REVIEW: Xenophon Comparanda

Archaeologist-like, I just stumbled on a piece from the  National Review which looks interesting:

In 400 BC, the Athenian general Xenophon led 10,000 hoplites in a march up the Tigris and Euphrates valley — Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers, which today is called Iraq. The Greeks defeated every army that challenged them, including the 100,000-man force that the Great King of Persia sent against them. Xenophon entitled his account of this campaign the Anabasis, "the march up," which became the bane of many a young student of Greek.   
 
Now two old Marines have given us a modern-day Anabasis — an account of the march of the 1st Marine Division from Kuwait to Baghdad, which mirrored the route taken by Xenophon's hoplites some 2,400 years ago. The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division by "Bing" West and Major General Ray "E-tool" Smith, USMC (ret) provides a remarkable description of a campaign conducted by some truly remarkable young Americans.

Could be worth tracking down for comparanda purposes ... here's the rest ...

3:57:46 PM    

CHATTER: Roman Football

It must be the influence of all those Roman numerals at SuperBowls, but for some reason a passing misquotation about Calpurnia by Shannon Sharpe has lingered for a week. It was first mentioned by amicus noster "ccc" quoting the Rocky Mountain News:

"I remember Julius Caesar told Calpurnia, 'You have a lean and hungry look, such women are dangerous,"' Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe said. "Same thing with the Detroit Lions, such teams are dangerous. You have to guard against these guys and we will guard against them."

At least the Rocky Mountain News attempted to correct the reference. Now, however, there's an AP wire story kicking around which lets it go without any real comment at all, as seen, e.g., in the South Bend Tribune.

3:36:33 PM    

NUNTII: Adrienne Mayor

AM is in the news again, this time in the latest issue of Newsweek:

Investigators have found evidence of biological weapons in Iraq, NEWSWEEK has learned. The discovery was made south of Mosul, in the ruins of a desert fortress at Hatra. And the weapons are ... not what you think.

THEY’RE CLAY POTS once filled with scorpions and dropped on the heads of invaders by the citizens of Hatra at the turn of the third century. That era’s siege of Hatra by the Romans lasted just 20 days before the enemy turned tail. “It was the brute effectiveness of Hatra’s defensive biological and chemical weapons that overcame Roman morale, manpower and siege machines,” writes classical folklorist Adrienne Mayor. “The terror effect would be quite impressive.”

One more paragraph ...

3:07:53 PM    

THIS DAY IN ANCIENT HISTORY

ante diem iv kalendas octobres

• 48 B.C. -- Pompeius Magnus, in the wake of his defeat at
  Pharsalus, is murdered as he steps ashore in Egypt

9:48:50 AM    

SQUIRREL FODDER REDUX: More on Cyprus-as-Atlantis

A rogueclassicism reader asked this week if there had been any reaction to Robert Samast's Cyprus-as-Atlantis theory. A recent piece in the Telegraph gives an idea of how the idea is hitting Cyprus:

Cypriot reaction last week ranged from derision to enthusiastic support.

Dr Despo Pilides, an archaeologist at the Department of Antiquities, said: "Serious archaeologists tend to place the search for Atlantis within the realm of fantasy.

"This latest theory should be taken with a very large pinch of salt. Archaeologists only work with hard evidence. There is no evidence whatsoever to give credence to this hypothesis and we have no intention of investigating it."

But in the kafenios, the coffee houses where men pass the time and debate the issues of the day, it was a different story.

Christos sipped his strong, dark coffee as he contemplated the idea. "Of course it's true," he said. "We are Atlantis, we are the oldest civilisation, we are the Garden of Eden. This is a very good thing for Cyprus. We will be more famous than anywhere else in the world."

The tourist industry agreed. A spokesman for the Cyprus Tourism Organisation said: "I don't think we should be hasty in dismissing this idea. Whether it is true or not it can only be a good thing for us.

"People will want to come and visit what could be part of Atlantis."

British holidaymakers in Ayia Napa were less impressed. "I couldn't care less," said one Briton. "If you're looking for Atlantis, I'll tell you where it is. It's on the left before you get to Larnaca . . . the Atlantis Night Club Cabaret. But get there early if you want a seat - it gets quite full."

Read the whole thing ...

9:34:47 AM    

REVIEW: The Latest From BMCR:

Mark Joyal (ed.), In Altum: Seventy-Five Years of Classical Studies in
Newfoundland.

9:30:09 AM    

NUNTII LATINI: From Radio Bremmen

Germany's Radio Bremmen also does an infrequent (bimonthly, it seems) Latin news cast. Here are the latest headlines from there (from the July/August edition)

Vis electrica Americam septentrionalem defecit

Fervidus aestus in Europa

Bellum clandestinum in Iraquia geritur

Controversiae inter Germaniam et Italiam ortae

Armstrong victor quintum

Schwarzenegger ambitionem pronuntiat

Harding urbem Bremam reliquit

Ludi Olympici hiemales in urbe Vancouver futuri

There's also a brief feature (with a quotation from Horace) on the Battle of Actium

Lege plura ...

Listen in RealAudio...

9:27:08 AM    

NUNTII LATINI

The latest headlines from YLE's Nuntii Latini:

Kofi Annan vim praeventivam damnavit
In conventu Nationum Unitarum die Martis habito Kofi Annan, secretarius generalis, doctrinam  militaremdamnavit, qua nixi Americani bellum Iraquiae intulerunt...

Seminarium Siciliense
Seminarium internationale philologiae classicae in oppido Oliveri Siciliae nuperrime celebratum est,...

Carolus Egger diem obiit
Abbas Carolus Egger Kalendis Septembribus diem obiit supremum...

Lege plura ...

Listen in RealAudio ...

9:20:37 AM