Found in Antiquity

Month: July 2013

  • What would happen if Vesuvius erupted again?

    Here’s the deal. Vesuvius has erupted dozens of times since its last massive eruption in AD 79. But news reporters and documentaries, the most easily consumable sources of expert advice (that phrase badly needs inverted commas), tell me the volcano is overdue for another catastrophic eruption.[1] I haven’t got a background in the earth sciences,…

  • Far too many Latin words for kill

    Far too many Latin words for kill

    How many words does Latin have for kill? One of the quirky, somewhat morbid attractions of Latin is that it has many, many words for kill. If you’ve ever studied Latin, you’ll probably remember interficere and necāre, two very classic verbs for kill. But it seems that the more literature you read, the more creative…

  • Ancient scrolls: where are the wooden handles?

    We all know what an ancient scroll should look like. Most of us haven’t actually seen a scroll from the first century AD, but we know what they look like in movies and stage productions. They should look something like a rolled up cylinder of paper with attractive wooden knobs poking out at either end.…

  • Ancient Atheism

    Ancient Atheism

    We take atheism for granted today; the ancients took theism for granted. Of course, that’s a sweeping generalisation. But the first part holds true for most university students today, and it has often led students to assume that the greatest ancient philosophers, politicians and authors were atheists at heart too. That is, until they find…

  • A word in Latin

    fritillus, -ī m dice box. Example sentence: Marcus shook the dice box again. “Argh!” he said. “The lowest roll possible!” Marcus iterum fritillum iecit. “Heu!” inquit. “Canis!”

  • Bird feeds chicks her own blood

    So I was flicking over a manuscript in a digital collection, and saw a scene of Adam and Eve in Paradise. I looked up and saw birds in the trees. And I thought, that’s beautiful. I love birds. But then I saw blood…

  • A word in Latin

    pūnītor, -ōris m avenger. Example sentence: “Have you seen the new Avengers movie?” “No, I haven’t even seen the first one.” “vidistine pelilculam cinematographicam novam ‘Punitores’?” “immo, peliculam cinematographicam primam etiam non vidi.”