N.S.Gill's Ancient History Blog December 2007 Archive

OstrakaClipart.com In ancient Athens, the birthplace of democracy, not only were children denied the vote (an exception we still consider acceptable), but so were women, foreigners, and slaves. People of power or ... Read More

One of the more amazing 2007 news stories relevant to the ancient world is that the pyramids are being copyrighted. According to Australia's The Age's article Pyramid copyright blow, Zahi ... Read More

Trajan's Column Picture © Clipart.com In the NY Times' House Tour Sheds Light on Life in Old Rome, Elisabetta Povoledo reports on a new feature for visitors in Rome, ... Read More

The date of the birth of Christ was fixed in the fourth century. Before then, various dates were assigned to Christmas, including the 6th of January, the 25th of March ... Read More

Euripides © Clipart.com "The gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children." - Phrixus Frag. 970 Euripides (c. 484-407/406). Quote of the DayThis Day in History

Boar's Head © Paul Gill There are many versions of the Boar's head carol including one with a Latin line about always serving the boar with mustard. In antiquity the fierce boar ... Read More

© Paul Gill One of the most popular spots in the world for the Winter Solstice is Newgrange, where a prehistoric passage was apparently designed specifically to provide natural illumination ... Read More

According to China View's article Archaeology magazine picks top 10 discoveries of 2007, the January/February issue of Archaeology Magazine selected the following as its top 10 archaeological discoveries ... Read More

On this day in Ancient History, the Saturnalia festival continued for the Romans, with merriment, gambling, and role reversals. This is also one of the days in which the Roman ... Read More

According to the UK's BBC Radio 3's article The Essay - Greek and Latin Voices, they are in the midst of a series of readings of 12 classical authors in ... Read More

Saturnalia is finally here. Today (a.d. XVI Kal. Ian.) is the first day of the very popular Roman's winter solstice celebration. In Cicero's day, the festival lasted 7 days. The ... Read More

Old men's prayers for death are lying prayers, in which they abuse old age and long extent of life. But when death draws near, not one is willing to die, ... Read More

© Clipart.com In Ancient Roman Glue Sticks Around, Rossella Lorenzi, for Discovery News, reports on an exhibit at Rheinischen Landes Museum in Bonn, Germany, called "Behind the Silver ... Read More

The Goths Fighting © Clipart.com The term "Gothic" was used in the Renaissance to describe certain types of art (and architecture) from the 1400s -1600, according to Shelley Esaak's Art History 101. ... Read More

No, not the Latin word for "hour," but the Jewish choral dance. Philologos, in the Jewish Daily Forward, says the hora dance comes from the Greek khoros, which, we normally ... Read More

Hesiod, one of the early epic poets to whom the ancient Greeks turned for their mythology, wrote about the five successive ages of man. Man is loosely defined. In the ... Read More

Varro (116-29 B.C.) -- most learned of the Romans -- says the name of Rome was once Septimontium. This would have been before the people living on or around ... Read More

When comparing Greek and Norse mythology, the chaining and torture of Loki and Prometheus are similar, but what led to the punishment was very different. Zeus punished Prometheus as much because ... Read More

In 536, Belisarius occupied Rome taking it away from the barbarians who had held it since they had deposed the last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus in 476.Gibbon describes the march ... Read More

In a recent news article, Hittites 'used germ warfare 3,500 years ago', the UK Telegraph reports that Dr Siro Trevisanato says the Hittites used sheep carrying tularemia, which can ... Read More

Mistletoe © Clipart.com Today people think of mistletoe as the kissing plant, or if they buy it to try to make their own kissing balls, the delicate, little, expensive plant in the ... Read More

In a 1988 article, "Cultural Literacy and the Classics," Jeremiah Reedy introduced to classicists of the late 80s some of the concepts put forth by E.D. Hirsch in his controversial ... Read More

The movie Golden Compass, based on Philip Pullman's wonderful fantasy Northern Lights or Golden Compass, came out yesterday. In the book (for why I haven't seen the movie, see ... Read More

Success is man's god. - Choephori (Libation Bearers) 59 Aeschylus (450 B.C.). Quote of the DayThis Day in History

Horace © Clipart.com On this day in 68 B.C. the Roman poet Horace was born.Quintus Horatius Flaccus (known as Horace) was a Roman poet (December 8, 65 - November 27, 8 B.C.) ... Read More

Balder © Clipart.com In Norse mythology Balder was thought to be invincible, so all the other gods were taking shots at this much-loved favorite son of Frigg and Odin. Balder's brother, Hod, ... Read More

Most of the Olympian gods and goddesses had temples, but the goddess Hestia (Roman Vesta) was different. In Rose Williams' new book Gods and Other Odd Creatures, she says that ... Read More

The Rogue Classicist mentioned a related blog I've never noticed before, Executed Today. I'm not sure how it works, but there seems to be at least a set of "executions ... Read More

In the sixteenth book of the Odyssey, Odysseus secretly reveals his identity to his son Telemachus, who hasn't seen him since he was a baby. The two men plot how ... Read More

Bishop (Saint) Nicholas © Clipart.com St. Nicholas Day is December 6. St. Nicholas is a legendary figure connected with Christmas gift-givers like Santa Klaus. He is thought to have lived in the ... Read More

While on a tour of historical rooms decked out for Christmas at the local museum, I learned a few things about Christmas celebrations that might relate to our time period. One ... Read More

Hades and Persephone © Clipart.com The following passage from the Iliad Book XV is spoken by Poseidon who in this public domain translation goes by the Roman name of Neptune. ... Read More

Apollo, sometimes known as Apollo Musagetes because he is the leader of the Muses, is a Greek god with many, and sometimes conflicting attributes. He is a patron of ... Read More

In the fifteenth book of the Odyssey, Telemachus departs from Menelaus and Helen, avoids being delayed by Nestor's excessive hospitality, picks up a seer as passenger, and arrives back in ... Read More

Today's Quote of the Day comes from Aeschylus' play The Suppliants, but could have come from the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament: Honour thy father and thy mother stands ... Read More

From Sunday until Christmas, it's Advent, time to sing Christmas Carols in Latin. Learn the Latin words to O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles), Veni, Emmanuel (O Come, Emmanuel), ... Read More