Category: Uncategorized
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Working Girls: Hetaerae and Mediterranean Prostitution
“We could choose no better model of wisdom than Milesian Aspasia, the admired of the admirable ‘Olympian’; her political knowledge and insight, her shrewdness and penetration…” — Lucian, A Portrait Study,XVII Since I made you all deep dive into medieval poetry and Shakespeare last time, I thought we’d turn to something perhaps a little more salacious…
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Greek Tragedy, Courtly Love, and Renaissance Satire: The Changing Face of Troilus & Cressida
“Lechery, lechery, still wars and lechery! Nothing else holds fashion.” — Thersites, Troilus & Cressida Before we start this week, I want to apologize to all of you for a very stupid blunder on my part. Mainly that all of my notifications for this blog were being sent to a filler email account to which I…
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Horses of a Different Color: Equines in the Ancient World
“I create thee, Oh Arabian. To thy forelock, I bind Victory in battle. On thy back, I set a rich spoil and a Treasure in thy loins. I establish thee as one of the Glories of the Earth… I give thee flight without wings.” — Bedouin legend So, I’m sure people who know me IRL…
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Physician, Heal Thyself: Medicine in the Ancient World
“I’m not dead!” — Old peasant, Monty Python and the Holy Grail Howdy, folks, I know we took last week off, but it is was mainly because I had to use my blog-research-time to road trip to my Covid vaccine appointment (finally— I live in Pennsylvania, where we’re just now thinking about leaving Phase 1a).…
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Animal House: Pets of the Ancient World
“Human sacrifice, dogs and cats, living together…mass hysteria!” – Dr. Peter Venkman, Ghostbusters I thought this week we’d talk about something relatable, especially in a pandemic world where we’ve still barely left the house: our non-human cohabiting partners. As long as people have been able to convince animals to let us touch them, we’ve had…
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The Jester of Tortuga: Caesar and the Pirates
Zoot: Hey man, I can’t figure out what side we’re on. Are we with the pirates or the frog captain? Floyd Pepper: Oh, hey, man. Just play the gig. Never get involved in politics… — Muppet Treasure Island Well, folks, it’s the Ides of March, so I bet you all came here for some dank…
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Family Plots: The Mausoleum of Augustus
“Oh, sure. Family, I know how that goes.” – Bo Catlett, Get Shorty I was snared by another article on my way to write up an entry for this week, though this one involving something a little more current-affairs than the Meidum Geese. After an intensive four-year restoration project, the Mausoleum of Augustus is being…
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The OG MC: Homer and the Evolution of Art in the Ancient World
I was reading a really interesting article about Egyptian art and its depictions of unknown and extinct animals. The particular example the article is exploring are so-called “Meidum Geese,” a plaster painting in the tomb of the Fourth Dynasty (2600s – 2400s BC) prince, Nefermaat. Aside from its great beauty and realism, the painting depicts…
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Wolf-Men Gone Wild: the Lupercalia & a Valentine to Roman Marriage
So after my last entry where I made fun of my local weather-casting whistle pig (if you’re not from Appalachia, look it up), it feels appropriate to return (two days late), to talk about one of the weirder (and that’s a statement) Roman festivals, the Lupercalia, celebrated on February 15th. Which does mean we’re going…
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Six More Weeks of Something: Prognostication and the Art of the Future in the Ancient World
“You want a prediction about the weather you’re asking the wrong Phil. I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you the rest of your life.” — Groundhog Day I wasn’t sure what this week’s entry was going to be about, but then I woke…
Sarah Holz 