Old World/New World II

Part I

(NYC)                                  (Rome)           

           (Boston)                (Naples Museum)       
  

(Boston)                       (Rome)

Old World/New World

When I took some of my Latin students overseas last year, a few expressed surprise that we were going to the United States as well as Italy. The Roman Empire was big, but most people realise that they weren't able to cross the Atlantic and establish a province on the American continent (though if they had, I wonder what they would have called it...). Anyway the purpose of our visit to the States was twofold: (i) to visit some of the biggest and most important ancient history collections in the world (the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, then New York Metropolitan Museum and the Getty Roman Villa and  Museum in Los Angeles) and (ii) to get some kind of understanding of how the old world has influenced the new. That is, how the art, architecture and more importantly the ideas of the Greeks and Romans have influenced and shaped American society.

That's not a revolutionary idea, and I'm sure many wiser people than I have had lots to say about it, but I thought it might be interesting to compare (without much comment) some of the photos I took from the two halves of our trip.

 Washington Arch, NYC;   Arch of Constantine, Rome

 Harvard, Boston;             Paestum, Southern Italy

 Quincy Market, Boston;       The Pantheon, Rome       

 Boston Town Hall;            The Pantheon, Rome    

Numismatics

I was once, back in high school, subjected to an incredibly boring lecture on ancient coins, and since then my automatic reaction has been to flee from numismatists and their dull obsessions, as the Ceryneian Hind did from Hercules.

However, I've had to revise my prejudices slightly. On my trip last year I was captured by the detail and expression which could be found on the faces of many of the coins which could be seen in the museums. At the risk of becoming boring myself, here are a few of the most striking, all from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

I the think the one of Vespasian is my favourite. He's such an ugly man, and the coin has captured the grumpiness of this fat old man perfectly. The skinny-necked Caesar is also interesting - he looks a lot more frail (and perhaps even a bit nerdy) than the stern-looking busts you see much more often.

spotted in Erskineville.

digiti

I heard a news report on the radio a few weeks ago about how the relative lengths of your fingers can be a marker of a person's risk of developing some kinds of cancer. It sounds unlikely but apparently it's got something to do with exposure to testosterone in the womb. Some research has suggested that having an index finger longer than your ring finger gives you a significantly lower risk of developing prostate cancer, and there may (or may not) be something similar with women and breast cancer.

The news report made me think of Roman statues. If the link is not immediately clear to you, have a look at the pictures below:

 

Gloria...

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

certamen

Here's a bit of a competition for the weekend - what's going on in the above picture? A bit of background: it's a photo of a mosaic I saw recently at the Getty Roman Villa in Los Angeles. I was quite excited when I saw it as I immediately recognised it as one of my favourite moments from the Aeneid. If you think you know what it is leave me a comment. If you've got no idea what it might be feel free to use your imagination. Perhaps you could even write a humorous caption.

Vesuvius

Vesuvius

Pompeii in the news

Pompeii has been in the news twice in two days. Firstly this article which claims to give a new explanation of how the people in Pompeii actually died. I'm not an expert, but I didn't think the article contained anything new, and I'm not sure how accurate their conclusions are either.

Then there was some trouble with Tuesday's HSC Ancient History Exam, and a mix-up over some funerary inscriptions found near the Herculaneum Gate (which is located, somewhat confusingly, in Pompeii, not Herculaneum).

Sepino

Classics Tour - Day 6: Sepino

I had never heard of Sepino (Saepinum to the Romans), and in fact even google seems reluctant to divulge much information about the Roman ruins that can be found there. But despite its obscurity I found it a fascinating place to spend the afternoon. The ruins aren't particularly well preserved, but there are a few interesting features including the remains of a leather tannery, a gate paid for by Nero and Germanicus and a mausoleum for a local aristocrat displaying the Roman symbols of power - the curule chair and the fasces.

Pompeii

Classics Tour - Day 5: Pompeii

So much good stuff - here's just a few photos:

Naples

Classics Tour - Day 4: Naples

The Naples National Archaeological Museum has a huge collection of statues, many of them taken from the ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and the other towns in the area destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Paestum

Combined Schools Classics Study Tour - Day 3: Paestum

Temple of Apollo, Paestum (ca. 450 BC)

Paestum is one of the oldest cities in Italy, having been founded by Greek colonists sometime around the end of the 7th century BC, who originally named it Poseidonia. Little is known about the city’s early history, but it appears that the Greeks had a good and prosperous relationship with the local Oscan culture.


In the third century BC the Poseidonians sided with the invader Pyrrhus against Rome, and after his defeat the town acquired its current name of Paestum. During the invasion of Italy by Hannibal the city remained faithful to Rome and continued to prosper during the Roman imperial period.

Paestum contains a range of ruins from both the Greek and Roman periods. Among the oldest are two temples to Hera and Apollo built in 550 BC and 450 BC by the Greek colonists. Also of particular interest is the Roman Forum, the small Roman temple nearby (dated to around 200 BC and dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva) and a small amphitheater.

iter, itineris (3rd, nt)

Two weeks from today I will be on a plane, with three other teachers and 30-odd Latin and Ancient History students, for a 17 day trip around Italy and the U.S. Here are some highlights of our itinerary:

• 28th September: Capri + Paestum
• 29th September: Pompeii + Mt. Vesuvius
• 30th September: Puteoli, Cumae, Baiae
• 1st October: Rome
• 5th October: Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard Art Museums
• 8th October: Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
• 10th October: Getty Roman Villa and Museum (Los Angeles)

Icarus

In Canberra over the holidays I came across this sculpture, inspired by Daedalus and Icarus. The photo doesn't really do it justice, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

Trivia

I enjoyed a lovely night last week with my senior Latin classes and others from all around Sydney at the annual Senior Classics Dinner (organised by the CLTA). The costumes were especially fabulous this year, and I am full of admiration for those of my students who embraced the spirit of the evening by dressing up (even if it was as grapes and Jedi).

The after-dinner trivia was slightly easier than in previous years, but there were still a few questions which left me scratching my head. See if you can work out the answers to these beauties.

Which Sydney suburbs are referred to below?

• terra australis
• ager cinis
• urbs cornus
• oppidum novum
• herbaria
• virilis
• collis aestivus
• tumuli septem
• filix rubra
• vallis viridis

Which sporting teams are referred to below?

• tigres
• cygni
• cornices
• tauricanes
• feles
• aquilae
• dracones
• leones

What was the nationality of the following people?

• Ulysses
• Hannibal
• Romulus and Remus
• Cleopatra
• Vercingetorix
• Boudicca

Eucalyptus

I recently finished reading Eucalyptus, by Murray Bail. It's quite a slow-moving story, but I found it very captivating. On the surface the book is about a father who decides that the man who correctly names every eucalypt on his property will win the hand of his daughter, but it turns into a series of loosely connected stories suggested by the scientific  (i.e. Latin or Greek) names of the various eucalypts.

It reminded me a lot of Ovid's Metamorphoses, which likewise is a loosely connected series of myths, and at some points the resemblence goes even deeper. Have a look at the following passages and see if they remind you of some of the myths you might find in Ovid:

valete

Year XII Latin, 2009

Spelunca Caci

Perhaps the cave of Cacus looked something like this...

This is how Virgil describes it in Aeneid VIII:

iam primum saxis suspensam hanc aspice rupem,
disiectae procul ut moles desertaque montis
stat domus et scopuli ingentem traxere ruinam.
hic spelunca fuit vasto summota recessu,
semihominis Caci facies quam dira tenebat
solis inaccessam radiis; semperque recenti
caede tepebat humus, foribusque adfixa superbis
ora virum tristi pendebant pallida tabo.

Now first of all look at that cliff, all overhung with rocks, and see how the great bulk of the mountain has been scattered far and wide, and how that cave lies deserted and how the crags speak of some great destruction. Here was the cave, sunk deep down into a vast cavern, where the dreadful form of the half-human Cacus used to live, inaccessible to the rays of the sun; the ground was always warm with fresh slaughter, and, fixed to the haughty door frame, hung the faces of men in gloomy decay.

(Aeneid VIII, 190-197)

If you imagine some dismembered heads hanging by the entrance I think it's not a bad match.

filia mea

I generally try to keep my posts here to Latin related things, but in this case I don't mind making an exception.

Jemima Lauren Morrison

Born 6 May 2009