On Wednesday it’s time for the joyful annual celebration of worldwide classical silliness that is International Lego Classicism Day, across social media.
So I’m hard at work producing a Lego-South Shields epic of my own, which I’m inclined to entitle ‘The Barateid’.
Our hero is Barates, an intrepid travelling salesman from Palmyra, crossing the seas in search of new people to sell stuff to. Along the way, he encounters storms, pirates and angry gods – and finally he rescues a beautiful British queen (sorry: ‘Queenie’) from the clutches of the villainous Romans at Arbeia Fort. Queenie is not entirely pleased to be rescued, and… well, you’ll have to tune in later in the week to find out the rest!
Here are a few stills from the movie, as a preview…
(Credit goes to my son, for following me round while I took photos of Lego, so that it looked less weird!)
[Updated… Here’s the link to the full mini-epic. Enjoy! https://classicalstudies.support/guest-pages/an-arbeia-epic/]
Hope to see some of you on Thursday, when I’ll be presenting a paper on Classics blogging at the Authority in Classics conference in Newcastle (the County Hotel, Neville Street). There’s all kinds of potential for comedy here, since it’s the first paper I’ve given in years – so do come along for a laugh!
This week’s classical stuff from the internet
News
The quest for Romulus – The Telegraph
Overhauling Classics at Oxford – The Telegraph
Discovering a naval battle – Live Science
Carlisle bath-house – News and Star
Narcissus in Pompeii – Phys.org and The Guardian
Vindolanda newsletter – Vindolanda
Comment and opinion
The British School at Rome – A Don’s Life
Fake news and Athenian democracy – Ekathimerini
Canadian women – The Edithorial
Myth and rape – The New York Times
The origins of money – CREWS Project
Roman graffiti – Hyperallergic
On the Caelian Hill – Understanding Rome
Postgraduates and free food – Eidolon
Lesbia and Sappho – Classical Inquiries
Toilet literature – The Petrified Muse
Unrequited love and jumping off a rock – Ancient Blogger
Diversity in the Latin classroom – In Medias Res
Roman ghosts – Eagles and Dragons
The eccentric Empedocles – Classical Wisdom Weekly
Barbarians at the gate – The Conversation
Podcasts, video and other media
Rome subway discoveries – PBS
The Zoroastrian kings – Head On History
Romans, Gauls and a lovers’ quarrel – The French History Podcast
Furious Romans – The Partial Historians
Caesar and Cleopatra – Antiquitas
Augustus – Dan Snow’s History Hit
SCS ‘The Future of Classics’ panel – Society for Classical Studies
…and a covering letter – Society for Classical Studies
Classical Studies Support 