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Major Events in the Trojan War

2012-05-21T09:54:37Z

A "Replica" of the Trojan Horse in Troy, Turkey. CC Alaskan Dude at Flickr.com

How much do you know about the war that the ancient Greeks kept talking and writing about? I don't mean the war they fought against the Persians or the war between the Greek leagues. This one had a decisive victory, once and for all. The Greeks were the winners, but not by virtue of their manliness and martial skills. They ended this one with a trick. No, this wasn't a candle you can't blow out or a cube with colors to be arranged in an impossible pattern, or even some miscreant's program for your computer, but it was still a trick. We call it the Trojan Horse.

Read: Major Events in the Trojan War.

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Major Events in the Trojan War originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 09:54:37.

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Myth Monday - The King and the Harpies

2012-05-21T06:55:21Z

_{The winged Boreads rescuing Phineus from Harpies. Attic red-figure column-krater c. 460 B.C. Louvre

PD Courtesy of Marie-Lan Nguyen}

If you see a picture of a bird-body with a woman's upper half, you may not be sure whether you're looking at a Siren or a Harpy. Generally, if beautiful, you might assume it was one of those female creatures who lured willing sailors to their death in the Odyssey; if hideous and causing anguish, probably one of the horrible creatures who stole or defiled the food the blind King Phineus wanted to eat. This is a perfectly reasonable way of looking at them, but you may run into trouble. It is not based on the early ancient Greek myths. ...

Myth Monday - The King and the Harpies originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 06:55:21.

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Saint's Day: Constantine's Mother

2012-05-21T06:50:00Z

This Day in Ancient History - May 21:

St. Helena © Clipart.com

Saint Helena, mother of the first Christian emperor, Constantine I,
traveled to the Holy Land where some believe she discovered the cross on which Jesus was crucified.

It is possible that Helena was born Christian, but it is thought that she converted. Details about her early life and even her death are scanty. Helena (Flavia Iulia Helena) was born in about 250 and died when she was about 80, according to Eusebius, sometimes called the father of Church history. Helena is thought to have come from Drepanum, in the Roman province of Bithynia [see map] because of the honor her son paid to the area.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St. Helena's saint's day is May 21. In the Roman Catholic Church, it's August 18.

Moses Finley

2012-05-20T06:55:35Z

This Day in History - May 20: On this day in 1912, Moses Finley was born in New York City. After studying law, during the McCarthy era, Finley moved to England and taught classics at Cambridge University. He died on June 23, in 1986.

Among other books, Finley wrote The World of Odysseus, The Ancient Economy, Politics in the Ancient World, and Land, Debt, and the Man of Property in Classical Athens.

Also on this day in history, in 1957, classical scholar Gilbert Murray (b. January 2, 1866) died.

In ancient history, this may have been the day the first Council of Nicaea started in 325 A.D. See: The Arian Controversy and the Council of Nicaea.

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Moses Finley originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Sunday, May 20th, 2012 at 06:55:35.

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From Truth to Praise to Demonization

2012-05-19T22:03:21Z

Emperor Justinian making an offering. © NYPL Digital Gallery

Procopius was a Byzantine official and historian, author of a history of the wars and a panegyric on Justinian's building projects, but best known for his unofficial, gossipy, secret history of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora. Read more about Procopius.

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From Truth to Praise to Demonization originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at 22:03:21.

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Roman Castles Before the Middle Ages

2012-05-19T15:36:56Z

"Bad Homburg - Saalburg Roman Fort Reconstructed"
CC Flickr User roger4336

While castles spring up everywhere in medieval history, they predate the Middle Ages, and even the Roman period. However, the word 'castle' is derived from a word connected with the Roman term for the fortified camps the Roman legions established throughout the Roman Empire.

Read more in: From Legionary Camps to Castles.

Related:

The Mausoleum of Hadrian
Constntinople
Herod's Castle at Masada Fortress
Castles, from Medieval History at About.com

Roman Castles Before the Middle Ages originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at 15:36:56.

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On This Day in Ancient History - A 14-Year-Old Became Emperor

2012-05-16T07:43:37Z

Elagablus Coin
© Copyright the Trustees of the British Museum, produced by Natalia Bauer for the Portable Antiquities

On this day in ancient Roman History - May 15:
He wouldn't last long on the throne, since he was assassinated at 17/18, but on this day in A.D. 218, the flamboyant Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, whom we call Elagabulus, became emperor of Rome. One of the reasons Elagabalus was so unpopular was that he tried to make his Syrian god the dominant one of the Roman Empire, but there are other, more colorful charges against him. Read more about Elagabalus.

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On This Day in Ancient History - A 14-Year-Old Became Emperor originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 07:43:37.

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Guess Who

2012-05-16T06:42:01Z

_{CC Flickr User Rictor Norton & David Allen}

Hints:

1.) Facing right is Socrates. You are to guess the man facing the left.

2.) Last week's Classics feel good story Columbia University custodian to graduate after 12 years of part-time study (courtesy of the Rogue Classicist) features a man who graduated from Columbia with a degree in Classics and a senior paper on this man.

Answer

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Guess Who originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 06:42:01.

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These Are Pairs of ... ?

2012-05-15T20:43:39Z

Guess what these pairs of names have in common.

Leuconotus and Altanus
Libonotus and Subvesperus
Argestes and Etesiae
Circias and Corus
Thracias and Gallicus
Supernas and Caecias
Carbas and Ornithiae
Eurocircias and Volturnus

Answer

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These Are Pairs of ... ? originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 20:43:39.

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Myth Monday - The First Tyrant

2012-05-14T06:55:59Z

_{Candaules, His Wife, and Gyges by William Etty 1820
PD Courtesy of Wikipedia}

Today's Myth Monday features a story about the first tyrant known to the Greeks. It could be based on history, since the main male character is, but the actual coup is very unlikely to have happened in this way. ...

Myth Monday - The First Tyrant originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 06:55:59.

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