Roman History Books and More

using iPad in archaeology

Apple - Discovering ancient Pompeii with iPad

This is awesome.

Ellis, who estimates that iPad has already saved him a year of data entry, plans to increase the number of iPad devices from one to two per trench. “The recovery of invaluable information from our Pompeian excavations is now incalculably faster, wonderfully easier, unimaginably more dynamic, precisely more accurate, and robustly secure,” he says.

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Hat tip: Desiree G.

book review: the pericles commission by gary corby

or: The Education of Nicolaos, Son of Sophroniscus

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A dead man fell from the sky, landing at my feet with a thud. I stopped and stood there like a fool, astonished to see him lying where I was about to step. He lay facedown in the dirt, arms spread wide, with an arrow protruding out his back. He'd been shot through the heart.

Thus begins this entertaining mystery novel. Barely has Nicolaos recovered from this shock, down walks Pericles, identifying the body as his friend Ephialtes, who brought real democracy to Athens. One word leads to another, and Pericles commissions Nicolaos to investigate the murder. Nicolaos, recently returned from military service, is unwilling to follow in his father's footsteps as a sculptor and rather dreams of a career in politics, so he jumps at the offer. Little does he know what he is getting himself into.

The year is 461 BCE, and Ephialtes, the leader of the Democrats, has been at loggerheads with the Areopagus, the ruling council of oligarchs, whose function he has largely emasculated. One of these is Xanthippus, Pericles' father. Except for our protagonist, almost all major characters in the novel are historical figures, from his parents Sophroniscus and Phaenarete and his pesky and irritating little brother Socrates (yes, the Socrates) to the various political movers and shakers, and Diotima, a priestess of Artemis. Mr. Corby paints a large canvass of Ancient Athens, the city, its markets, its mob, its laws and mores.

Read full review

The Pericles Commission by Gary Corby hits the stores on October 12.

A dead man fell from the sky, Gary Corby's blog.

Spoiler alert! Do not, repeat not, read the Author's Note before finishing the book.

Update: The author advises that the final print run does include a spoiler alert of its own.

dido, queen of carthage

Part of tonight's Aeneid book chat centered on Dido, naturally.

Here is the Wikipedia write-up (as usual handle with care), Dido (Queen of Carthage), which includes a list of musical and literary treatments, and Sid Meier's strategy game Civilization II, Dido as the female leader of the Carthaginian tribe.

Nicely illustrated, including a Rubens painting … would this Dido really have attracted Aeneas?  ;-)

book: classical myth and culture in the cinema

Classical Myth and Culture in the Cinema (ed. Martin M. Winkler), a collection of essays, is reviewed at the Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2001.12.13.

Classical Myth and Culture in the Cinema is a rewarding and engaging collection of varied essays on classics and cinema covering discussions of common patterns and motifs in non-classical films as well as the interpretation of an ancient text from the perspective of cinema (Mench) and film criticism. Rose's essay is especially recommended for its interdisciplinary approaches to antiquity (psychoanalytic, structuralist, political and historical). This informative collection is helpful for both classicists with an interest in film philology and film criticism and for film-literate readers with an interest in classical themes, inducing them to watch a particular film again and to think anew about it. There is just one thing missing: A filmography of the films mentioned and a bibliography of the articles and books cited would have been useful and appreciated.

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film sense in the 'aeneid' (for jstor 'and 'arion' subscribers only)

An intriguing question: What would the Aeneid look like as a movie?

Fred Mench explores this in Arion, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Autumn, 1969), pp. 380-397:

Film Sense in "The Aeneid"
Fred Mench
Arion, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Autumn, 1969), pp. 380-397
Published by: Trustees of Boston University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20163209

The literary critic should study not only philology or comparative literature but also the techniques employed by the film maker if he wishes to appreciate those literary works that utilize a kinetic visual approach (montage, variation of viewing angle, alternation of close-up and distance shot, and the like) … Most people who think of Vergil's artistry in visual terms tend to describe him as a painter, citing, for example, the backdrop painting of the harbor scene ( 1.159-69)  … Vergil is much closer to being a film director than a painter or a dramatist. The canvas or the stage set must be presented essentially all at once … A painter or playwright can accomplish some of this in a limited way but it would be difficult to sustain.  It is this flexibility that we associate with the cinema which is a hallmark of Vergil's great epic.

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'suggestions introductory to a study of the aeneid' by henry nettleship, 1875

Hat tip Terrence, via Defending Virgil:

Suggestions introductory to a study of the Aeneid
Henry Nettleship (Internet Archive)
1875 - 47 pages

as Google Book

our book chats about the aeneid

We have scheduled three chats on the Aeneid, September 15, October 6 & 20.

I have divided the text into three more or less equal parts:

• Books One through Four (September 15)
• Books Five through Eight (October 6)
• Books Nine through Twelve (October 20)

I then sugest that anyone who is behind please read the narrative to catch up, so that we can start with the next schedule as above.

The narrative can be found here: Aneid.

Aeneid translation by robert fitzgerald (print)

A fairly inexpensive book is The Aeneid translated by Robert Fitzgerald.

Robert Fitzgerald (1910 – 1985) was a prolific translator of Greek classics.

suetonius: life of vergil

Update 1:  Terrence reminded me that virgil.org has Aelius Donatus' Life of Virgil.

Suetonius, Life of Vergil from de viris illustribus, Life of Poets.

… Seneca has said that the poet Julius Montanus used to declare that he could also have purloined some of Vergil's work, if he could also have stolen his voice, expression, and dramatic power; for the same verses sounded well when Vergil read them, which on another's lips were flat and toneless. Hardly was the "Aeneid" begun, when its repute became so great that Sextus Propertius did not hesitate to declare:

"Yield, ye Roman writers; yield, ye Greeks;
A greater than the Iliad is born."

read all at LacusCurtius

follow p. vergilius maro on twitter

VirgilTweets

Line by line in Latin and English.

Hat tip: Robert

narrative and history in the aeneid (update)

Even if you prefer the Dryden translation of  the Aeneid, I do recommend reading  the introduction to the Fagles translation by the late Bernard Knox, especially "Narrative" and "History." If your library has the book, check it it out! 

Bernard Knox Obituary, August 16. 2010

Update 9/10

Bernard Knox (1914–2010)
September 30, 2010
Garry Wills

The referenced article can be found on JSTOR:

Title: The Serpent and the Flame: The Imagery of the Second Book of the Aeneid
Author(s): Bernard M. W. Knox
Source: The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 71, No. 4 (1950), pp. 379-400
Publisher(s): The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/292386

more aeneid links

… courtesy N.S. Gill:

• Frequently Asked Questions and Basic Facts
• SOCIETY FOR THE ORAL READING OF GREEK AND LATIN LITERATURE
  read in the restored pronunciation of classical Latin
• Virgil's Aeneid: with explanatory notes
  Frieze, Henry Simmonds, 1817-1889
• Virgil
  H. R. FAIRCLOUGH, Ph.D, PROFE8SOB OF LATIN, LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVER8ITY
  AND SELDON L. BROWN, A.M., PRINCIPAL OF WELLESLET (MASS.) HIGH SCHOOL

articles and commentaries, the aeneid, at jstor

I searched JSTOR, "Aeneid" AND "Articles," and it came up with 4418 results. Most of them are chapter or subject specific, but my scanning through the first few pages brings up these general articles:

Title: Dryden's "Aeneid"
Author(s): Robert Fitzgerald
Source: Arion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Autumn, 1963), pp. 17-31
Publisher(s): Trustees of Boston University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20162849

Title: Augustus and the "Aeneid"
Author(s): William T. Avery
Source: The Classical Journal, Vol. 52, No. 5 (Feb., 1957), pp. 225-229
Publisher(s): The Classical Association of the Middle West and South
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3295204

Title: Humor in the "Aeneid"
Author(s): Robert B. Lloyd
Source: The Classical Journal, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Feb. - Mar., 1977), pp. 250-257
Publisher(s): The Classical Association of the Middle West and South
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3296901

Title: The Aeneid as a Trilogy
Author(s): George E. Duckworth
Source: Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 88, (1957), pp. 1-10
Publisher(s): The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/283887

Title: The Lyric Genius of the "Aeneid"
Author(s): Michael C. J. Putnam
Source: Arion, Third Series, Vol. 3, No. 2/3 (Fall, 1995 - Winter, 1996), pp. 81-101
Publisher(s): Trustees of Boston University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20163574

Title: The Dullest Book of the Aeneid
Author(s): A. W. Allen
Source: The Classical Journal, Vol. 47, No. 3 (Dec., 1951), pp. 119-123
Publisher(s): The Classical Association of the Middle West and South
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3293660

Dullness and weariness, then, are not the whole of Aeneid, but they are an important part; and it seems to me that they are not the least interesting part of a poem which is by no means dull.

A couple of these were published in Arion, you might want to check your public library for copies of that periodical.

the aeneid in english online

Update 1: See additional options in the comment section.

Federico Barocci, Aeneas' Flight from Troy, 1598, Galleria Borghese, Rome
Wikimedia Commons

 An overview of The Aeneid in English is here. 

Online translations are mostly by Dryden. They come in various versions:

• The Perseus Digital Library
  this also has the original Latin
• Ancient/Classical History at About.com
  ditto with Latin
• Google Book
• Internet Classics Archive
• Project Gutenberg
  Project Gutenberg with all the options
  A Project Gutenberg version can most likely be downloaded for free on the iPad also.

Other online translations:

• Theodore Williams translation at Perseus.
• Modern translation by A.S. Kline.

hot off the presses: 'nemesis' by lindsey davis

Nemesis by Lindsey Davis is dark and complex.

Tempered by humor, suspenseful to the end. 

Davis' best novel yet!

(Further comments would spoil the suspense.)

virgil.org, aeneid maps

Book chat member Vicky C. shares this:

I have a hard time picturing where Aeneas went between Troy and Carthage so I needed some maps.

This page has a map showing cities as well as countries.
http://www.clta.net/lessons/latin/aeneid.html

N.S. Gill found these old maps.
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/aeneid/ss/062409AeneidMaps.htm

This is an interesting one, but kind of overwhelming.
http://www.communitywalk.com/the_aeneid_map/map/449768

Actually, Googling “Aeneid” and “map” gets you plenty of links.  There may be better ones further down in the list.

Indeed, googling leads us to Maps at virgil.org and the Virgil Resources aka virgil.org.

The chats will take place September 15 and October 6 & 20.

author interview with vicky alvear shecter – 'cleopatra rules'

Here is an interview with our friend and book chat member, Young Adult author Vicky Alvear Shecter, whose latest book, Cleopatra Rules!: The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen has just been published.

3PP: What lead to the decision to write a book for younger audiences about Cleopatra VII?

VAS: I think the larger question here is why did I want to write for younger audiences about ancient history? The answer is simple: because I never “outgrew” my fascination with the ancient world. I wanted to write books about fascinating people in a style I would have loved as a kid.

Read the full interview at "three pipe problem"

Alexander the Great Rocks the World

Read Vicky's blog: History with a Twist.

fake aeneid facebook page, hysterical!

... or "sheer genius," as Gary Corby says.

Virgil is singing arms and the man
(JPEG image, click on it to enlarge)

Enjoy!