About Ancient / Classical History

Myth Monday - Percy-us and Cheiron

2010-02-08T06:55:27Z

I read (with a smile) that youngsters reading the books by Rick Riordan that form the basis for the movie, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, are absorbing the Greek myths gladly and effortlessly. Without having seen the movie -- because it opens later this week -- I can only speculate that it actually does adhere to standard myths, based on the previews and the useful teacher's guide to Rick Riordan's books. Read more...

Myth Monday - Percy-us and Cheiron originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 06:55:27.

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On This Day in Ancient History Emperor Marcian Died

2010-02-07T06:50:28Z

In A.D. 457 the Roman Emperor Marcian died. Marcian had been born in 392, probably in Illyria, and began a career as a solider. He appears to have been captured by Vandals in the 430s and then emerged from obscurity to be made emperor when the preceding one, Theodosius II, died without leaving an heir.

While Marcian was emperor, he convened a Church council (Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon) and may have hired an assassin to kill Attila the Hun.

Attila Photo © Clipart.com

On This Day in Ancient History Emperor Marcian Died originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 06:50:28.

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On this Day in Ancient History - Augustus Received a Title

2010-02-05T06:50:52Z

Augustus. St Petersburg - Hermitage.
CC Flickr User thisisbossi.

In 2 B.C., the first Roman emperor, whom we call Augustus, received the title Pater patriae 'father of the country'. This title was a great honor given for outstanding service. The famous orator and Roman statesman Cicero had earned the title Pater patriae in 63 B.C. Later emperors received the title after years of service to Rome.

On this Day in Ancient History - Augustus Received a Title originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 06:50:52.

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Thursday's Term to Learn - Stipendium (Stipend)

2010-02-04T20:36:25Z

Last night's Roman History book chat was the second on Tacitus' Histories, with a focus on the year of four emperors. A topic that came up that we couldn't answer was how (and even whether) the soldiers were paid amid the chaos, especially if they were on the losing side. If you know the answer, please post in the comments. Read more...

Thursday's Term to Learn - Stipendium (Stipend) originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 20:36:25.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians - "The Lightning Thief"

2010-02-04T09:01:23Z

Will you be watching the Percy Jackson movie when it opens on February 12, 2010? I hadn't heard much about it, other than that it was created by the makers of Harry Potter (a strong plus in my book) and that it had to do with the Greek gods. Watching the clip (linked to above), I see it features strong, capable actors Pierce Brosnan and Sean Bean, and seems to use the Harry Potter formula with a difference. Instead of a British school of magic, there appears to be an American (U.S.?/Canadian?) school for demi-gods.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians - "The Lightning Thief" originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 09:01:23.

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Guess Where

2010-02-03T06:55:10Z

CC Flickr User Alun Salt.

Need a clue? Byron left his mark there.

Give up? Click on the image or photo credit.

Guess Where originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 06:55:10.

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Myth Monday - Another Mouse God

2010-02-01T06:55:11Z

The old man ... prayed apart to King Apollo whom lovely Leto had borne. "Hear me," he cried, "O god of the silver bow, that protectest Chryse and holy Cilla and rulest Tenedos with thy might, hear me oh thou of Sminthe. If I have ever decked your temple with garlands, or burned your thigh-bones in fat of bulls or goats, grant my prayer, and let your arrows avenge these my tears upon the Danaans."
~ From Iliad Book I (Public Domain Translation)

Last week's Myth Monday featured another god associated with a mouse, Ganesha. The mouse was Ganesha's vehicle (vahana). This week's mouse god is Apollo Smintheus (Sminthius). His mouse connection is less clear.

Loss of Paleography Position (Update)

2010-01-28T21:35:56Z

The timing couldn't be stranger. Just after University College London professors report on the discovery of a long-lost legal document, Mary Beard, the Cambridge Classics professor and Times UK columnist reports that Kings College London is doing away with the "only established [paleography] chair in the country." Beard describes the vital role paleography serves:

"The only way that we can hope to understand books and manuscripts of the past (not just how to read them, but also to work out why they were as the were.. and what difference it makes) is to keep the study of palaeography alive."

Read her column: A Don's Life: University cuts, redundancies - and bye-bye palaeography at King's College London.

Update: There is now a Facebook page about this: Save Paleography At King's London.

Loss of Paleography Position (Update) originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 21:35:56.

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Thursday's Term to Learn - Rustic Capitals

2010-01-28T17:27:03Z

Yesterday, when writing about the discovery of a part of the Codex Gregorianus, I mentioned that the script in which the fragment was written looked like rustic capitals. (In fact, the title is in rustic capitals, but the rest is not: see Fragmenta Londiniensia Anteiustiniana.) As the name suggests, rustic capitals are capital letters, so you don't need to be concerned with two shapes for each letter. In case it all looks terribly run-on to you, spaces between words may be marked with a dot in mid-line. Square capitals are also only capital letters, mostly created with angles because they were easier to chisel than a rounded shape, but generally, they served a different purpose.

Lost (and Found) Roman Law Code

2010-01-27T20:10:54Z

Science Daily reports on a significant legal discovery by Simon Corcoran and Benet Salway of University College London. By putting together a manuscript puzzle, they have found part of Codex Gregorianus, or Gregorian Code, a Roman law document that was originally put together about 300 A.D. and copied by scribes who wrote what are now fragments, in c. A.D. 400.

Also see PhysOrg.com's article, Lost Roman law code discovered in London. Read more...

Lost (and Found) Roman Law Code originally appeared on About.com Ancient / Classical History on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 20:10:54.

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