constantinakatsari | Love of History

The grave of the poet

constantinakatsari November 12, 2012

Around 430 BC a poet and musician died in ancient Athens. An excavation of his grave in the deme of Alopeke revealed a lyre, an avlos, a harp, papyri, wax tablets and a pen, all of which gave us clues about his professional life. The findings proved to be crucial for the study of ancient music, since no other harp has been found until then (only representations on vases), while the papyri were the oldest to be found in Greece. The excavation took place in 1981. Since then, the precious artefacts... »

Audio tapes for Herodotus’s works

constantinakatsari November 6, 2012

“Dr Lisa Irene Hau provided some useful links that I would like to share with you of Herodotus audio books. Naxos have several works of ancient literature in their audio book cd range. For Herodotus, see: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Herodotus-The-Persian-War-Histories/dp/B0000045ON/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352116076&sr=8-1 Here’s a link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Histories-Unabridged/dp/B002SQ17O2/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352116075&sr=1-7 Try I-Tunes audiobook... »

Arrests in Crete

constantinakatsari November 5, 2012

The police in Crete seems to have had some success in retrieving stolen artefacts and arresting the culprits. Specifically, they arrested 8 men in Messara (Herakleion) last Thursday. They found among others a Roman vase, the upper part of a column, twenty coins from the fifth century BC to the Roman period, some weapons from the Second World War and copious quantities of modern drugs! The gang does not seem to very serious in its efforts of amassing ancient treasures. Nevertheless, I include a p... »

Preparing for Academic Wars

constantinakatsari November 4, 2012

I have gathered a few useful quotes for academics who want to excel in their work. As our jobs become increasingly more competitive, I thought it was fitting to chose war-related quotations. The following are certainly applicable in Academia, so take them seriously and adjust them accordingly! “Work hard and become a leader; Be lazy and never succeed. – -Proverbs 12:24 You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war. — Napoleon Bonaparte D... »

Madame Tussauds

constantinakatsari November 3, 2012

For those who are interested in lifelike image made of wax, I came across an infographic on the life and work of Madame Tussaud. Although it is mostly a commercial site, it has some interesting elements. Information of glass eyes, real teeth and Justin Timberlake can all be fascinating! So, take a quick look at it here. http://www.visitbritainshop.com/usa/articles-and-features/a-history-of-madame-tussauds-infographic.html »

Ancient curse on a cup

constantinakatsari November 1, 2012

I have always been fascinated by ancient curses. We tend to find them on funerary stele or on little bronze tablets in temples. Occasionally, they may be found also in other materials, such as the cup (skyphos) that was unearthed in Methone of Pieria. This is definitely the oldest curse inscribed on a symposium cup and is dated between 730-690 BC. The inscription says ‘I am (the cup) of Akesandros and (whoever steals me) will lose his eyes (or money). It is worth mentioning that another cu... »

Movements between Asia Minor and the Balkans

constantinakatsari October 1, 2012

I have been in many conferences in my research life but I have never encountered such a well organised conference as the one that takes place in Romania annually for the past five years. It is called Le Livre. la Roumanie. L’ Europe but it invited panels across the spectrum of Humanities. Adrian Dumitru was kind to invite me for the second year to present a paper on the movement of coins from Asia Minor to The Balkans and vice versa. This time the conference took place in the resort city o... »

Dangerous emotions in slavery

constantinakatsari September 25, 2012

I have recently co-organised with Kostas Vlassopoulos a conference in Nottingham under the auspices of ISOS, the well known international centre for the study of slavery. The topic of the conference was Sex and Slavery and it included papers from all periods and geographical areas; it was meant to be comparative (both diachronically and geographically). The discussion was especially fruitful also because the respondents brought sometimes radically opposing viewpoints. Unlike other conferences of... »

The African slave trade drawings

constantinakatsari August 2, 2012

I was writing an article on slaves, sex and money, when I came across the following drawings. These were drafted in 1788 by abolitionists in the US with the intention to draw attention to the inhumanity of the slave trade. They depict the Brooks ship that regularly transfered slaves from Africa to Liverpool. The trade has finally been abolished in 1808 to the advantage of the American master class. It looks like, after this date, slave prices have risen sharply, thus increasing the wealth of pla... »

Museum Secrets: National Archaeological Museum at Athens

constantinakatsari July 27, 2012

Greece may be in its deepest crisis since the military Junta (1967-1974), museums may be closing down, the security of archaeological sites may be rudimentary. And yet, culture and a love for the ancient world remains a strong focus for people in Greece and abroad. The new series of Museum Secrets should be seen as part of the exciting journey towards historical re-discovery of our world. The series takes us to several museums, especially in Europe, and guides us through their most important col... »

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