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Aurelia

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Posts posted by Aurelia

  3. A fishy tale of Christianity in Ancient Rome

    in Archaeological News: Rome

    Posted · Edited by Aurelia

    Thats interesting in itself, but isn't that diet true of most Romans within easy reach of the coast, whether pagan or not?

     

    Well, according to the article, there is a difference. Early Christians are believed to have eaten mostly freshwater fish whereas their non-Christian Roman contemporaries ate sea fish. This suggests that they (Christians) were considerably poorer than other groups.

     

    “When Romans ate fish at all, they are normally believed to have consumed sea fish. Freshwater fish has not been considered as an essential ingredient in the classical Roman diet.” In AD301, the Emperor Diocletian’s Edict on Prices tried to fix the cost of freshwater fish at around a half to a third of its marine equivalent, so that even the poor could eat it. Roman fish probably came from the Tiber, and would have been a free or cheap source of protein.

     

    On this basis, Rutgers and his colleagues conclude “that at least the small selection of early Christians analysed were all simple folk, suggesting that the inclusion of freshwater fish is indicative of a relative lack of wealth rather than of religiously motivated ascetic behaviour”.

  7. First cocktail created in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago

    in Archaeological News: The World

    Posted

    This is the sort of news I love to read about (and in this case, the English is quite entertaining too :) ). Researchers study traces of an ancient brew found in earthenware discovered along the Tigris river. It is thought that this "grog" was drunk by Etrurians too.

     

    http://www.teatronaturale.com/article/345.html

     

    A question for our American UNRV friends: is this Midas Touch concoction worth looking for? I'd be curious to taste it.

  9. Your Hidden Roman Name

    in Colosseum

    Posted

    Aurelia, in celebration of your first UNRV published article (Plautus - adapting New Comedy for the Roman stage), I've decided to give you an anagrammed Roman name do-over.

     

    You are the well-educated daughter of Publius Orbius, a Roman jurist and near contemporary of Cicero. Cicero spoke highly of your father in his Brutus, or History of Famous Orators, stating that your father's skill in the Civil Law was equal to that of his teacher, the great advocate Titus Juventius.

     

    Your cognomen of "Capricornita" means "little Capricorn." This is an affectionate nickname bestowed upon you by your father, as you were born under the astrological sign of Capricorn.

     

    Your full Roman name is:

     

    Orbia Capricornita

    = pcnbiiaractorairo

     

    -- Nephele

     

    Thanks, Nephele! I told you I belonged to a noble family. :)

  11. "Aladdin's Lamp" by John Freely

    in Historia in Universum

    Posted

    Thanks for the link to Freely's book.

     

    Yes, this is a fascinating story that paints a very different picture of the West's modern relationship with the Muslim world. For another book with information on the same theme of cross cultural mixings that resulted in Greek knowledge's return to Western Europe see "A Vanished World: Medieval Spain's Golden Age of Enlightenment" by Chris Lowney. At Alfonso The Wise's 13th century court Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars worked in teams to translate sacred and scientific writings into several languages. This era in Spanish history is known as the Convivencia or living together.

     

    Another book on the subject of Aristotle's reintroduction to Western Europe is "Aristotle's Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Dark Ages," Richard E. Rubenstein.

     

    Thanks for the suggestions for further reading. When I was in Sevilla a few years ago, I remember buying a book about Moorish architecture in Southern Spain that touched on the Convivencia period. It is indeed a fascinating era.

  14. Earthquake in L'Aquila, NE of Rome

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    I'm glad you're safe, Silentium! Still waiting to hear from Klingan. Klingan, because you haven't posted your daily picture from Rome today, I'm now really worrying about you. Please be safe.

     

    Any other UNRV members in the disaster area, please check in here and let us know you're okay.

     

    -- Nephele

     

    Didn't Klingan say he was going away for a few days? That's probably why he hasn't posted anything.

  15. Preserving the world's most important artifacts

    in Historia in Universum

    Posted

    Then the Vienna Dioscurides doesn't qualify either; we have basically restricted ourselves to papyrii, numismatics and epigraphy.

     

    It is true that the Vienna Dioscurides is a bit of a stretch as it dates back to the 6th century. However if we consider that it belongs to the Byzantine period (still known then as the Eastern Roman Empire), it could still technically be Roman. I'm not trying to restrict criteria here. I was merely observing that there were not many original Roman works in the UNESCO list, that's all.

     

    When I asked what people thought should be added to the list, I didn't mean that they should only suggest Roman documents. My remark about the Roman period was just added as an afterthought.

  16. Preserving the world's most important artifacts

    in Historia in Universum

    Posted · Edited by Aurelia

    The Tabula Peutingeriana is actually a Roman Map.

    As its name suggests, the Bibliotheca Corviniana Collection includes many documents: most of them are Greek and Roman classics.

    At least the New Testament is clearly from the Roman age and world.

     

    The Tabula Peutingeriana is a medieval reproduction of a Roman map dating back to the 12th century

    The Biblioteca Corviniana Collection is also medieval (not sure if it contains any original works from the Roman period although it does contain books by Greek and Latin authors)

    The Gutenberg Bible was printed in 1455

     

    Please don't get me wrong, all the above works are very relevant to the Roman period. What I meant is that I was looking for original Roman documents, not reproductions from later periods.

  17. Preserving the world's most important artifacts

    in Historia in Universum

    Posted

    Then, you answered your own original question; by the same measure, ALL documents should be preserved.

     

    Roman documents? From the original link, I was able to spot:

     

    - Vienna Dioscurides;

    - Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer;

    - Tabula Peutingeriana;

    - The Bibliotheca Corviniana Collection;

    - and maybe even the 42-line Gutenberg Bible.

     

    You're right, sylla. Perhaps I should have been more specific. I agree that documents and books such as "Mein Kampf" should be preserved although it would not be number one on my list of items that should be added to the UNESCO Register.

     

    As for the list of Roman documents, yes, once again you're right about Dioscurides (I didn't spot it the first time), and probably some of the documents in the Egyptian papyri collection (I assumed they only concerned papyri pre-dating the Roman period) . I was mainly looking for documents that were actually produced in the Roman period, which is not really the case with the Tabula (very interesting nonetheless!), Bibliotheca Corviniana or the Gutenberg Bible.

  18. UK Meet 2009

    in Renuntiatio et Consilium Comitiorum

    Posted

    It looks like St Albans then NN. I'm sorry too that Augusta cannot make it and if Caldrail does then it looks like a few of the original team will make it at least.

     

    However, I would have to look at my own financial situation as I was made redundant last week and am currently looking for work in IT where most of my strengths lie. Even if that does not come off I may still be able to make it depending upon costs etc.

     

    I think the main thing is to sort accommodation for about a dozen members so we are well covered. The cost here should be as low as possible to make it justifiable for everyone. Anyway, I will leave that to you NN unless you wish to draw up an itinerary instead with as little travelling as possible.

     

    Come back to me with a PM to see how you want to handle it all. I think September is best all round but if most folk choose August then fine.

     

    Over to you....

     

    Sorry to hear about your job situation, AC. Hopefully things will be different by September.

     

    Let me know if there is anything I can do to help organising the meeting.

  19. Nefertiti got extreme makeover??

    in Archaeological News: The World

    Posted

    Possibly an older depiction remade? Or even another person who's face was changed into Nefertitits'. Egyptian sculptors were surely skilled enough to provide a piece without any need for improvements.

     

    This is assuming that the CT scan is correct to begin with, tech boys and their toys have made mistakes before.

     

    Hmmm, maybe. I guess we'll never know.

  21. Preserving the world's most important artifacts

    in Historia in Universum

    Posted

    But I think 'Mein Kampf' with its 164,000 grammatical and Syntactical errors should be kept - along with the propaganda films of Goebbels - as illustrations of what can be achieved by warped thinking and beliefs. If you actually read any of it, the lack of clear-headed logic is insightful.

     

    I agree. And aside from moral considerations, "Mein Kampf" is part of history whether we like it or not.

     

    Anyway, while browsing through the list I noticed that there's not much (read nothing, at least nothing I could see) from the Roman period. I wonder why...

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