AUDIO: Father Foster

Father Foster's thing from Vatican Radio is already up. The subject this week is Father Foster's love of the Ave Maria. The discussion then wanders from the word "sentimental", along with some cognates (perhaps agnates?) to Bach's Latin background to the old solemn masses to the difference between concilium and consilium (actually kind of a nice example of the different pronunciation of some folks) to how Latin sort of 'disappeared' from the Church.

Listen (RealAudio)

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 8:41:42 PM::
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NUNTII: Paul Janiczek in the National Review

Now here's an interesting use of a Classical connection. Paul Janiczek takes as a point of departure to an article on the International Criminal Court:

Helen of Sparta left for Troy of her own accord. By divine
behest, Paris the Trojan took her hand after being promised it
by Aphrodite, the busybody of Greek mythology. In their wake,
they left Helen's numerous broken-hearted suitors. It was a
stupid move on the part of Paris to pick a fight with so many
would-be beaus in one stroke. A great war ensued. This episode
of mythology is meant to explain the origin of the costliest war
of Greek antiquity save the Peloponnesian War.    
 
Through ancient fiction, the tale of Helen encapsulates the
more extreme danger posed by the International Criminal Court
(ICC). The existence of the ICC abrogates the sovereignty of not
only the nations who chose to surrender to its authority, but to
non-participating states, as well. For these reasons the U.S.
will continue to resist signing up — and that reticence will
remain a source of consternation between the U.S. and the EU.

Read the rest ...

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 8:20:22 PM::
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CHATTER: Garfield (the president ... not the cat)

The Hill notes a talent president Garfield had (we've mentioned this on the "classics lists" before ... I'll see if I can make a 'Golden Thread' of it):

Garfield had been a college professor and a college president before being elected to the Ohio Legislature just before the war. The ambitious and ambidextrous Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other.

... apparently at the same time!

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 8:13:37 PM::
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NUNTII: More on the Elgin/Parthenon Marbles

This a.m. we pointed to a Guardian piece on the strongest statement yet by the British Museum about their non-intention of returning the Elgin Parthenon Marbles as well as a virtual exhibition of the latter. As might be guessed, there's coverage piling up on this one, so I present linked headlines (interesting what each news service focuses on):

Marbles exhibition opens in London (BBC)

Parthenon marbles 'reunited' in exhibition (Independent)

London denies Marbles deal (eKathimerini)

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 8:07:41 PM::
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CHATTER: Quoting Hadrian ... sort of

A regular rogueclassicism reader sent this one along (thanks LK!) ... Chris Lydon's blog has an interview with Wesley Clark, and begins thusly (I'm hoping he doesn't think Hadrian *really* said such things):

 I listened to Wesley Clark in Henniker, New Hampshire at the
start of the weekend and heard between the lines the classic
warning of a first-class warrior against the folly of limitless
empire:

     "Beyond the Euphrates began for us the land of mirage and
danger, the sands where one helplessly sank, and the roads which
ended in nothing.  The slightest reversal would have resulted in
a jolt to our prestige giving rise to all kinds of catastrophe;
the problem was not only to conquer but to conquer again and
again, perpetually; our forces would be drained off in the
attempt."

     The words are not Clark's, or mine.  They are the
reflections of the Emperor Hadrian (ruled AD 117-138), among the
last of the great Roman chiefs, as recounted by the novelist
Marguerite Yourcenar in the brilliant Memoirs of Hadrian (1954).
To approach Wesley Clark's thinking about Rumsfeld and Bush
blundering into Iraq, I suggest: read Hadrian on the subject of
his predecessor Trajan in the very same Mesopotamia 19 centuries
ago. 

     "Everything had gone according to his plans," Hadrian
writes of Trajan/Rumsfeld: "The joy of plunging into this
adventure, so long delayed, restored a kind of youth to this
man..." 

     And of Trajan/Bush: "This fascination, to which the
elderly emperor was yielding as if entranced, had lured
Alexander before him.  That prince had almost made a reality of
these same dreams, and had died because of them at thirty.  But
the gravest danger in these mighty projects lay still more in
their apparent soundness; as always, practical reasons abounded
for justification of the absurd, and for being carried away by
the impossible."

Read the rest (the actual interview is in mp3 format ... link at the end)

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 7:55:45 PM::
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BULLETIN BOARD

I've just put a number of items up in various sections of the Bulletin Board (with apologies for variations in capital letters):

ASCSA: DIRECTORS OF THE SUMMER SESSIONS (GERTRUDE SMITH PROFESSORS)

AIA PRELIMINARY PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION

CFP: ANATOMICAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD: FROM PREHISTORY TO LATE ANTIQUITY

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 7:47:12 PM::
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THIS DAY IN ANCIENT HISTORY

nonas octobres

• rites in honour of Jupiter Fulgur -- the deity who was responsible
  for daytime lightning was worshipped at a shrine in the Campus
  Martius
• rites in honour of Juno Quiritis -- a divinity possibly originally
  from Falerii and brought to Rome by evocatio in 241 B.C. was
  also worshipped at a shrine in the Campus Martius
• ludi Augustales scaenici (day 3 -- from 11-19 A.D. and post
  23 A.D.)
• ludi Augustales scaenici (day 5 -- from 19-23 A.D.)
• 15 B.C. -- birth of Nero Claudius Drusus (Drusus "Minor"), son of
  the future emperor Tiberius and Vipsania Agrippina

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 5:53:19 AM::
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RPG: Gladius

LucasArts will be coming out with a new role-playing game (that's what an rpg is, for the uninitiated) which looks like it will appeal to fans of the Roman world. Gamespot describes it thusly:

A combo RPG and tactical battler, Gladius allows gamers to play one of two characters: Ursula, the daughter of a barbarian king, or Valens, the son of a famed gladiator. Both are new recruits at a gladiator school, and the game follows their sagas both inside and outside the arena as they become famous, earn riches, and prepare for an ominous force's imminent attack. Assisting in their quests for gladiatorial supremacy will be old Roman standbys: the Murmillo, the Samnite, the Centurion, and even a bear.

It appears to be available for the usual trio of Gamecube, XBox, or PS2 . Visit the 'official' website.

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 5:38:22 AM::
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NUNTII: Perhaps ...

Not sure what to make of this one -- if I had more caffeine in me I'm sure there'd be a reference to squirrels. There's this guy in Australia who is using a dowsing rod on a site he's trying to have declared an archaeological site:

On one area of about 20 acres I have located several moulds that I understand to be of ancient cement.

It is possible that some of these could have been used to manufacture copper helmets similar to Roman soldiers' headwear. Other sealed moulds exist. Perhaps these contain cremation ashes Ñ the area appears to be a burial site.

There are piles of stones showing evidence of having been cut with chisels.

These may be the ruins of ancient buildings.

There is what appears to be a calcified boat made I believe of hide and wood, as well as many buried boats and human graves covered with piles of limestone.

Mr Fulton said he made the finds about five or six years ago, after being asked onto private land which has since changed ownership.

Yes ... Australia.

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 5:31:43 AM::
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NUNTII: What part of 'No' do you not understand?

The British Museum once again said no to the return of the Parthenon/Elgin Marbles yesterday ... the same day a major 'virtual exhibition' was launched to show what the 'reassembled' marbles would look like:

The Greek culture minister, Professor Evangelos Venizelos, has already conceded that the British Museum can retain ownership of the marbles if they lend them to the museum in Athens. The Greeks are also prepared to make its galleries "an official outpost of the British Museum".

Yesterday, an exhibition run by the British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles at the Institute for Contemporary Arts in London showed that, by sharing vital segments, the jigsaw of how the 500BC friezes fitted together could be recreated for the first time in centuries.

The committee's chairman, Professor Anthony Snodgrass, said the marbles were a special case because the building of which they were an integral part was still standing. His plea seemed to be in vain; Mr MacGregor insisted that the British Museum was "a resource against fundamentalism", one of the few places in the world where objects such as the marbles could be seen in the context of world history and culture. The marbles were only fully comprehensible when the contributions of Asia and Europe were both considered, he added.

"This is one of the roles of a universal museum, to refuse to allow objects to be appropriated to one particular political agenda," he told the conference, which will hear today from Dimitrios Pandermalis, the archaeologist heading the team at the new Athens museum.

More in the Guardian ...

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 5:24:45 AM::
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NUNTII: Minoan Ship to Sail

A Greek admiral -- despite the fact that no Minoan shipwreck has ever been found -- is 'rebuilding' one with a view to an official launch at the beginning of December:

It will creak and groan, but it will hold. It's a flexible boat designed to withstand tricky seas," Kourtis said. Minoan shipbuilders used tall, sturdy cypress trees to make their boats.

"The cypress tree's trunk was split in two. Both halves were then placed facing each other to guarantee symmetry," said Kourtis, a naval officer who has become a passionate student of ancient naval technology.

Kourtis' four-strong team has lashed the two trunk halves together with more than 2,600 feet of rope. A wooden frame in the form of the letter "A," the tip of which is at the ship's bow, clasps the vessel's two main parts together.

More ...

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 5:09:01 AM::
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TTT: Greek Myth

N.S. Gill at "about" has been running a series on Greek Myth. The most recent installment is on Prometheus, Deucalion and Pyrrha. The series began with a look at "What is myth?" and continues from there (links at the bottom of each page). It's quite extensive and worth a look!

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 5:04:41 AM::
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AWOTV: On TV Tonight

10.00 p.m. |HINT| The Greatest Journeys on Earth: Greece:
Journeys to the Gods
"After creating the pantheon of pagan gods, Greece converted to
the Christian god. The monks built imposing monasteries nestled
in the most remote nooks, coastal cliffs, and volcanic islands.
Join us as our travels take us from the splendors of ancient
Greek religious sites to the glories of the mighty Byzantine
Empire and its heritage as traced through the awesome meteora at
Mount Athos, and Patmos Island, where St. John, the Evangelist,
is said to have written the "Apocalypse"."

11.00 p.m. |HINT| The Hidden City of Petra
"Story of the Nabataeans, a desert people who carved the city
of Petra out of the Jordanian mountains some 2,000 years ago.
Their culture flourished, then disappeared. We visit the site of
the amazing sculpted city, which included temples and colonnaded
market streets."

HINT = History International

::Tuesday, October 07, 2003 5:00:07 AM::
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