It’s been Quite A Week, with ups and downs and chaos and school and work and drama and headaches and various signs of trouble ahead. So my links this week are fairly sparse, because I haven’t had the time to lurk around the internet with my usual procrastinative energy.
There have been some bright spots in the murk, of course. I’ve been getting involved with a few new and potentially interesting things, which I’ll no doubt be able to tell you about at some point.
One possible bright spot this week is the launch of a new online Classics ‘journal’ called Antigone. It launched with quite a bang, kicking off with contributions from some big names, including Stephen Fry and Tom Holland (I’m not jealous, of course… but if they would like to write for my website sometime, I suppose I wouldn’t mind…).
Here are the inaugural articles:
The ghost of Classics yet to come – Stephen Fry
Nose knows best: how Latin tricks Italians – Althea Sovani
Understanding friendship through the eyes of Aristotle – Anika Prather
How to be a classical scholar – and a woman – in the fifteenth century – Josey Parker
Caesars and Sopranos : the shadow of Suetonius – Tom Holland
Why we need Antigone – Edmund Stewart
These represent an interesting mix of topics, and have been fairly well received. The one which has raised some eyebrows is the article by Stewart, which is the closest the website really comes to a mission statement, and which has prompted questions online about the approach the site editors intend to take and the values they aim to promote. Given that this is billed as an ‘open forum’ and that it explicitly encourages debate, it may be that those questions are welcome and will be answered and explored in future posts. It’s certainly going to be one to watch in the coming months!
Another thing to watch is the new CUCD-EDI blog, which is calling for blog posts (500-1,000 words) on issues relating to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Classics (with a UK focus). If you’re interested, you can make enquiries via the website. It’s a very broad call for contributions, so it will be interesting to see what comes of it! If I can string enough words together, I may try to submit something myself. Just not this week…!
Finally, I thought you might like to see the shiny new Louis Vuitton collection. This is a bright spot in my imaginary future world, in which I have the money to buy sculpture-themed outfits and a private Parisian gallery in which to wear them.
This week’s links from around the classical internet
News
Roman wall in Gloucester – BBC
Digital exhibit on Galen – The National Herald
Unlocking the Antikythera Mechanism – BBC
Comfort Classics
Comfort Classics: Madeleine Chawner
Comment and opinion
Roamin’ Gaul – Classicalstudiesman (some gorgeous photos!)
Review of The People’s Roman Remains Park – The Word Muses
Rome and corrosive change – The Atlantic
Lucian and Greek myth – Bellaria
Athenian owls – Coin Week
Why is Alexander’s horse famous? – History Extra
Not-so-Great Courses – Mistaking histories
Podcasts, video and other media
Sappho (UCSB Concert) – Bettina Joy de Guzman
The female body in ancient figurines – Kentiquity
Women and power in Ancient Egypt – The Ancients
Catullus 51 and Sappho 31 – Catullan Conversations
Classical Studies Support 
Surely, they need to read my dissertation on the reception of Antigone and be reminded that the character is a male construction 🤷🏼♀️ Let’s keep her in context before throwing her name around 😉
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You know, I couldn’t help thinking of your dissertation when I read that…! 😂
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I have always liked Anacreon’s fr 395 ‘I have gone grey at the temples….’ I read Lattimore’s translation and liked it’s style – and then I saw ML West’s and yes, I thought, I know what he means now 🙂
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Feeling distinctly grey at the temples this week…!
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