ante diem v kalendas apriles

• 37 A.D. -- arrival of Gaius (Caligula) in Rome
• 193 A.D. -- murder of the emperor Pertinax; recognition of Didius Julianus as Augustus
• 364 A.D. -- elevation of Valens to the rank of Augustus

::Monday, March 28, 2005 6:49:46 AM::
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De copiis in Iraquia Italianorum (18.3.2005)

Copiae Italianae in Iraquiam missae inde a mense Septembri proxime futuro paulatim domum reducentur, ut nuntiavit Silvio Berlusconi, princeps minister Italiae.

"Cum sociis nostris", inquit, "consensimus, ut numerum militum nostrorum, quorum in Iraquia in praesenti tria fere milia sunt, iam ante finem anni currentis deminueremus."

Reijo Pitkäranta
Nuntii Latini, Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE)
(used with permission)

::Monday, March 28, 2005 6:26:18 AM::
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::Monday, March 28, 2005 6:22:32 AM::
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The Easter break has given me the opportunity, among other things, to go through my various little index cards to catch up on everything I've been meaning to mention at rc ... I don't believe I've mentioned the CPL Forum yet ... it's an online journal from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin (the CAMWS folks) ... worth a look, especially if you're a Latin teacher.

::Monday, March 28, 2005 6:19:47 AM::
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There's a new issue of Ephemeris on the web ...

::Monday, March 28, 2005 6:07:00 AM::
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W. S. Hanson, I. P. Haynes, Roman Dacia. The Making of a Provincial Society. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 56.

P.J. Rhodes (ed.), Athenian Democracy.

Mary B. Moore, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art fasc. 5, USA fasc. 37: Greek Geometric and Protoattic Pottery.

Manuela Tecusan, The Fragments of the Methodists. Methodism outside Soranus. Vol. 1: Text and Translation. Studies in Ancient Medicine, 24/1.

::Monday, March 28, 2005 6:06:11 AM::
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Long time readers of RC will be aware that I frequently rant against various media sources which try to make a Roman or Greek connection to some festival, usually on rather suspicious grounds. So imagine my inner turmoil when I read at Mirabilis a piece from Radio Prague about a Czech Easter tradition called 'pomlazka', inter alia:

One prime example of a pagan Czech Easter celebration is the "pomlazka". Farmers used to believe that a strong whipping after the winter period guaranteed health, prosperity, and most importantly a good harvest. This tradition remains to this day, although slightly modified. It is only the women who are given a good spanking with whips made of willow twigs, decorated with colourful ribbons (as if a little bit of decoration would help to ease the pain!). It is mainly younger boys who go from door to door, hoping to thrash a few girls to get some eggs in return, while singing traditional Easter carols.

The whipping or "pomlazka" is to get rid of all the bad things that had accumulated during the winter and bring the vitality back in the ladies, as well as ensure beauty and, of course, fertility. Andrea Fajkusova comes from northern Moravia, where this tradition is still very much alive today:

"I love the Easter holidays in general but I never enjoyed Easter Monday. All the preparations that precede that day were fun - decorating our home, painting eggs, baking the special Easter bun or the Easter lamb... but then came Easter Monday to ruin it all. I always tried to hide but somehow they always found me. Where I'm from, the boys not just run around to whip you and get an egg or if they are older a shot of home-made brandy - as they do in Bohemia - they come and throw you in a stream, or put your head under a water pipe to be sure to give you a good shower... and NOT just once. It's only when you're in a town that you're lucky there's no stream around and the worst they can do is give you a shower in your own bathroom. But as if that weren't enough, they spray you with perfume, too!"

Well, Andrea used the past tense, hoping that she'd be spared this year... but I'm afraid no woman, no matter what age, is safe on Easter Monday. Let's just hope that the spring is really back in full swing in northern Moravia, so poor Andrea won't catch a cold!

Mirabilis also links to a page describing how to braid the whips ... In any event, it seems to me that this little tradition has far more in common with Lupercalia than Valentine's day is purported to. I can't find much more in English on the www in regards to origins of this rite ...

::Monday, March 28, 2005 6:03:15 AM::
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5.00 p.m. |SCI| Who Killed Julius Caesar?
Historians, writers and film-makers have puzzled over the assassination of Julius Caesar for centuries. Using the latest technology and modern profiling techniques, experts reveal the truth behind history's most famous crime.

SCI = Science Channel

::Monday, March 28, 2005 5:52:46 AM::
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