THIS DAY IN ANCIENT HISTORY

ante diem xi kalendas januarias

• Saturnalia (day 6)
• 179 B.C. -- dedication of a Temple of the Lares Permarini (and associated
  rites thereafter); these Lares protected sailors
• 1848 -- birth of Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf

::Monday, December 22, 2003 6:39:03 AM::
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CHATTER: Potential Interruption of Service

Just so folks are aware, there might be long stretches over the next couple of days where nothing seems to be happening at rogueclassicism ... I'm going to migrate my software to a different computer in the hopes that glitches like yesterday don't recur but, of course, there are bound to be glitches associated with migrating software too ...

::Monday, December 22, 2003 6:26:57 AM::
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ORIGINS: Waffles

These mentioned-in-passing origins things are usually dead ends from a 'proof' standpoint, but perhaps folks will like them for their 'What have the Romans/Greeks ever done for us?' projects. Today, Bicycling magazine contemplates the waffle:

The waffle may be the original global comfort food. Waffles have been with us in some form or another since ancient Greek times, when wafers were press-cooked between two heated plates; decorative patterns were added in the Middle Ages.

The Greek origins of the waffle seem to be omnipresent on the web ... see, e.g. The National Waffle Week page, the Co-op Food Stores (New Hampshire) page,  and the Food Timeline notes page,  the latter of which adds the useful tidbit that these 'wafers' or 'flat cakes' were called "obleios" [sic]. The closest I can find in the big L&S to that word would be obelios or the more common (it appears) obelias, which is some sort of "loaf baked on a stick" (sounds like bannock). Perhaps there is a word like obolios (i.e. something shaped like an obol)?

::Monday, December 22, 2003 6:16:44 AM::
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NUNTII: Roman Fresco from Masada Stolen

Lots of webplay of this one, but here's the coverage from Ha'aretz:

Souvenir-hunting thieves have stolen part of an ancient fresco from the archaeological site of Masada, Israeli officials said on Sunday.
 
The thieves removed a 15 cm (6 inch) square section of a fresco that decorated the ancient Roman headquarters at Masada, located on a barren mountain overlooking the Dead Sea, the National Parks Authority said in a statement.

[...]

The fresco had recently been the object of a further costly restoration, but the thieves - who the National Parks Authority said were probably souvenir hunters rather than professionals - may have chosen the wrong target.

Local legend has it that "those who took even a stone from Masada lived to regret it."

::Monday, December 22, 2003 5:49:29 AM::
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AWOTV: On TV Today

7.00 p.m. |HISTU| The History of Christmas
"Fascinating story of how the bawdy Roman Saturnalia, a week-
long festival of food and drink that culminated on December 25,
became the centerpiece of the Christian year, and why the
holiday is known as much for shopping as the birth of Christ.
Interviews with experts, harried bargain hunters, and excited
children round out the program. "

9.00 p.m. |HISTU| In Search of Christmas
"Is there actual evidence of the birth of Jesus? Was he born in
Bethlehem or Nazareth, in December or April? Were the 3 wise men
kings or Babylonian astrologers? What compelled Joseph to
believe Mary's implausible tale of a divine impregnation? We'll
journey back 2,000 years in a quest for the answer to these and
other conundrums. We retrace Mary's arduous odyssey across
ancient Israel as a host of scholars attempt to uncover the
historical truth of an event as mysterious as it was momentous."

HISTU = History Channel (US)

::Monday, December 22, 2003 5:16:43 AM::
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