THIS DAY IN ANCIENT HISTORY

ante diem v idus januarias

• Agonalia -- one of four dies agonales during which the Rex Sacrorum would sacrifice a ram in the Regia; on this occasion apparently in honour of Janus.
• 250 A.D. -- martyrdom of Epicharis and companions in Africa
• 302 A.D. -- martyrdom of Julian and companions at Antioch
• c. 303 A.D. -- martyrdom of Marciana at Caesarea (Mauretania)

::Friday, January 09, 2004 5:46:51 AM::
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CHATTER: Where's Hercules When You Need Him?

I don't know about you, but when I was a wee wee tot I never quite bought into that whole Calydonian Boar thing. It seemed kind of weird to me that a hairy pig (not the human variety) could terrorize the countryside. So it's particularly interesting this week to read of not one, but two boars which are terrorizing villagers over in Europe. In the first one, the Guardian reports on a hungry boar breaking into some guy's apartment, biting him, and then fleeing into the woods. Meanwhile, the Mirror reports on a boar somewhere in Gloucester (I think) escaping from an abbatoir and subsequently 'terrorising' shoppers (including an elderly lady who was knocked down) before fleeing into the woods. If we add a pair of unrelated boar incidents which occurred prior to Christmas -- one in Japan and one in Hawaii (alas, no longer online) -- we have a virtual epidemic of wild boar attacks!

Or as Newton would say ... Hey Herc! Hey Herc!

::Friday, January 09, 2004 5:29:04 AM::
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CHATTER: University of Chicago Fight Song

Didja know the UC fight song runs thusly:

Themistocles, Thucydides / The Peloponnesian War, / X squared, Y squared / H₂SO₄ / Who for? What for? / What the hell are we fighting for? / GO, MAROONS!

From an article in the UC Chronicle on the UC student calendar. Any other fight songs out there with ClassCon? (I went to Queen's University in Kingston ... they had something in Gaelic affectionately referred to as the 'Oil Thigh'; no ClassCon there)

::Friday, January 09, 2004 5:17:31 AM::
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GOSSIP: Last Days of Pompeii

Here are some more details on A&E's series-in-the-works which we mentioned t'other day:

Gladiators ... gorgeous young lovers ... orgies ... a truly evil villain ... AND the most famous volcano of all! In 79 AD, the luxurious and often corrupt Roman city of Pompeii was frozen for eternity when Mount Vesuvius erupted in a violent volcanic explosion. Based on the classic novel by Edward Bulwer Lytton, THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII is the story of man's insignificance against the forces of nature, as well as testimony for the heroic deeds of mankind. This film will capture the love story, murder mystery, stunning acts of betrayal, and physical courage against the exotic background of the Roman Empire in the 1st Century. With enhanced computer generated visual effects, the explosion of Vesuvius will be a cataclysmic event unlike anything TV audiences have seen before. The adaptation is by Benedict Fitzgerald (Moby Dick, In Cold Blood). Delia Fine serves as the executive producer for A&E Network. The producing team behind A&E's Benedict Arnold and The Magnificent Ambersons includes Norman Stephens (Bang, Bang You're Dead) and Jonas Bauer as producers and Guido de Angelis and Franz Landerer as executive producers. This is a co-production with The DeAngelis Group.

Source ...

::Friday, January 09, 2004 5:11:12 AM::
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CHATTER: Interesting Tidbit

Ha'aretz has a piece reviewing (sort of) a couple of books dealing with translations of the Bible ... inter alia comes this interesting little tidbit:

Reading the English Bible makes it easier to understand the legend preserved in the Talmud of the miraculous origin of the Septuagint. According to this story the Egyptian king Ptolemy had 72 scholars shut in separate rooms. Each emerged weeks later having produced identical Greek texts of the Bible.

::Friday, January 09, 2004 5:07:52 AM::
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CHATTER: Troy Movie

The Oregonian somewhat hybristically judges a movie by its trailer:

The details: It's always a delight when a movie like this comes along -- a big, self-assured monstrosity of a movie, whose makers fully expect to make back the small fortune that was spent on it and then another large fortune to boot. Wolfgang Petersen's last such effort, "The Perfect Storm," was an unmitigated disaster -- a movie about some really bad weather in which it doesn't even start drizzling for an hour and 10 minutes.

"Troy" retells the story of the Trojan war, except without all the gods and whatnot. "But," you sputter, "that doesn't even make sense! All you have left is an interminable sword fight and a bunch of guys in a giant wooden horse!" Indeed. But fear not! The two writers on the project will certainly patch whatever holes are left. This Homer guy doesn't have much of a Hollywood resume, but David Benioff wrote "25th Hour," so he should be able to sort it out.

True to form, the film stars an established superstar (Pitt) and some up-an-coming young heartthrobs (Bloom, Bana). But don't expect much in the way of star power: In this sort of movie, actions speak louder than actors.

The bottom line: This couldn't possibly be as dull as "Perfect Storm," but just wait for the director's cut: "The Iliad: Unabridged." 42 hours long and all spoken in verse.

::Friday, January 09, 2004 5:02:26 AM::
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AWOTV: On TV Today

6.00 p.m. |HINT| The Colosseum
Nothing symbolizes the Roman Empire at its height or Rome in
magnificent ruins more than the Colosseum. Built in 70 AD, it seated
80,000 people, boasted a retractable roof, underground staging
devices, marble seating, and lavish decorations. It still serves as
the prototype for the modern stadium. The complexity of its
construction, the beauty of its architecture, and the functionality
of its design made it the perfect place for massive crowds to
congregate for the bloody spectacles it contained.

7.00 p.m. |HINT| Constantine: The Christian Emperor
Portrait of the ruler who overcame civil war and barbarian invasions
to bring Rome a long period of peace. Nevertheless, the city of Rome
itself was facing disaster. In response, Constantine founded the new
Roman capital, Constantinople, and also converted his empire to
Christianity.

9.00 p.m. |DTC| Lost City of Pompeii: Secrets of the Dead
Journey to the playground of the Roman aristocracy, Herculaneum.
Buried by the same volcanic eruption that leveled Pompeii, this city
of luxurious villas, magnificent arcades and extensive library
collections holds clues to the Roman's riches.

HINT = History International

DTC = Discovery Times  Channel (U.S.)

::Friday, January 09, 2004 4:45:45 AM::
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