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
• 1st century A.D. (?) -- martyrdom of Sergius and Bacchus ... and Apuleius

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:56:35 AM::

I never was much of a Bob Dylan fan (a bit before my time) but a review of his memoirs in Rolling Stone might make me pay more attention if, as, and when I hear one of his songs again:

Through it all, Dylan has intimations that something big might crack open inside him. "I could transcend the limitations," he writes. "It wasn't money or love that I was looking for. I had a heightened sense of awareness, was set in my ways, impractical and a visionary to boot. My mind was strong like a trap and I didn't need any guarantee of validity." He looks everyplace for ideas: in the ancient histories of Tacitus and Thucydides; in the poems of Ovid, Milton and in Edgar Allan Poe.

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:48:44 AM::

From its context, untimely ripped:

"Don't get me wrong, I am still fit and energetic. But I didn't think, at my age, it looked right to wear that outfit. And I am not about to teach in pants, like some women do. I am a classicist, and when it comes to pants, I draw the line."

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:44:10 AM::

The finds from Thrace continue to get press coverage ... here's an article on same from the Tucson Citizen, but more impressively, here are some photos:

Here's the tomb:

[source]

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:41:13 AM::

Here's what Robert Fagles is up to, according to a Baylor University press release:

Award-winning poet and translator Robert Fagles, the emeritus Arthur W. Marks Professor of Comparative Literature at Princeton University, will deliver the 2004 Beall-Russell Lecture in the Humanities at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 11, in Jones Theater in Baylor University’s Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center. His lecture, “An Afternoon’s Odyssey with Robert Fagles,” is free and open to the public.
 The lecture title refers to Fagles’ popular translation of Homer’s Odyssey, which won the 1997 PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation, a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 10 “Best Books of 1996.” Fagles’ companion translation of Homer’s Iliad also has won several awards, including the 1991 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award by The Academy of American Poets.
 The Iliad and the Odyssey are epics attributed to the blind poet Homer and were believed to have been written more than 2,700 years ago. The Iliad is a story of the Trojan War, while the Odyssey describes the 20-year journey of Odysseus, one of the Greek heroes of that war, as he tries to return home.
 Fagles, who is now working on a new translation of Virgil’s Aeneid, has been praised for the freshness and readability of his Homeric translations.
 In an interview with Elizabeth Farnworth on PBS’s Newshour, he said, “I think in the case of the Odyssey it’s a poem that can hit us, strike chords with us at virtually every age, the kind of wild and wooly yarn from childhood… It’s everything to all people. It’s something like the autobiography of the race and most everyone’s favorite poem.”
 The Beall-Russell Lectures were established in 1982 by the late Virginia Beall Ball in honor of her mother, Mrs. John A. Beall, and Lily Russell, former dean of women at Baylor. Past Beall-Russell lecturers have included journalist Bill Moyers and Nobel Prize winner for literature Czeslaw Milosz.

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:30:00 AM::

We now see the spinoff effects of Troy:

Nearly 3,000 years after his death, Homer is the best-selling poet in Britain thanks largely to Brad Pitt and "the Troy effect," the country's biggest online seller of books said on Wednesday.

Amazon.co.uk said they had sold more copies of "The Iliad" than any other book of poetry this year, particularly since the release of the Hollywood blockbuster "Troy." "The Odyssey," Homer's sequel, was the second-best seller.

"We've seen a huge revival for classical Greek epic poetry this year, which we've put down to the Troy effect," said Fiona Buckland, the company's senior books editor.

"Whether it was the film's thrilling narrative or Brad Pitt in a skirt that promoted the renewed interest, Homer's works have been selling really well." [more from Reuters]

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:27:43 AM::

Miami University's Department of Classics will have a tenure track position at the rank of assistant professor starting in the Fall of 2005. Applications are welcome from Latinists with active research interests in Latin literature or Roman studies. Miami University offers a BA in Greek, Latin, and Classical Humanities. A normal full-time load in the department entails three undergraduate courses per semester from a broad spectrum of courses in Greek and Latin language, literature and civilization.  The achievement of the Ph.D. is required for appointment to the rank of Assistant Professor. Evidence of potential for teaching excellence and of scholarly promise are  extremely important. Qualifications in such areas as cultural studies, film studies, Women's Studies are desirable. Salary competitive. Send a complete dossier including a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and three current letters of reference to Judith de Luce, Chair, Department of Classics, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056. Telephone: 513-529-1480. Email: delucej@muohio.edu. Deadline for application is November 1, 2004. For information about the department see http://montgomery.cas.muohio.edu/classics/index.php. Miami is an equal opportunity employer.  Same sex partners are eligible for domestic partner benefits.

... seen on AegeaNet

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:25:28 AM::

The Department of Classics at the University of Iowa invites applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant-Professor level, to begin in August 2005.  Candidates should have the Ph.D. in hand by the time of the appointment.  The area of specialization is in Homeric Studies. Areas of sub-specialization may include Archaic Poetry, Epic Poetry, or Bronze-Age Studies.  The full-time teaching load is two courses per semester.  Interested candidates should submit applications to Professor John F. Finamore, Chair, Department of Classics, 210 Jefferson Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, by November 15.  Applications should include a cover letter, a curriculum vitae,  graduate transcript, and at least three current letters of recommendation. Applicants are also encouraged to submit evidence of teaching ability and expertise, as well as scholarly publications.  All applications will be acknowledged, and applicants will be informed as soon as the position has been filled. The University of Iowa is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution, committed to a policy of non-discrimination. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

... seen on AegeaNet

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:23:52 AM::

From Novitne:

Customs officers at Bulgaria's Malko Tarnovo checkpoint have busted the illegal export of 23 antiquities.

The pieces, worth a total of EUR 9,000, were found in a car driven by a British national. The precious items were tucked inside the luggage of the Briton's three female travel companions.

The antique collection included eight Roman, Hellenic and Byzantine coins made of silver and copper, as well as a bronze latch depicting a lion's head, a bronze mace, and ceramic tobacco pipes.

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:22:30 AM::

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:21:18 AM::

Over at Laudator, MG has a Latin version of Jack and Jill (I don't think I've ever seen this one before)?

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:17:53 AM::

7.00 p.m. |HINT| The Rise of Christianity: The First 1000 Years
Covers the years between 312 AD, when the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, and 461 AD, when Rome "fell" to the barbarian Goths. They were heady days that saw the birth of the monastic movement, the codification of the faith, and creation of the New Testament canon as we recognize it today.

HINT = History International

::Thursday, October 07, 2004 4:26:30 AM::