Author Topic: Classics Forum  (Read 351011 times)

roshanarose

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #280 on: March 07, 2011, 05:55:29 AM »
CLASSICS BULLETIN BOARD


Paestum

Paestum, a complex of Greek Temples in  Southern Italy.

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Welcome to our Classics Bulletin  Board, which is our public discussion for those interested in the Classics. Since our Latin Classes are not visible to the public but we have a great many people interested in talking about the Classics, we've put this discussion up for your interest.

Please share here news, clips, magazine or newspaper articles, movies or television shows and especially books  you find that would be of interest to those of us who love the classics world.

Everyone is welcome!








If the use of Harry is flippant and applies to Herodotus, perhaps the premise is flippant as well.
How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state?  - Plato

ginny

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #281 on: March 13, 2011, 08:56:38 AM »
Thank you ALL for the marvelous news of the Classics World.  I love the conversations here! hahaa

Druids! My goodness what will they find next? Every day what we knew changes as new discoveries are made.

Truly everything old is new again! New discoveries it seems every day and a book on a 2000 year old figure (Cleopatra) continues to rank high on the NY Times best seller list, it's almost like a Renaissance.

For those of you in the States, the History Channel International will air tomorrow night, Monday March 14:

8-9pm -- How The Earth Was Made : Vesuvius
Mt Vesuvius is the world's most dangerous volcano, and it threatens three million people. It was responsible for the most famous natural disaster of ancient history, the eruption that destroyed the Roman city of Pompeii. And its most recent blast was caught on film in 1944. Today Vesuvius is the most densely populated volcano in the world. Now recent scientific discoveries show that it is capable of an eruption larger than ever before thought possible and that hidden beneath Vesuvius there is a vast magma chamber of boiling hot rock, ready to come out.

I am willing to bet that it's on Youtube, along with the million and one splendid clips on Vesuvius and its eruption in 1944 (not to be missed), Montserrat,  the National Geographic program on volcanoes and many many more. These are pirated and put up until the producers catch them and order them removed, so they normally are not titled with the same title, but if you look long and hard enough you can normally find them. It's a boon for those  in any country to be able to see film you ordinarily could not.

I haven't seen this and don't know if it's worth the time, maybe some of us can watch it and report. A prize to anybody who can find it on Youtube. :)


Also tonight:


Sunday March 13: 8-9pm -- Ancient Discoveries : Impossible Army Machines
The amazing successes and stunning failures of ancient military engineers have directly affected the weapons and tactics we use today. In fact, an ancient Greek weapon is still used on modern aircraft carriers. How did the Chinese develop a catapult with a firing rate of 10 rounds per second? Did the living horse battlefield torpedoes of the middle ages battlefield actually work? And, how did the great Carthaginian general Hannibal cross the highest mountain range in Europe using equipment still used by today's Special Forces, dissolving solid rocks in his path using an ancient chemical version of dynamite?

9-11pm -- Last Stand of The 300
After Custer, Thermopylae is the most famous last stand in history. In a narrow pass in Northern Greece, seven thousand Greek soldiers await an onslaught of epic proportions. They will soon face the largest fighting force ever assembled--the war machine of the mighty Persian Empire, estimated at over a million men. The Greeks are led by three hundred of the most ferocious warriors of the ancient world--the Spartans. Their leader is the fearless King Leonidas, who after this battle would be catapulted into legend. When it is over, every Spartan in the pass will have sacrificed his life for freedom. Creating a fresh visual style and using new technologies we will dramatically recreate the significant events that lead to Thermopylae and the clash of arms.

Next Saturday:

Saturday, March 19, 2011
____________________________________________________

7-8pm -- Engineering An Empire - The Persians
The Persian Empire was one of the most mysterious civilizations in the ancient world. Persia became an empire under the Cyrus the Great, who created a policy of religious and cultural tolerance that became the hallmark of Persian rule. Engineering feats include an innovative system of water management; a cross-continent paved roadway stretching 1500 miles; a canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea; and the creation of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Mausoleum of Maussollos. The rivalry between Persia and Athens led to a 30-year war known as the Persian Wars, the outcome of which helped create the world we live in today. Peter Weller hosts.


fairanna

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #282 on: March 15, 2011, 03:00:35 PM »
MY ACCIDENT HAS MADE ME AN AHANDICAPPED Person I would appreciate hearing from you. [Edited: contact webmaster@seniorlearn.org
 for Anna's home address]  at anna alexander with  any suggestions and ideas Thank you  :) :) :)love anna

fairanna

  • Posts: 263
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #283 on: March 15, 2011, 11:46:29 PM »
THIS IS ANNAFAIR AND CAN,T SEEM TO SEEM THE PLACE I P0STED BEFORE HELP

marcie

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #284 on: March 16, 2011, 01:43:14 AM »
Anna, I'm very sorry that you're suffering the effects of an accident. Are you looking for the Poetry discussion? It's at http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=176.2400

Tomereader1

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #285 on: March 16, 2011, 01:31:06 PM »
And may I add, that even though we are all friends here, I don't think it wise to post your home address in ANY forum. Maybe you should have sent a Private Message to one of your friends here.
The reading of a fine book is an uninterrupted dialogue in which the book speaks and our soul replies.


André Maurois

Mippy

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #286 on: March 17, 2011, 08:55:01 AM »
Even I can be more Greek than Latin once in a while.    :D
This is even more gripping than usual, after the tsunami in Japan!

Reuters' news posted a story about finding the lost island of Atlantis near Spain, about which
Plato had written, as it had been found near the Pillars of Hercules, now called Straits of Gibraltar.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/us-tsunami-atlantis-idUKTRE72B2JR20110312
quot libros, quam breve tempus

ginny

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #287 on: March 20, 2011, 06:30:13 PM »
Wow, thank you, Mippy!

This week for those of you who get History Channel International, the following programs might interest:

Wednesday, March 23, 2011
_______________________________

10:00 PM-12:00 AM -- Death Masks - Death Masks
Faces...and facts...fleshed out from the grave. Unprecedented technology brings to life extraordinary mirror images and powerful last impressions of history's most powerful men. Every line, every wrinkle, every expression tells a story. Forensic-science and anthropology experts have identified that history's most relevant figures left behind highly-detailed casts of their faces, created at their moment of death, to preserve their souls and physical memory for eternity. Using advanced facial-reconstruction techniques and 3-D imprint detailing, these death masks render an exact replica of every feature, and an intimate look at how their characteristics affected their lives. Includes startling new insights into the persistent mysteries surrounding these historic icons like Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon and George Washington, and just may reveal some secrets these men preferred to conceal.


Thursday, March 24,

9:00 PM-11:00 PM -- Rome: Engineering an Empire - Rome: Engineering an Empire
For more than 500 years, Rome was the most powerful and advanced civilization the world had ever known, ruled by visionaries and tyrants whose accomplishments ranged from awe-inspiring to deplorable. One characteristic linked them all--ambition--and the thirst for power that all Roman emperors shared fueled an unprecedented mastery of engineering and labor. This documentary special chronicles the spectacular and sordid history of the Roman Empire from the rise of Julius Caesar in 55 BC to its eventual fall around 537 AD, detailing the remarkable engineering feats that set Rome apart from the rest of the ancient world. Featuring extensive state-of-the-art CGI animation, and exclusive never-before-seen footage shot on a diving expedition in the water channels underneath the Colosseum.



sandyrose

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #288 on: March 22, 2011, 09:08:45 PM »
Mippy, such an interesting link.  Thank you. 

ginny

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #289 on: March 25, 2011, 07:18:49 PM »
If you live anywhere near Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 25-27 the American Classical League (the big one) will hold it's 88th Annual Meeting, the 64th Annual Institute at the University of Minnesota.


There are always many days of interesting presentations. One which looks particularly interesting is from the Getty Villa:  Herculaneum by Way of Malibu: Teaching the Art and Culture of  Ancient Roman Villas.

Another interesting speaker this time will be Fr. Reginald Foster who will address those attending a Plenary in both Latin and English. Fr. Foster was called "The Pope's Latinist," and worked for "nearly half a century" in the "Latin Letters" section of the  Vatican Secretariat of  State.

He is quite famous and should be very interesting. FYI.

This is the first time I have seen them hold this in a hotel, normally they hold them on campus.

Maryemm

  • Posts: 629
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #290 on: April 04, 2011, 06:20:52 AM »
I recall Sandy (I think it was you, Sandy: apologies if it wasn't), way back in 2009 telling us that Father Reginald was very ill in hospital. I read then that it was a serious illness so am so relieved to hear that he seems to be back to his enthusiastic,old self.

He now resides in Milwaukee, I believe, and is even on Facebook!

Read more about him here at:

 http://exlaodicea.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/fr-reginald-foster-not-returning-to-rome/

Maryemm

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #291 on: April 05, 2011, 10:28:47 AM »

 We were invited to afternoon tea at a friend's house yesterday and he took great delight in showing me a party invitation he had been sent. The party was to celebrate his son's 50th  and the invitation was written in a form of mock-Latin with photos super-imposed on images of Roman statues! What really interested me was the fact that the party was to be held at Saalburg, in Germany, on the site of an old Roman fort.

Read all about the place here at:



Roxania

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #292 on: April 05, 2011, 09:55:43 PM »
Let it never be said that classical sculpture is dead!  Only now it's being done in corrugated cardboard!  http://artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=46255

Frybabe

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #293 on: April 05, 2011, 10:20:27 PM »
Just watched a very interesting program on National Geographic called Gladiators Back from the Dead. It was about the remains found at York, England. The bone man showed various markings and abnormalities of the bone to determine what role each of six gladiators played in the arena and how they died.

Roxania

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #294 on: April 07, 2011, 09:54:45 AM »
There is apparently something of a controversy about using a line from the Aeneid to commemorate the victims of 9/11.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/opinion/07alexander.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

ginny

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #295 on: April 13, 2011, 08:20:26 AM »
My goodness what INTERESTING submissions here! Mary how fascinating, I spent a long time at that site!  Good heavens! I love the British and their never ending interest in all things Roman!

Sally how strange and wonderful, thank you for bringing that here!

Roxania, wow, what an article, seems like even using a quote nowadays it difficult and it does seem so apropos,  except for the original context, how interesting. Shows you  how people turn to Latin when they want to commemorate something and the resultant problems with that.

love all these, thank you so much!

ginny

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #296 on: April 13, 2011, 08:21:58 AM »


This morning we have some very exciting news!

 The results of the 2011 National Latin Exam are in. More than 150,000 students at all levels  including the university level took the National Latin Exam in 2011, from all 50 states and 12 countries, including  Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, England, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Zimbabwe, and for the first time, Iran and Malaysia.

Once again all of the students who took the National Latin Exam from our program received awards!!  This is the second year in a row!

We had 5 students this year to try their hands, all in the 101 and the 102 this year, as many of our upper classmen were not eligible this year for the next rung.

Of those 5, all received first place. That puts our average per school at 100 percent awards, unheard of!

In the Introduction to Latin we had 3 placing first:

Congratulations to:



Introduction to Latin:


Mogamom:  First place: Purple Ribbon (they don't give gold medals for the Introduction but this purple and gold ribbon is absolutely gorgeous, I want one) and Certificate  of Outstanding Achievement

Roxania: First Place: Purple Ribbon and Certificate of Outstanding Achievement

Yvonne Miller:
First Place: Purple Ribbon and Certificate of Outstanding Achievement

Latin I:

Cielolama: Gold Medal, Summa Cum Laude

MelandraII:  Gold Medal, Summa Cum Laude

In addition two of our students got Perfect Papers!  Only 328 students out of over 18, 100 who took this level achieved this distinction.

Perfect Scores:

Congratulations to  Mogamom and Roxania for this incredible feat!

And congratulations to all those who assist with the program in any way, Jane who is our Registrar, and who does technical help and orientation,  Marcie who helps with the technical side,  Mippy and Pedln and Shelley as Teaching Assistants, and Edith Anne for the games.

Euge! Celebrate!!





roshanarose

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #297 on: April 13, 2011, 10:45:17 AM »
Perfect Scores - Far Out said the Fox!  Go you good thing!  and all those things!!!  The only excellent megabus scholar I know of is Roxania.  We are proud of you, baby!  And all of the others as well - quite an achievement.
How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state?  - Plato

marcie

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #298 on: April 14, 2011, 01:29:21 AM »
Congratulations to Ginny and the fab five for your great achievements in Latin!!

sandyrose

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #299 on: April 14, 2011, 07:33:43 PM »
Wow, congratulations to all who took the NLE 2011.  Fantastic!  Thanks to Ginny and all here who make that possible.

Maryemm, Actually it was you who told me originally that Father Foster was ill.   When it was said that he would not return to the Vatican, I recommended Ginny to replace him.   He was teaching free Latin classes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, so I too am glad to hear he is able to be a speaker at the Minnesota meeting.  He was still translating papal documents and whatever into Latin even though he lives in Milwaukee area.   

roshanarose

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #300 on: April 14, 2011, 10:43:34 PM »
My apologies - I left out the other megabus (probably not Latin - but it seems apropos)scholars and support staff and Ginny.  Great job.
How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state?  - Plato

Maryemm

  • Posts: 629
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #301 on: April 18, 2011, 10:31:53 AM »

 
Wonderful exam results. CONGRATULATIONS to ALL !



................


Experts have virtually reconstructed the first house built by the infamous Roman emperor Nero.

Take a visual tour of Emperor Nero's palace in this slide show.


Maryemm

  • Posts: 629
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #302 on: April 25, 2011, 08:04:25 AM »
ROMAN FINDS UK : APRIL 2011



Uncovered: the remains of two Roman soldiers

Gumtree

  • Posts: 2741
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #303 on: April 25, 2011, 10:23:51 AM »
thanks Maryemm - seems there is no end to new discoveries about the Romans. I always watch the Time Team programmes - always interesting.
Reading is an art and the reader an artist. Holbrook Jackson

Frybabe

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #304 on: April 25, 2011, 01:26:10 PM »
Looking forward to seeing more on the industrial site diggings.

Maryemm

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #305 on: April 29, 2011, 10:07:03 AM »
Watched the Royal Wedding  (UK) all morning!

The following formed part of the ceremony:

THE MOTET


(Latin choral composition) sung by the choirs.

Ubi caritas et amor. Deus ibi est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. Exsultemus et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus et  amemus Deum vivum. Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.
Amen.

Wherever charity and love are to be found, God is there. The love of christ has brought us together as one. Let us rejoice and be glad in him. Let us fear and love the living God: and let us love one another with sincerity in our heart. Amen

ginny

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #306 on: April 29, 2011, 12:08:25 PM »
Mary!! I was just thinking there should have been some Latin there somewhere and voila! Thank you for that, wasn't it beautiful?


sandyrose

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #307 on: May 04, 2011, 05:52:00 PM »
Maryemm, thank you for that--so beautiful.  

Maryemm

  • Posts: 629
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #308 on: May 21, 2011, 01:41:55 PM »


 Have just returned from a visit to Cornwall. Did some reading about the Romans there and discovered that until last year it had been thought that the Roman settlements didn't extend much beyond Exeter.





Now an amateur archaeologist has helped identify a site in mid-Cornwall as a Roman fort.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cornwall/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8753000/8753199.stm

Frybabe

  • Posts: 9939
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #309 on: May 21, 2011, 06:35:05 PM »
That is interesting, Maryemm. I always assumed there was a Roman presence in Cornwall because of the mining.

Maryemm

  • Posts: 629
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #310 on: May 23, 2011, 12:12:31 PM »
To be honest, I had thought so too, Frybabe. It seems not a great deal is known about the Roman occupation of Cornwall.

(The "last year" I referred to seems to have been 2008!!) See:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080205202327.htm


Roxania

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  • Posts: 1997
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #311 on: May 27, 2011, 06:16:21 PM »
My daughter found--don't ask me how--a Finnish radio station that posts online in Latin:
http://yle.fi/radio1/tiede/nuntii_latini/

Why they are doing this is not entirely clear to me.  On the other hand, there are probably more Latin scholars than Finnish speakers.

roshanarose

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #312 on: June 03, 2011, 11:51:27 PM »
An excellent book I have just finished reading may be of interest to our classicists.

"The Bull of Minos" by Leonard of Cottrell.  ISBN 960 226 2710

Non Fiction - About the discovery and work of Heinreich Schliemann at Mycenenae, and Sir Arthur Evans at Knossos.  Written in a simple, imaginative and scholarly way.
How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state?  - Plato

Gumtree

  • Posts: 2741
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #313 on: June 04, 2011, 04:05:02 AM »
O! Ho! : that's a blast from the past Roshanarose... I think I read it maybe in the 60s or early 70s. Still have it somewhere on the shelves - unless my son has purloined it at some time. Great read!
Reading is an art and the reader an artist. Holbrook Jackson

Maryemm

  • Posts: 629
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #314 on: June 07, 2011, 09:26:16 AM »
Roman Ship Carried Live Fish Tank

Remains of the second century ship show signs of an ancient pumping system designed to suck sea water into a tank

http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/roman-shipwreck-fish-tank-110603.html#mkcpgn=emnws1

Maryemm

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #315 on: June 07, 2011, 09:28:03 AM »
Roxania, if you have access to the "Ecce" magazines, you will read about :

Dr. Ammondt -Elvis In Latin

Also see:

http://www.drammondt.com/english/index.php

Frybabe

  • Posts: 9939
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #316 on: June 08, 2011, 07:56:47 AM »
Quote
In Roman political culture, insanity and sexual perversity were often presented hand-in-hand with poor government.
From Wikipedia

Hmmmmm!


Now why would that quote make me think our latest government fiascos?

ginny

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Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #317 on: June 08, 2011, 08:30:04 AM »
Actually, (and I hate to say this) that quote reminds me of Wikipedia itself... hahahaa

Anyway, Maryemm, what a fabulous site, the Discovery one, thank you so much. I spent eons there yesterday, it's wonderful and so full of great videos.  Truly the internet can be a place of wonder and information. Who knew about Cornwall? It makes sense as Frybabe says about the tin mines, I'm looking forward to learning more. Lucky YOU on a vacation to Cornwall, I will never forget the week we stayed there on a cliffside  in a National Trust House. Absolutely love the place.

We need to put all the Ecce Magazines up in this heading! I'll see where they are, they are wonderful.

The Bull of Minos also sounds great, I've just gotten Mallowan's Memoirs by Max Mallowan, Agatha Christie's second husband,  and I peeked ahead into the parts on her. I was so intrigued by her wonderful autobiography Come, Tell Me How You Live, which begins with her trying to shop for suitable clothes for the plus size woman when going off to a dig with him,  absolutely hilarious.  In the latter chapters on her he'd written an Ode to Agatha on her Eightieth Birthday.  It's beautiful and funny, it's clear she was very lucky in her second husband who obviously adored her. I hear tho in our Library the book itself is  BORing, the worst. But I like dry things about archaeology. Anybody who was a classmate of Evelyn Waugh surely can't be that boring, so am proceeding with caution:  at any rate we start in Ur after a bit of background and then to Nimrud.

The new issue of Archaeology , the July/ August 2011 issue, which unfortunately as yet does not have anything to view online, does have a multi page huge photographs and article on  Assisi's Roman Villa. The earthquake there in 1997 led to some restoration and in 2001 in digging an elevator shaft they found only 20 inches down, the beginning of Roman capitals. Time and money ran out in 2003 but they resumed in 2006  and it continues as they have funding. Just imagine! I wish I were the proverbial rich man, I'd fund it in a heartbeat. Shades of Carnarvon and Carter!  

The photographs are dazzling, however and worth perusing even if in a B&N. That is a GREAT magazine.

Roxania, the Finnish radio station is marvelous! Their accent is slightly different but I love listening to it, thank you. It's decidedly fun to read today's news in Latin. :)

Isn't it truly amazing how the past still is being discovered today? Thank you all for your great submissions here!


Maryemm

  • Posts: 629
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #318 on: June 21, 2011, 01:57:01 PM »
Quote
Gladiator Chews Out Ref From Grave
An epitaph on the tombstone of an ancient gladiator may be the oldest evidence of a ref's bad call
.




See: http://news.discovery.com/history/gladiator-tombstone-epitaph-110621.html#mkcpgn=emnws1

Frybabe

  • Posts: 9939
Re: Classics Bulletin Board
« Reply #319 on: June 21, 2011, 06:12:27 PM »
Thanks, Maryemm. I also watched the videos of the source of Hadrian's Aqueduct, and the Lost Army of Cambyses. I did not know anyone had located either.