N.S.Gill's Ancient History Blog April 2006 Archive

Author and "Bread and Circuses" blogger Adrian Murdoch writes:"The manuscript for The Last Roman is now happily in the hands of my publishers. The original intention of the blog was ... Read More

Constantine was an important figure in Roman and Christian history. Because Constantine established one of the capitals of the Roman Empire in Constantinople, we can say the Roman Empire didn't ... Read More

A Roman festival was held on April 25 to prevent mildew and drain rust, in honor of a deity called Robigus. Robigalia

I received the following in email. What do you think? Hi, I have a question about Sophocles' play Antigone that I wonder if you can help me with. When Creon first enters ... Read More

Feta, a Greek cheese made from goat's and sheep's milk, has its mythological origins in Homer, according to Feta adds aroma to Greece's cultural heritage, an article from MyWestTexas.com."Polyphemus, the ... Read More

The Ancient Roots of Today's Financial Tools, an article for the Harvard Business School's newsletter, claims that some of the Oxyrhynchus papyri were the predecessors of modern checks. The article ... Read More

According to Baylor College of Medicine's article, Bile acids, receptor key in regenerating livers, Hippocrates and his followers may have been on to something. "Bile must have been the most important ... Read More

Would you like to read the Gospel of Judas for yourself? National Geographic offers a PDF file for downloading on its Lost Gospel site.The Hypotyposeis blog provides commentary, including a ... Read More

Despite the fact that Aspasia's career options were limited, Plutarch had the following to say about her: Aspasia, some say, was courted and caressed by Pericles upon account of her ... Read More

David Meadows, the Rogue Classicist, in his Explorator newsletter, posted links to the salary range of archaeologists and historians, as determined by Money Magazine. Historians earn an average of ... Read More

Paul, a Pharisee and tent-maker, was on his way to Damascus to continue his mission of stamping out converts to the new Jewish sect of Christians when he experienced a ... Read More

The Art History Guide's correspondent, Gail Myhre, a specialist in Roman art, recently had the experience of a private, guided tour of the Brooklyn Museum and its Tree of ... Read More

Because their religious holidays were celebrated on days of new or full moons, ancient Jews developed a working method of determining the monthly cycle. In ancient Jerusalem, witnesses appeared ... Read More

Maundy (Thursday) comes from the Latin mandatum = command. John 13:34: Mandatum novum do nobis ut diligatis invicem, I give you a new command -- to love one another.Dating Easter

The mention of polluting one's wine with a bit of burned bread reminded me of David Wishart. If you haven't read his entertaining series, you might want to read Germanicus.In ... Read More

The Gilroy Dispatch says that the custom of toasting comes from the Greeks, who raised their drinking vessels in a display of good faith, but that the word comes from ... Read More

Test your knowledge about ancient history and Greek mythology trivia. Today's question is on the names of the months of the Jewish calendar.Take the Daily Quiz

The saepta (ovile) was the voting place on the campus Martius. Julius Caesar had planned to build a saepta out of marble before his life was cut short. It was ... Read More

Here are some of the destructive and homicidal monsters from Greek mythology. Some of these monsters are conceived of as half human, half animal. At least two of these monsters ... Read More

There has been a lot of virtual ink spilled over the Judas papyrus, the document that supposedly puts Judas in a better light. Here are some of the recent online ... Read More

Do you know what sc. op. cit. e.g. i.e. A.D. and ibid. mean? If you need a refresher, look at Latin Abbreviations.

If you're quoting someone who refers to, say, a book, but without naming it, you may want to use the abbreviation for the Latin word scilicet in order to insert ... Read More

I have started reading Benjamin Isaac's dense 500+ page book on the origins of "proto-racism" in Classical Antiquity. Scholia Review has the following to say about it: "In this ambitious, ... Read More

Most of the pillow-type objects known about from antiquity are hard objects. This may be because hard blocks were preferred or because soft objects decayed. However, recently a soft:"4,000-year-old Egyptian ... Read More

Do you know the major heroes in Greek legend? Can you distinguish Perseus from Theseus and Bellerophon from Pegasus? If those names are Greek to you, read this top seven ... Read More

Shelley Esaak, Art History Guide, reports on a traveling Ancient Egyptian exhibit reviewed by Stan Parchin: "Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's second-floor Tisch Galleries, ... Read More

Next time you wonder how a bit of tasteless, ribald humor made it past the censors, think back on its ancient pedigree. Fescinnine verse started in ancient Rome, as a ... Read More

When Deucalion and Pyrrha landed on Mt. Parnassus after the great flood, they consulted with Themis to learn how to repopulate the earth. It was Themis who told them to ... Read More

Aetius (c.396-454) was consul 3 times, a Roman general, and is sometimes called the last Roman. In the picture Aetius is on the right and Emperor Valentinian III as ... Read More