THIS DAY IN ANCIENT HISTORY

ante diem xiiv kalendas martias

• Parentalia (Day 4) -- the period for appeasing the dead continued
• ca. 90 A.D. -- martyrdom of Onesimus
• 270 A.D. -- martyrdom of Honestus at Pamplona (Spain)
  

5:28:46 AM    

BLOGWATCH: Varia

I've got quite a few blogs that I check on a regular basis, but don't always mention them here as frequently as I should. So here's a list of some Classics-oriented blogs which you might want to pay a visit to ... these will end up in my sidebar one of these days (I'm fiddling with the page design as I continue to wait from my ISP whether they can let me use Movable Type):

Phluzein (mostly archaeological)

Classics in Contemporary Culture (they've moved!)

HobbyBlog (ancient numismatics)

N.S. Gill's About.Com thingy (ancient/Classical history)

More later ... the web is very, very, very slow this a.m. for some reason ...

5:23:29 AM    

NUNTII: Akropolis World News

The latest news in Classical Greek from Akropolis World News:

Marco Pantani has died - Moscow collapse kills 26, fires in China 51 - Six Nations: France beats Ireland

Athens paralyzed by snow storms - BA cancels flights on threats - Clone report sparks fresh debate

Russian election candidate vanishes - First US-born panda heading to China - Haitian cities erupt in violent revolt

5:07:26 AM    

NUNTII: Nuntii Latini

The latest news in Latin from YLE's Nuntii Latini:

Velamen capitis in scholis Francorum prohibitum

Europaei occidentales immigratione solliciti

De armis Iraquianorum internecivis

Columbae internuntiae vias publicas sequuntur

In Asia plurimi pueri scholam non frequentant

Instrumenta communicativa coercentur

Audi ...

5:04:54 AM    

CHATTER: Sports as Greek Tragedy

I meant to mention this one yesterday, but was sidetracked by 'real life' ... the Star Tribune has an interesting column by David Briggs (who writes for the Religion News Service) on the cathartic benefits of watching sports a la Greek tragedy. Here's the incipit:

Professional sports as Greek tragedy? Spending a few hours on the couch eating pizza and nachos and watching a ballgame as contributing to something more than the extended adolescence of the American male?

It hardly sounds possible to those who would rather go to a movie, read a book, watch the History, HGTV or Food networks -- heck, even the Cartoon Network -- and celebrate their moral superiority over the Neanderthals who consider professional gladiators pounding one another into submission a noble pursuit.

But as critics and fans of spectator sports persist in their troglodyte-elitist name-calling, a theology of sport is developing that suggests the passions so many invest in sports might not be such a bad thing.

Sports can be an outlet for male-pattern aggression, one theory goes. Like a Greek tragedy, sport offers the opportunity for emotional catharsis, to experience the highs and lows of the human condition and emerge feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

And the best part is, despite the seemingly disproportionate emotional investments fans make in their teams during the game, there is also recognition that life goes on. Unlike real tragedies, such as war or assaults, no one dies in the end.

Hey, it's a shame -- as the song goes -- if the home team doesn't win, but regardless, the fan takes something from being part of the event, says poet John Savant, professor emeritus at Dominican University of California.

"Vicariously, we have risked, we have dared, we have struggled, we have won and lost. Imaginatively we are authenticated: warriors, generals, strategists, acrobats, contenders, victorious [even fallen] heroes," he wrote in a recent theological reflection in the independent Catholic magazine Commonweal. [more]

4:58:35 AM    

REVIEWS: From BMCR

J. C. Yardley, Justin and Trogus. A Study of the Language of Justin's Epitome of Trogus.

Catherine Morgan, Early Greek States Beyond the Polis.

James P. Holoka (ed.), Simone Weil's The Iliad or The Poem of Force: A Critical Edition.

4:54:06 AM    

REVIEW: The Death of Socrates

Someone has dramatized the death of Socrates ... here's the incipit of a review:

The Death of Socrates has been bravely adapted for the modern stage by director Amyas Merivale and details Socrates’ imprisonment and eventual execution.

The first act shows Socrates’ last day alive, including the famous drinking of the hemlock. The following acts show the events leading up to this. The tragic pathos of his death is balanced by an explanation of his philosophy which brings a wisdom to his destruction.

While this play deserves commendation for its approach to Socrates in having two actors play the protagonist, this cannot prevent it from being rather boring. [more]

Of course, the big news is that we'll now be treated to countless editorials and complaints from those of Greek descent about how the play portrays the Greeks as being responsible for Socrates' death ...

4:50:21 AM    

CHATTER: QED

The other day I ranted about how an isolated quote from Oliver Stone had undergone an ancient source style transformation and pointed out how people drop the 'Caligula's horse' story in a similar fashion. Well, trust the Sun sports pages to give me just the QED I needed:

This self-proclaimed god ‘fiddled’ as Rome burned — after first setting the city on fire.

He also ended up mad. Just like his predecessor Caligula, so deranged he even appointed his horse as consul.

4:44:40 AM    

AWOTV: On TV Today

6.00 p.m. |HISTC| Desert Explorer: Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Bell (1868 -1926) was a bright star in a constellation of
Victorian aristocrat archaeologists, journalists, botanists,
linguists and diplomats in the Middle East. At the height of her
powers she was something of all of these. She was also a lone woman
in a world dominated by men.

7.00 p.m. |HINT| Mystery Gold of the Black Sea Warriors
Long before Egypt and Babylon left their imprint on history, a
remarkable culture crafted a vast treasure trove of exquisite golden
objects that dazzles the eye and tantalizes the senses. They were the
Thracians. Feared and ruthless warriors, they challenged the might of
the Greek and Roman empires. According to Homer, they fought on the
side of Troy during the Trojan Wars. They left behind an enduring
legacy, epitomized by the renegade slave, Spartacus, then disappeared
into history.

HISTC - History Television (Canada)

HINT - History International

4:31:46 AM