Archives / 2010 / August

Back on track! Hopefully…

constantinakatsari August 30, 2010

For the past few weeks I have not been feeling very well. Nothing fatal, I assure you. However, the situation was such that it was impossible for me to concentrate on the blog, or, in fact, anything else. In the meantime, there is a great backlog of news, competitions and articles that need to be posted. If I start today, I hope that I will be able to go through them over the next couple of weeks. If I disappear from cyberspace, please, do not worry too much! I am not dead. Just temporarily inca... »

Quotation of the Week 28

constantinakatsari August 13, 2010

Good gracious, you ‘ve got to educate him first.You can’t expect a boy to be vicious till he’s been to a good school. Saki, Reginald in Russia, 1910 »

Ancient History Competion 34

constantinakatsari August 12, 2010

Manolis is on holidays… again… but he has not forgotten us completely. This man was an ancient pirate, a precursor of Henry Morgan and Blackbeard! But he was worse than them: he founded altars to Impiety wherever he landed! Who was he? »

Performing classicists

constantinakatsari August 10, 2010

I found the following announcement absolutely fascinating. It is a chance for classicists who love ancient theater to participate in a collaborative project with other professionals. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain a deeper understand of the practical aspects of ancient performances. At the same time, classicists could gain substantial experience in different fields, such as acting, directing e.t.c. Even though I participated in such performances during my undergraduate years, under the ... »

How to come up with innovative ideas

constantinakatsari August 9, 2010

When I started writing my PhD, I was afraid that I would never have anything new to say. Back then, it seemed to me that everything had already been studied and all the good ideas were already taken. Petrified at the thought of starting my first chapter, I expressed my fears to my supervisor. He tried to alleviate them by giving me the following advice: “Open a bottle of wine, sit by the fireplace, drink a couple of glasses and relax. The ideas will flow afterwards”. As an obedient student, I fo... »

Clash of the Titans

constantinakatsari August 7, 2010

If you enjoyed the movie, you can now attend the conference. In fact, you can attend it even if you thought that the movie was not up to the usual Hollywood standards! There is no doubt on my mind that the papers will be far more interesting and thought provoking. Read the details here: “In the week of its official DVD release, the Classics Department at the University of Leeds is pleased to ‘Release the Kraken’ with a half-day colloquium on Leterrier’s Clash of the Titan... »

Ancient History Competition 33

constantinakatsari August 5, 2010

Manolis has been watching too many movies over the holidays. So, he sent me the following quiz. Which female Hollywood star has a surname that reminds us of an ancient tyrant? »

Quotation of the week 27

constantinakatsari August 3, 2010

“No academic person is ever voted into the chair until he has reached an age at which he has forgotten the meaning of the word ‘irrelevant’ ” Francis M. Cornford, Microcosmographia Academica, 1908 »

Vote YES for Greek Language learning

constantinakatsari August 1, 2010

The Guardian Comment-is-Free is running a poll about the usefullness of the ancient Greek language. If you are a passionate lover of everything ancient (as I am), please, vote YES today! “The beauty of classics Greek lessons will be introduced in the classrooms of inner-city schools to help primary children from deprived backgrounds improve their English. Is this a good idea? VOTE! http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/poll/2010/jul/30/language-schooladmissions Is learning classical Gree... »