constantinakatsari | Love of History

‘I Hate (Love) Wikipedia’

constantinakatsari April 6, 2013

Most academics I know are quick to condemn the value of wikipedia as a concept as well as content. When a new batch of undergraduates arrive at the university for the first time, professors are eager to warn them against the evils of the online encyclopaedia. They usually mention how unreliable are the entries, how impossible it is to identify the writer behind them, how the text does not engage in current debates. How justified are such comments? I will not present you here with statistics or t... »

Viking nuggets of poetry

constantinakatsari April 5, 2013

This is a topic I know very little about but I find terribly fascinating. As a Roman historian I find myself in the ‘superior’ position to judge other cultures and to find them inferior. With regard to the Viking culture, until recently I thought that it was a primitive sort of civilisation, based on a militarised society that was solely interested in war, plunder, rapes etc. At least, this is the image I got from 1950s and 1960s movies! Imagine my surprise when I noticed the following announcem... »

Who wrote Shakespeare’s plays?

constantinakatsari April 4, 2013

The debate on the authorship of Shakespeare’s works has been raging for several centuries. Scholars are not closer to agreeing on any one and there is a strong possibility that there will be no conclusion in the near future. English professors took central stage in this debate… until now. An astrophysicist entered the race, hoping that he will come up with a solution through the rigorous application of statistical analysis. Peter Sturrock, a Stanford University professor, in his latest boo... »

New director in the Numismatic Museum

constantinakatsari December 31, 2012

It is almost a year since George Kakavas became the Director of the Numismatic Museum in Athens. Admittedly, when he first took the post, I had my reservations. After all, he is not a numismatist but he has a background in Archaeology and History of Art. Since then I followed closely the changes that took place in the museum. A year later I am happy to say that, despite the economic crisis, some amazing developments are happening! Kakavas proved himself up to the task and pushed forward the part... »

Girl dying from the plague in the Peloponnesian War

constantinakatsari December 29, 2012

In the beginning of the Peloponnesian war and, specifically, in 430 BC a Plague epidemic crippled the city of Athens. The plague spread in the city during its siege by the Spartans and it killed a quarter of the population. Among them we count the famous statesman, Pericles. Several diseases have been suggested but there is no definitive proof for any of them. And yet, some time ago the skeleton of a little girl has been found that may shed some light on the problem. The archaeologists who found... »

Inscriptions of Attica online.

constantinakatsari December 19, 2012

You can find some of the published inscriptions of Athens and Attica in English translation at the following site: www.atticinscriptions.com “It is being launched with translations of the 281 inscribed laws and decrees of Athens, 352/1-322/1 BC, which have recently been edited by Stephen Lambert as *IG *II3 1, 292-572.” (Seen in Classics list) The material will probably be updated soon enough to include a lot more information. So, keep checking! »

The Slaves’ Gamble

constantinakatsari December 19, 2012

Professor Gene Allen Smith who works at Texas Christian University and is a curator at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History wrote an interesting book on the impact of war on early nineteenth century slavery at the Antebellum American South. In this book Allen Smith is trying to explore the possibilities for social mobility among the slaves and freedmen. Specifically, the author focuses on the American wars against the British, the Spanish and various Indian tribes as well as the role the... »

Crossing boundaries: ancient history explores its future

constantinakatsari December 9, 2012

“Faculty of Classics, Cambridge. December 12th and 13th, 2012 All sessions will take place in the Faculty of Classics, Room G21. Papers will run for 30 minutes each and be followed by 30 minutes of discussion. Wednesday December 12th 9:15-9:30 Introductory remarks by William Harris and Robin Osborne 1. Genetics, population, health, disease, living standards, part I 9:30-10:30 Robert C. Allen (Oxford), “Real wages in Roman Egypt in the perspective of modern poverty lines and nutrition... »

Realencyclopaedie online

constantinakatsari December 1, 2012

“Since 2007, a handful of volunteers is working on the task of reproducing the Pauly-Wissowa’s ‘Realencyclopaedie’ in the internet [2]. This project is hosted on Wikisource, a sister project of Wikipedia. Of course, Wikisource only features RE articles that are out of copyright, which means (in Europe) the author must be dead for more than 70 years. Now this project has reached a milestone: 10,000 articles, nearly all of them proof-read and interlinked. Also, the voluntee... »

Visit to the Heberden Room in the Ashmolean

constantinakatsari November 19, 2012

Last week I took my students to visit the Heberden room in the Ashmolean museum in Oxford. The visit was organised in collaboration with the Keeper of Coins and Medals, Prof. Chris Howgego. As you probably already know Chris is an expert of Roman coins and the successful author of several books and articles on the subject. Before I even start describing the experience, I would like to express my gratitude to the Ashmolean staff for all their help and support on this educational trip. I know very... »

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