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A pair of Tutankhamun’s sandals with pictures of his captured enemies on the sole. A Syrian and a Nubian or sub-Saharan native.

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Assyrian and Babylonian - dialects of the language collectively known as Akkadian - have not been spoken for almost 2,000 years. The entire dictionary costs $1,995 (£1,230; 1,400 euros), but is also available for free online - a far cry from the dictionary’s low-tech beginnings.

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CICERO AND THE CATILINE CONSPIRACY: 

THE Roman Republic was in death’s throes. Within a few short years, the “dictator for life” Julius Caesar would be assassinated, and, as a result, the government would descend into chaos. The consequence of a long civil war would bring the birth of an empire under the watchful eye of an emperor; however, it would also witness the loss of many personal liberties - liberties that were the pride of the people and the result of a long history of struggle and strife. Nevertheless, that was in the future - the year is 63 BCE and the city of Rome and the foundation of the Republic is being threatened. Luckily, one man would rise amidst the disorder, at least in his mind, to save it.

The year 63 BCE saw Rome as a city of almost one million residents, governing an empire that ranged from Hispania in the west to Syria in Middle East and from Gaul in the north to the deserts of Africa. Outside the eternal city, in the provinces, the next few decades would bring a strengthening of the borders - Pompey battling King Mithridates of Pontus in the East while Julius Caesar fought the assorted tribes of Gaul and Germany to the north, but at home Rome was facing an internal threat. The difficulties on the home front stemmed from troubles developing in the eastern provinces.  

A significant decrease in trade and the resulting loss of tax revenue resulted in an increase in debt among many of the more affluent Romans. Unemployment in the city was high. The Roman Senate stood silent, unable or unwilling to come to a solution. The people longed for a hero, namely the ever-popular Pompey, to return and bring a remedy. In the meantime, however, there was serious - or so it appeared - unrest, an unrest that led to a conspiracy, a supposed conspiracy that threatened not only the lives of the people who lived within the walls of Rome but also the city itself.

Read More 

Article by Donald L. Wasson on AHE

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Silver tetradrachm of Alexander III of Macedon, head of Herakles & seated Zeus.

Greek, 315–308 B.C.

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Polykleitos’ Canon and Doryphoros the spear-bearer 

Unfortunately, the original sculpture of Doryphoros by Polykleitos is lost to us. Although we have a few surviving Roman marble copies of this famous work of art, the fact that we have lost the original bronze statue means that we cannot conclusively study Polykleitos’ mathematical Canon. 

We know that Polykleitos based his Canon on the ���Pythagorean notion of symmetria, the idea that the parts of a form must have a proportional relationship to the whole. Thus, his Canon established a mathematical formula that determined the proportions of the ideal male body.” (the Minneapolis Institute of Arts) Although it is impossible for us to fully explore and understand this Canon, several theories have been put forward by scholars who have studied ancient writings and had the opportunity to test their information on the surviving Roman copies. 

Richard Tobin suggests that, for example, “the dimensions of the little finger might have been squared to calculate the length of the hand. The size of the hand in turn would have been squared to determine the length of the forearm, and so on to determine the size of each part of the human body.” (the MIA) Tobin goes on to note his awareness of, “the rigidity of the numerical precision should be tempered by free irregularity, to give life and warmth to the mathematical precision,” which could suggest that Polykleitos did sometimes deviate from the Canon in order to preserve the artistic side of his work. 

As is noted on the website for Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, where one of the remaining Roman copies of the statue is housed, “The proportions of the Doryphoros together with the perfect balance between tension and relaxation, create a visual image of harmony. The Doryphoros is an idealized, youthful athlete, a representation of the perfectly proportioned male body, exemplifying what is most noble and admirable in man.” They further note that Polykleitos would also have relied on the Chiastic Principle in order to achieve this balance. “He stands in the contrapposto (literally, counterpoise) pose with his weight on his right leg (the engaged leg), which is balanced by his left arm that once held the spear. The left leg, which is bent and relaxed, is likewise balanced on the other side by the straight right arm.” (the MIA) 

This balance is illustrated by the lines superimposed onto the statue in the image above on the top left. Further reading regarding Polykleitos’ Canon includes: 

- Tobin, R. (1975) The Canon of Polykleitos, The American Journal of Archaeology, 79 

- Ridgway, B. S. (1981)  Fifth Century Styles in Greek Sculpture, Princeton University Press, New Jersey.

- Stewart, A. (1978) The Canon of Polykleitos: A Question of Evidence, JHS, 98.

- The Minneapolis Institute of Arts: http://www.artsconnected.org/resource/5851/the-doryphoros 

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Left: A Roman marble copy of the statue of Doryphoros (Δορυφόρος), ‘the spear-bearer’ by Polykleitos, dating from c.450-400 BCE 

Right: The Augustus of Prima Porta, believed to have been commissioned some time around AD 15 (photo credit: http://www.mbradtke.de/augustus/augustus01.htm) 

This is a good example of the ways in which art develops over time, and the ways in which art styles can impact significantly upon later artists and works. The similarities between Polykleitos’ Doryphoros and the Augustus of Prima Porta can clearly be seen, particularly in the relaxed stance of the legs and hips in both statues, as well as the reference to the mathematical concept of the ideal male form (Canon) that was initially established in the original statue of Doryphoros. The bold echoes of Polykleitos’ famous work are also met with contemporary adaptations, most notably the extension of Augustus’ right arm, unlike that of Doryphoros, which remains relaxed by his side. This added gesture captures the image of Augustus as a powerful general, which is further emphasised by the inclusion of Roman armour and robes. 

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Between 750 BC and 400 BC, the Ancient Greeks composed songs meant to be accompanied by the lyre, reed-pipes, and various percussion instruments. More than 2,000 years later, modern scholars have finally figured out how to reconstruct and perform these songs with (it’s claimed) 100% accuracy.

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Commodus was Emperor of Rome from AD 180-92, and took up many different names and titles during his lifetime, including Caesar and Brittanicus. What makes him particularly fascinating was his obsession with Hercules, and performing as a gladiator in his own games. Cassius Dio, a commonly used primary source of ancient Rome and a member of the Senate during Commodus’ reign, recounts the two-week-long games which Commodus held, in which he himself starred in a number of outrageous displays. Most notably, Cassius Dio recalls how after beheading an ostrich in the arena, 

“he came up to where we were sitting, holding the head in his left hand and in his right hand raising aloft his bloody sword; and though he spoke not a word, yet he wagged his head with a grin, indicating that he would treat us in the same way. And many would indeed have perished by the sword on the spot, for laughing at him (for it was laughter rather than indignation that overcame us), if I had not chewed some laurel leaves, which I got from my garland, myself, and persuaded the others who were sitting near me to do the same, so that in the steady movement of our armies we might conceal the fact that we were laughing.” (Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book LXXIII, 4.21)

Commodus was eventually assassinated by members of the Senate and his name remained in disgrace until the Emperor Septimus Severus claimed himself brother of the deified Commodus in AD 195. 

Pictured above is the bust of Commodus in the guise of Hercules, which currently resides in the Capitoline Museum at Rome. Photo credit to N. N. Britova, N. M. Loseva, N. A. Sidorova. RIMSKII SKUL’PTURNYI PORTRET. M., “Iskusstvo”, 1975, s. 67, ill. 112. 

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Perhaps the most complex and unattainable of the Roman love elegists, Tibullus’ works were also the shortest, bar those of Gallus for whom we have only a few surviving fragments. Both Propertius and Ovid produced over three volumes of Roman love elegy, whilst Tibullus published only two. 

Propertius offers a broad and comparatively simple introduction to the elegiac topos, and these are later echoed, amplified and subsequently carefully transformed in Ovid’s work. Tibullus’ work took these same tropes in a different direction, introducing a dream-like quality to his narrative that renders his work confusing for many readers, and yet continues to attract study and new interpretation. His concept and treatment of time, and the way this interacts with love within his poetry is one of the ways in which Tibullus manipulates these tropes, creating something that arguably cannot be seen in the surviving works of the other elegists. 

My personal favourite translation of Tibullus’ Elegies is the Oxford World’s Classics edition with translation by A. M. Juster. In my personal opinion, Juster’s translation lends a certain lyrical beauty to Tibullus’ work, more so than I have encountered in other editions. Further interesting reading regarding Tibullus and the other Roman love elegists includes: 

- P. Lee-Stecum, Power-play in Tibullus, Elegies 1 (Cambridge, 1998)

- P.A. Miller, Subjecting Verses: Latin Erotic Elegy and the Emergence of the      Real (Princeton, 2003)

- M. Drinkwater, ‘His turn to cry: Tibullus’ Marathus cycle (1.4, 1.8, 1.9) and    Roman Love elegy’, The Classical Journal 107.4 (2012) 423-50

n.b. The title of this blog, ‘and yet the victor / weeps because his foolish hands grew strong’ is taken from Juster’s translation of Tibullus 1.10 (1.10.57-8), and the url is taken from line 82, poem 1.2 - ‘and so my godless tongue must pay the price?’ 

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The Etruscans were an ancient Italian civilisation, and perhaps ‘historically and artistically the most important of the indigenous peoples of pre-Roman Italy.’ (Ridgeway, D. 2005) They occupied land north of the river Tiber, and undoubtedly influenced the development Rome in a lot of areas for which it is now famed, such as clothing, architecture and a taste for violent spectator sports. 

Pictured here is the interior artwork of what is known as the ‘Tomb of the Bulls’. There are many Etruscan tombs surviving in Northern Italy which showcase extremely sophisticated architecture, most notably the domed tombs at Cerveteri, dating from the 6th century BC. On the walls of this particular tomb, we can see the remains of elaborate artwork, most intriguingly the homoerotic scene including the bull after which this tomb is named. There are many theories surrounding the nature of this particular fresco, including the suggestions that it was for humerus or perhaps even ‘life-affirming’ purpose, or that it is connected to various mythologies. What we do know with more confidence is that this is one of the earliest examples of an Etruscan tomb with such complex frescoes. 

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This is the famous sculpture of the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogeiton by Kritios and Nesiotes, dating from 477/6 BC. Harmodius and Aristogeiton are famed for the killing of Hipparchus, brother of the Athenian tyrant Hippias, in 514 BC, and for their supposed plot to assassinate the tyrant himself at the same festival in order to overthrow him. They were also known to be lovers. 

The original Athenian statues are lost, however numerous copies were made throughout Greece and Rome, and thus today we still have surviving Roman copies of this famous pair.