Shout out to Bernie, retired Lewiston High School Latin teacher and current Maine State Music Theatre volunteer. Meeting you was a great reminder of how diverse and broadreaching our field is!
As summer vacation begins to wind down and you’re excitedly down to your last house guests, find a cool spot, pour yourself a glass of iced something, and check out the happenings and discussions in the Classics world from the past two months.
Calling all puzzle enthusiasts! A pieced together fresco provides insight into Roman London culture 2,000 years ago. Over in Pompeii, new evidence seems to show that some Vesuvius survivors returned to their destroyed city and created a new life out of the ruins. In Iraq, archaeologists have uncovered a 12-ton palatial relief with rare depictions of the Assyrian deities Ashur and Ishtar (are you asyrious?!). A closer look at an already well-known Assyrian relief brings us back down from heaven. Actually, a little farther, as it depicts ancient floaties. Zigzagging over to Greece, if you took a trip to Athens this summer and stopped by the Acropolis, consider yourself one lucky κυνός. The Odeon of Herod Atticus will be hosting its last performances this fall before a three year restoration process, during which the theater will be closed. A hop, skip, and a jump away from Athens, on the island of Ithaca, archaeological work has uncovered a 14/13th century Mycenaean settlement along with evidence of a sanctuary there for the worship of the mythological war hero, Odysseus. But I’ll be telling my dog it’s dedicated to him. Also in Greece, an uncovered Neolithic age pit tell a story of feasting, fancy cutlery, and food preferences. In the literary world, Gillian Allnutt explores feminine strength through the mythological figure of Arachne in her poem “The Song of Arachnid”, featured in The Guardian’s “Poem of the Week”. Interested in more Classical-themed poetry? Vates, an online journal dedicated to cultivating and collecting contemporary Latin poetry, has been revived under a new editor and is looking for both readers and contributors. Sam Kean, in his recent book Dinner with King Tut, walks readers through the multi-sensory experiences and discoveries of the ancient world, from eating caterpillars to building pyramids. With back to school meetings right around the corner, perhaps Cicero’s view on achieving happiness will bring you some encouragement (if not, perhaps the thought that your head and tongue are not quite at the same level of risk as his will). If Cicero is too mainstream for you Classicist hipsters, Sumer just released a new myth. I hear it’s a total banger.
To all our teacher readers, being “just Alex” is enough and bonam fortunam this school year! To all our readers, being “just Alex” is enough and manifest rain.
