Roman History Books and More

new online book review venture: b&n review

Barnes & Nobles Review

via IHT/Boston Globe: A new chapter for book critics

libraries shun deals to place books on web

Technology
Libraries Shun Deals to Place Books on Web

By KATIE HAFNER, New York Times

Published: October 22, 2007

Several major research libraries have rebuffed offers from Google and Microsoft to scan their books, instead signing on with a nonprofit effort.

Open Content Alliance

Open Content Alliance (Wikipedia) lists also other open libraries.

marcus aemilius lepidus (triumvir)

Wiki Classical Dictionary has a nice write-up on the Triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, which helps as background for our current read, Three's Company.

More can be found in Appian (beginning here) and Cassius Dio (beginning here).

Bingley in his post below has more sources:

 52/17  the burning of the senate-house, and the attack on Lepidus' house.

lepidus' father

I must admit, it took me a while to get my bearings with the prologue to our current read. Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology and Biography has a family tree of the Aemilii Lepidi. The Aemilius Lepidus who is the subject of the novel is shown as No. 17. The article on his father's career is No. 13 on pages 764-765.

For the ancient sources see the index for Lepidus on the Attalus site, and click on the entry links on the left side of each entry. The links take the form year/event, and the years in question are from 81 to 77, so the links are from 81/22 down to 77/9.

book review – medicus: a novel of the roman empire

“To all members of XX Legion Valeria Victrix. While the chief medic is on leave, this hospital has three officers. The administrative officer has gone shopping in Viroconium and taken his keys with him. One doctor has severe food poisoning. The other is doing his best, despite having no idea what's going on because he has no time to attend morning briefings. Until reinforcements arrive, nonurgent cases and injuries resulting from drunkenness, stupidity, or arguments with drill instructors will not be treated.”

In Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth Downie (Bloomsbury USA 2007), Gaius Petreius Ruso is a newly posted army medic to a grimy British outpost of the empire, recently divorced, beset by the debts his late father left behind, and having accidentally acquired a female slave he can't afford.

new book: the roman triumph by mary beard

Mary Beard's new book is out:

The Roman Triumph (Harvard University Press, October 2007, 448 pages)

Quite a tome! I'll report on it soon.

etruscan fanum voltumnae may have been found

Thanks to the eagle eye of David Meadows:

After seven hot summers of digging, an Italian archaeological team believe they have discovered one of the most important sites of the ancient world.
Fanum Voltumnae, a shrine, marketplace and Etruscan political centre, was situated in the upper part of the Tiber river valley.
(BBC News)

mary renault's theseus

As a break from Scullard, I've been reading two of Mary Renault's novels, The King Must Die and The Bull From The Sea. They tell the story of Theseus: his early life, how he came to Crete and fought the Minotaur, and what he did with the rest of his life. From my review:

Ms. Renault's story follows Plutarch's biography of Theseus, supplemented by early 20th century archaeological discoveries and anthropological speculations. ...  Nevertheless, "The King Must Die" and to a lesser extent "The Bull From the Sea" remain utterly compelling as recreations of a legendary age.  These are people who might have lived rather than 20th century people dressed in Mycenean clothes.

teaching plutarch in the age of hollywood

An alert from the American Educator brought us this:

Teaching Plutarch in the Age of Hollywood
By Gilbert T. Sewall
Until recently, Plutarch was widely read — by William Shakespeare, Abigail Adams, Harry Truman, and the general public.  But the writings of the Greek sage and philosopher are still relevant today.

Extended Web Version: Plutarch for the Sound-Bite Generation

Can Plutarch Regain Popularity?
By Roger Kimball

I blogged Mestrios Plutarchos last year.

varronian chronology

H.H. Scullard in his History of the Roman World: 753 to 146 BC frequently invokes the historian Marcus Terentius Varro (Wikipedia, handle with care).

I found this article by Jona Lendering:

Varronian chronology.
name of the chronology of the early Roman republic, which is several years 'out of step' with the common (or Christian) chronology

november 7 book chat: three's company (alfred duggan)

While I'm resting my bum elbow on two pillows, it's hard for me to read heavy tomes and concentrate at the same time.  So I moved ahead to our read scheduled for November 7, Three's Company by Alfred Duggan.

I have to admit that, ordinarily, I'm not a Duggan aficionado.  However, this one has intrigued me.

The protagonist is neither hero nor villain, but an inept bungler, full of his own exalted ancestral heritage.  The novel traces the life and times of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, magistrate, master of the horse, triumphator (but of what?), and finally triumvir and pontifex maximus.  The novel is cleverly constructed, sometimes deliciously nasty, always engrossing, and in the end the reader's feelings about our 'hero' remain curiously mixed.  Each chapter ends with a rather absentminded commentary from the famous Clodia Pulchra.

Enjoy the book!  If your public library doesn't have it, you can get a rather inexpensive paperback.

lindow man

The Oxford DNB has put up a new podcast on Lindow Man. Scroll down to the list of podcasts at the bottom of the page. The podcast on Boudicca is also still there if you haven't heard it yet.

Lindow Man is now in the British Museum, which has a page on him.

Lindow Moss is near Wilmslow in Cheshire. The local website has some nice pictures accompanying a rather lurid text.

not a lot to say

As you said below, Scullard is so comprehensive as not to leave much room for comment.

no blogging by irene for a while - broken elbow

Broke my right elbow cum surgery.

No blog post from me until I can get the hang of doing all this with my left (non-dominant) hand. Hopefully, Bingley has some material.