's Hidden Empire

DCIVC = Discovery Civilization (Canada)
HISTC = History Television (Canada)

The conversation about that purported bust of Caesar continues in the comments at Mary Beard's blog ... in one of them, Mary Jane alerts us to a video at France 3 on the discovery which shows the statue from a few more angles -- from certain angles, and in certain light (especially under water, covered in grime) the bust does look 'caesar-like' to a certain extent, but I'm still not convinced. I want to see a clean profile photo.

What's more interesting than this narrow focus on the identity of but one bust, however, is the apparent jumble of antiquities from several periods that seem to be all in one area. Again, I suggest (as I did at MB's blog), that there might be some connection of this deposit to the pontoon bridge which we know was at Arelate. Because of the amount of stuff, though, I'm wondering if much of it was tossed in later times during some Saracen invasion vel simm. ...

ante diem xi kalendas junias

415 B.C. -- The "mutilation of the herms" occurs, which would briefly delay the launching of the Sicilian Expedition (by one reckoning)

334 B.C. -- Battle of the Granicus, one of Alexander's major victories against the Persians (by one reckoning)

337 A.D. -- death of Constantine I

subreption @ Merriam-Webster

From the (Charlottetown) Guardian:

Former UPEI music professor Bert Tersteeg says is going to miss making music with Dr. C.W.J. Eliot on Thursday mornings.
Eliot, president and chancellor of the University of Prince Edward Island from 1985-95, died Tuesday at the Sackville Hospital after suffering a stroke at his home in Dorchester, N.B., last month. He was 79.
“He became almost like a brother more than a colleague,’’ Tersteeg said Wednesday.
The former music professor said he and Eliot got together every Thursday morning at 10:15 to chat and play music — Tersteeg on cello and Eliot on piano.
“He came (to my house in Charlottetown) every Thursday morning to make music and talk about everything for the past 20 years.’’
At first, the two shared their love of talk and music at the university before shifting to Tersteeg’s home in Charlottetown.
He said Eliot would always call on Wednesday night to make sure their fun time was a go before driving over from Dorchester.
“We got quite close the last 15 years. I was the one who enticed him to go back to music when he was president (of UPEI). Even then we got together every Thursday and had lunch together. He called it his therapeutic session,’’ said Tersteeg, who ran the music department at the Charlottetown campus from 1965-93.
Eliot was named president emeritus in 1996.
He was the third person to serve as president since UPEI was created in 1969. He also taught classics at UPEI from 1985 to 1997.
Born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in 1928, Eliot had a prolific professional career as a classicist, especially in Greek history and archaeology. After receiving his bachelor of arts, master of arts and doctor of philosophy from the University of Toronto, he attended the American School of Classical Studies in Athens from 1952 to 1957 where he did graduate research.
“He was a gentleman, a scholar and a person who was totally committed to liberal education but had a lasting respect for all areas at the university,’’ said Joe Revell, who served as dean of the school of business under Eliot.
Revell said Eliot was famous for his daily walkabouts around the campus, dropping in at odd times just to chat.
Verner Smitheram, dean of arts at UPEI from 1983-91, said Eliot was a living embodiment of academic intellectual values.
“He was a classicist and that was reflected in everything he did,’’ Smitheram said.
“He guarded very clearly the autonomy of the university, from encroachment outside the university with government. He firmly believed the university should
be run strictly along academic values.’’
UPEI issued a statement on Wednesday that said Eliot’s “advice and counsel on academic issues was highly valued and often requested. He provided a strong public voice on issues pertaining to the state of Canadian education and the plight of Canadian students.’’
Smitheram said Eliot was adamant that the direction of the university should be set by faculty and the student body.
“He was a real academic democrat,’’ said Smitheram, who worked at UPEI in one capacity or another from 1967-2007.
Smitheram said one of Eliot’s lasting legacies will be that Main Building was restored under his watch.
Eliot is survived by his wife, Mary (Williamson) Eliot, and their children, Charles, Nicholas, Johanna and Luke. He was predeceased by his daughter, Sophia.
UPEI will hold a memorial celebration in honour of Eliot at a later date.

From Today's Zaman:

The exhibition, "Artemision: A Temple of a Goddess," will be inaugurated today at the İstanbul Archaeology Museum with a ceremony that visiting Austrian President Heinz Fischer will attend.

The exhibition will showcase 453 items on loan from the Ephesus Museum in Selçuk and 72 works from the İstanbul Archaeology Museum's own inventory, reported the Anatolia news agency. The artifacts to be displayed include bronze, glazed, precious metal, ivory and amber findings from the archaic period and about 100 electron coins created in the oldest known coin minting in history. Some of these artifacts were preserved in the treasury room of the İstanbul Archaeology Museum and have not been on display since 1970. Likewise, a majority of the artifacts brought from the Ephesus Museum will be put on public display for the first time, Anatolia said.

The Temple of Artemis, or Artemision in Greek, was designed and built by Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Meta