The examination of Classical Literature is this week's popular thread on the Ancient/Classical History Forum. Not that we've been able to come up with firm definitions, but there have been some responses:

• Twilight is too recent to be a "classic"
• To be "Classical" it must have been written before the 7th century.

Please add your comments and definitions to the discussion.

When news came out about the discovery of the lost Persian army of Cambyses that was mentioned by Herodotus (see Hdt 3.26 f), I noticed Zahi Hawass wasn't involved. Since Hawass is ubiquitous in the area of Egyptian archaeology, this was a big red flag. Hawass subsequently called the reports misleading and the Rogue Classicist posted a "Don't Eat that Elmer" warning blog about it. There are lots of spurious claims made about ancient artifacts, so I decided against blogging about the army bones and other remains.

I changed my mind this morning. The Today Show had a segment on it, so you may want more information. Please read Persianesque Magazine's article King Cambyses's Persian Army: Lost and Found? for details.

If you want even more, the Rogue Classicist posted a long list of articles in his weekly newsletter, Explorator:

"The latest claim that Cambyses' lost army has been found got far too much press coverage this week:

• http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/cambyses-army-remains-sahara.html
• http://news.discovery.com/videos/archaeology-ancient-lost-army-found.html(video)
• http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/cambyses-lost-army-images.html(photos)
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1226500/Is-lost-Persian-army-Comp\ elling-remains-uncovered-Sahara-Desert.html
• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33791672/ns/technology_and_science-science/
• http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,573406,00.html
• http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1226500/Is-lost-Persian-army-C\ ompelling-remains-uncovered-Sahara-Desert.html
• http://news.msn.co.nz/article/969711/archaeologists-discover-lost-desert-army
• http://www.ptinews.com/news/370375_The-remains-of-the-lost-mighty-Persian-Army--\ found-
• http://www.foxcharlotte.com/dpp/news/scitech/Legendary_Lost_Persian_Army_Found_i\ n_Sahara_15561325"

Son of a freedman, the Roman poet Horace lived from December 8, 65 B.C. to November 27, 8 B.C.

Suetonius writes:

[Horace] was born on the sixth of the ides of December, in the consulship of Lucius Cotta and Lucius Torquatus; and died on the fifth of the calends of December, in the consulship of Caius Marcius Censorinus and Caius Asinius Gallus; having completed his fifty-ninth year.

Horace fought on the losing side of the Battle of Philippi, under Caesar's assassin Brutus. Later, Augustus commissioned the Roman satirist Horace to compose a poem for the Secular Games, a 3-day event that was meant to mark the end of one era and the beginning of the next. The secular games included theatrical performances and religious rituals.

If you're studying Latin literature, Horace is one of the Roman poets you're likely to encounter. Because he advocates the golden mean, rather than indulging in great passions, he may be less appealing to adolescents than more passionate Roman poets, like Ovid or Catullus.

• Horace
• Suetonius' Life of Horace
• Roman Games
• Roman Calendar Terminology

Horace image © Clipart.com.

"This day in ancient history" caveat: please see Unreliability of Dates.

Extra credit: Where is it?

Give up? Click the image for the answer. Then, look at the article's references for a link to a new article by the photographer, Alun Salt: The Astronomical Orientation of Ancient Greek Temples.

Wordless Wednesday and About.com's Wordless Wednesday

The cornucopia, literally 'horn of plenty,' adorns the Thanksgiving table thanks to Greek mythology. The horn may originally have belonged to a goat, but Zeus used to drink from it as a baby. The story of Zeus' childhood says that his mother, Rhea, sent him to a cave on the island of Crete for safe-keeping in order to prevent his father, Cronus, from swallowing him.

• See Cannibalism in Greek Mythology

Sometimes it is said that a goat named Amalthea (various spellings) nursed the infant Zeus; sometimes that a nymph of the same name fostered Zeus and fed him on goat's milk. His nurse has also been named Adrasteia, which Timothy Gantz says may be another name for Nemesis, and Ida.

While an infant, Zeus did what other babies do -- cry. To cover up the noise and keep Cronus from finding out his wife's plot to protect her son, Amalthea asked the Kuretes or Korybantes to come to the cave where Zeus was hidden and make lots of noise by clashing their weapons.

There are various versions of the evolution of the cornucopia from a horn sitting on the head of the nurturing goat. One is that the goat tore it off herself to present it to Zeus; another that Zeus tore it off and gave it back to the Amalthea-goat promising her abundance; another, that it came from the head of Achelous, the river god, which the Naiads filled with fruit.

The cornucopia is most frequently associated with the goddess of the harvest, Demeter (Roman Ceres) -- as in the harvest song lyrics: "Ceres came with Plenty's Horn and showered wheat and golden corn" -- but is also associated with other gods, including the aspect of the Underworld god that is the god of wealth, Pluto, since the horn symbolizes abundance.

Woman holding cornucopia image © Clipart.com

When the Underworld god Hades abducted the young maiden Persephone, her mother, Demeter, wouldn't feed the world, and so, winter came upon the land. When Persephone was restored, an elated Demeter gave the gift of agriculture to mankind.
The goddess Demeter was called Thesmophoros because she gave certain thesmoi 'laws' to mankind, and the holiday of Themophoria honors her. Learn more about the unusual customs of the ancient Greek fall festival known as Thesmophoria.
See

• Thesmophoria - Greek Thanksgiving
  
• In Aristophanes' comedy, The Thesmophoriazusae, a man tries to infiltrate the all-women rites of the Thesmophoria holiday.
  
• Persephone
  
• Demeter
  

Image of Demeter and Persephone © Clipart.com

When John Frobisher, the underling minister in the BBC science fiction Torchwood Children of Earth, takes a gun to his two daughters, and then his wife, and, after a pause, himself, in a scene set behind doors (rather like the offstage murders in Medea), the viewer's response contains pity rather than the outrage we all tend to feel at Medea's murderous action in Euripides' Medea. Frobisher is saving the children from what he considers a fate worth than death. Medea's motives are less pure, but maybe she is saving the children, too. Read more...

On Friday, November 22, 1963, C.S. Lewis died. While Lewis is known for his children's Narnia series and writings on Christianity, he was a scholar trained in the Classics. Among my favorite works by Lewis is Till We Have Faces, which is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, which comes from The Golden Ass of Apuleius. In Apuleius' version of the beauty and the beast motif, Psyche marries the goddess Aphrodite's son and then violates the rules of that marriage. To regain her divine husband, she must perform four impossible tasks, including a trip to the Underworld. C.S. Lewis puts on a spin on the story by telling it from the perspective of one of the wicked sisters.

On the day of Lewis' death, JFK and Aldous Huxley also died.
Also see the Guide to Classical Literature's review of a biography of C.S. Lewis.

Apuleius © Clipart.com

Has a joker ever tried to show you that instead of having the obvious 10 fingers, he actually has 11? This is done by bending down and counting fingers on one hand backwards from 10: "10, 9, 8, 7, 6...." The joker then says "... and 5 makes 11".

Counting on one's fingers seems a natural way to compute numbers, but the ancient Greeks and Romans didn't just count "on" their fingers. They counted with their fingers, and not to be quick and accurate with the finger symbols could be embarrassing.

Read more about ancient finger counting (technical term: dactylonomy):
Finger Numbers.

Also see Laura Gibbs's Blog on Roman Multiplication by Fingers.

On this day in 53 B.C. Marcus Licinius Crassus may have died. Crassus was a member of the first triumvirate, along with Pompey and Caesar. He was a very greedy, wealthy man, but not as capable a military leader as Pompey or Caesar. However, it was largely through Crassus' efforts that the rebellion of Spartacus was put down in 71 B.C., even though Pompey took the credit.

In 53 B.C., Crassus was governor of Syria. He was attempting to earn glory for himself by invading Parthia, even though there was no justification for it. It was after the battle at Carrhae that Crassus was killed.

Read more about Crassus in Bingley's Biography of Crassus.

• Parthians as Intermediaries Between China and Rome in the Silk Trade
• How Did Crassus Die?
• Plutarch on the Revolt of Spartacus
• Persian Empire Maps