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Aurelia

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Everything posted by Aurelia

  1. Oops, never mind, Viggen seems to have fixed the problem.
  2. Hi Jonathan, I tried to open the links you provided but it asks you to sign up with Quora and provide private details from Facebook or Gmail. Is there no way you could upload the pictures as an attachment? If you click on "More reply options" at the bottom you'll see the option to attach a file on the bottom left.
  3. Aurelia

    10 Must See Historic Walls

    Sadly, I think I've only seen the Aurelian Walls (and don't even remember it properly, overwhelmed as I was with all the sights and sounds in the city)... The world has seen many wars and conflicts throughout history, which has given us a multitude of ancient defensive structures, like fortified walls, to see and explore. Here listed are just some of the many historic walls that litter the earth. They are all impressive feats of architecture for their time of construction and boast the pride and strength of their ancient civilizations. You can access the list here.
  4. Another update on the Macedonian tomb... Sphinxes Emerge From Huge Ancient Greek Tomb Two headless sphinxes emerged from a massive burial site in northern Greece as archaeologists began removing large stones from the tomb’s sealing wall. The headless, wingless 4.8-foot-high sphinxes each weigh about 1.5 tons and bear traces of red coloring on their feet. They would have been 6.5 feet high with their heads, the Greek Culture Ministry said in a statement. The statues are believed to have been placed there to guard the burial, which is the largest tomb ever uncovered in Greece. More at News Discovery
  5. I'm not into PC games (or console games since I was 10/11 years old) but I must say the graphics of this one look amazing! More pics and info here
  6. Ancient bronze coins dating back to 69/70 C.E., the time of the Jewish revolt against Rome, were discovered in an archeological excavation of an ancient village in Israel. The village itself was discovered by construction workers expanding a highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The 114 coins contain an image of a lulav and two etrogim—two of the four species of the Sukkot holiday—and the Hebrew inscription “Year Four,” in reference of the fourth year of the revolt. On the other side of the coins another inscription reads, “For the redemption of Zion.” “They are not referring to religious redemption, but to salvation. In other words, the minters of the coins were expressing a hope that the revolt would end well,” said Dr. Donald Zvi Ariel, head of the coins division at the Israel Antiquities Authority, according to Haaretz. Source: The Allgemeiner
  7. Aurelia

    Planning a trip to southern Spain

    I visited Sevilla a few years ago. It's a wonderful little town but better known for its amazing Moorish architecture. There is, however, a town not far from it (I think about 10 km away) called Italica that may be worth a trip. It was founded in 206 BC(E) and has Roman ruins you can visit including an amphitheater, mosaics, etc. I unfortunately did not get to see it when I was in Spain but heard it was interesting...
  8. Interesting article, thanks for that guy! Nero was a nutty but fascinating character.
  9. Aurelia

    Top Five Most Overrated Tourist Attractions

    Hmm, I've seen the Pyramids in Giza, the leaning tower of Pisa (and did not take the obligatory photo pushing it!), the Astronomical Clock in Prague, the Manneken Pis in Brussels, and the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. I don't care what anybody says, visiting the Pyramids in Giza was a magical experience and I was absolutely not disappointed. Sure, Cairo was not far away but I just didn't notice it anymore once I found myself staring up at the pyramids. I don't know what the site looks like now but when I visited it as a teenager, I don't really remember seeing or noticing the Pizza Hut and KFC signs.Granted, that was about 20 years ago... As for the others, I guess I was not particularly disappointed because those attractions were not the main reason why I visited the cities (except for Pisa, but then again, I was already expecting to be overrated so I just appreciated it for what it was). They were just a nice little extra.
  10. I think that was indeed the case. At the same time, ancient Greek women from the lower classes seemed to have slightly more rights, but still pretty bad overall...
  11. Interesting to see how in some cases women had more rights as far back as 3000 BC(E) than just a few decades ago. This article refers to current Western women's rights, of course. Many modern women in the US and Europe never question their right to open a bank account, own property, or even buy wine or beer in a pub. These rights, however, were hard won: for much of history, and even up to 40 years ago, middle-class women were not allowed to handle money; even having a job was seen as a sign of financial desperation. You can see the timeline at The Guardian
  12. Somehow I think it's quite unfair for the man who discovered the coins to get only a small fraction of what the stash seems to be worth. I'm not sure I would turn everything over to the authorities. I probably would keep some of it myself and perhaps sell it elsewhere...
  13. A Romanian man who found what could be the oldest forged coins in history while out treasure hunting with his son says he will use his fortune to 'buy a new metal detector'. Paul Croituru, 37, dug up the trove of 300 forged silver coins worth nearly £120,000 - more than ten times what he earns a year as a council worker. But the father, who found the ancient Greek coins with the help of son Alexandru, 13, immediately told the authorities and will now lose nearly all of the money because of local treasure hunting rules. Despite being forgeries of the 2,350-year-old Tetradrachm currency, experts say each 5mm penny is worth £400. More at The Daily Mail
  14. Aurelia

    Exodus: Gods and Kings

    Hmm, somehow I can't see Christian Bale as an Egyptian character. And Sigourney Weaver? hahaha I might still watch it for the hell of it though...
  15. Interesting article (and book) about Plato, which sheds new light on his idea of love. Plato lent his name to Platonic love but a new book reveals that the ancient Greek philosopher never advocated love without sex. Dr Jay Kennedy: Image-Uni of Manchester University of Manchester science historian Dr Jay Kennedy, who hit the headlines last year after revealing he had cracked the code in the great thinker’s writings, has now published a decoder’s manual that lays bare the secret content of Plato’s ancient works. “Plato – the Einstein of Greece’s Golden Age – was long thought to favour love without sex, or ‘Platonic love’, but this new research reveals Plato was far from being a prude,” says Dr Kennedy, who is based in the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, part of the University’s Faculty of Life Sciences. More at Heritage Daily
  16. He looks almost Byzantine or Greek, gazing doe-eyed over the viewer’s left shoulder, his mouth forming a slight pout, like a star-struck lover or perhaps a fan of the races witnessing his favorite charioteer losing control of his horses. In reality, he’s the “Bearded Man, 170-180 A.D.,” a Roman-Egyptian whose portrait adorned the sarcophagus sheltering his mummified remains. But the details of who he was and what he was thinking have been lost to time. But perhaps not for much longer. A microscopic sliver of painted wood could hold the keys to unraveling the first part of this centuries-old mystery. Figuring out what kind of pigment was used (whether it was a natural matter or a synthetic pigment mixed to custom specifications), and the exact materials used to create it, could help scientists unlock his identity. Article continues here.
  17. Yeah, perhaps we citizens of the New World have a different perspective on ancient history. It's definitely more exciting for me to visit ruins dating back 2000 years than a monument merely 200 years old (although that can be exciting too depending on the context!).
  18. Archaeologists in Italy have uncovered a cemetery in the 2,700-year-old ancient port of Rome where they believe the variety of tombs found reflects the bustling town's multi-cultural nature. Ostia "was a town that was always very open, very dynamic," said Paola Germoni, the director of the sprawling site -- Italy's third most visited after the Colosseum and Pompeii. "What is original is that there are different types of funeral rites: burials and cremations," she said this week. More on AFP news site.
  19. Aurelia

    A Day At The Theatre - Post your Roman fiction here

    This is getting better and better! Really impressive! Thanks guys, I'm definitely enjoying reading the entries so far!
  20. Aurelia

    Buckets

    Yes, it's true that modern Greeks are very proud and they do like to stick to their own culture and communities outside Greece. I have a very good Greek South African friend (2nd or 3rd generation) who immigrated to Canada (Toronto, probably not a random choice) a few years ago. She is now married to a Greek Canadian and has 2 children with very Greek names. I think she once told me that she would never consider marrying anyone who was not "Greek". Haha, this reminds me of the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". The main character's father was always tracing everything (words, objects, places...) back to the Greeks.
  21. Aurelia

    Mistakes In Hbo's Rome

    Oh well, there is bound to be inaccuracies in historical series or dramas. I just sit back and enjoy it for what it is - entertainment with a historical flavour.
  22. Some 2,000 years ago, an army of Iron Age warriors was slaughtered in battle and then cast into a lake near the Alken Enge wetlands in East Jutland, Denmark. Archeologists have long suspected that the bodies were tossed in their watery mass grave as part of a religious sacrifice, but recent excavations at the site have revealed astonishing—and bloodcurdling—new details. Crushed skulls, bundles of bones, sacrificial jars and a string of pelvic bones on a stick suggest the warriors’ remains underwent a macabre ritual of postmortem dismemberment and desecration before being condemned to the deep. More at History
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