Ancient

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... »

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... »

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... »

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... »

Roman jewellery in Japan

constantinakatsari July 1, 2012

No it is not about an exhibition! This is one of the most interesting instances of cross history, actual cultural contacts between Japan and the Roman empire! Glass jewellery have been discovered at the Utsukushi burial mound in Nagaoka, Kyoto prefecture. The jewellery date from the first to the fourth centuries AD, that is the peak of the Roman empire. Extensive analysis took place of the components of 5 mm glass beads and the fragments of gilt attached to them. According to the results, the be... »

Nude on the Acropolis: Nelly’s

constantinakatsari June 20, 2012

Nelly is probably one of the best known Greek photographers of the twentieth century. She is not only respected among her peers but she holds an almost iconic place in the hearts of modern Greeks. She was born in Asia Minor in 1899 but moved to Greece after the Asia Minor Catastrophe in 1923. She completed her studies in Interwar Germany and started her career immediately afterwards in Greece. She played a significant role in the promotion of Greek culture in Europe and the States from the 1920s... »

New discovery of ancient temple?

constantinakatsari May 16, 2012

How many times have you found yourself walking without noticing anything around you. It looks like it happened to me countless times. Last week, when I stopped and looked, I realised I may have been on top of an ancient (classical or Hellenistic?) temple. I will not disclose the exact area because the architectural elements I found have not been catalogued. Suffice to say it is on the eastern coast of Attica. I also could use some help from expert archaeologists to explain what I am looking at. ... »

New texts on athletes and shows in Roman Egypt

constantinakatsari May 15, 2012

“Training, Cheating, Winning, Praising: Athletes and Shows in Papyri from Roman Egypt 6.00pm – 7.15pm, followed by a drinks reception Wednesday, 20 June 2012 The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH Three Short Lectures on the ‘Olympic’ tradition in Roman and Byzantine Egypt as revealed by new and old texts from Oxyrhynchus In the second and third centuries AD the cities of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire developed a mania for grand public competit... »