March 2016 – History From Below

G.I. Jones: Classical Archaeology, Military Balloons, and Early Aerial Photography

In 1898, famed Venetian architect Giacomo Boni was charged with leading new excavations in the Roman Forum (1899-1911) and on the Palatine hill. In order to get aerial photos, Boni enlisted the Italian military’s Brigata Specialisti military balloon, used by the Italian Corps of Engineers. He was amazed at the ability to more accurately draw and map theContinue reading “G.I. Jones: Classical Archaeology, Military Balloons, and Early Aerial Photography”

Martius Madness: On Manliness, Roman Gambling Laws, and NCAA Brackets

We are in the midst of the NCAA March madness tournament in the U.S., and, as NPR reported, the American Gaming Association boasted more NCAA Brackets than number of votes for the next president. Now, I identify as both a UVa Cavalier and a UNC Tar Heel, and so my entire household was glued to the screen yesterday. AsContinue reading “Martius Madness: On Manliness, Roman Gambling Laws, and NCAA Brackets”

Epigraphy Enchiridion: A List of Open Access Books for Teaching Greek and Roman Inscriptions

A famous funerary epigram now at the British Museum (IG XIV, 2131) and dating to the second century CE has a skeleton lying in repose. It reads: “Who can say, passerby, looking on a fleshless corpse, whether it was Hylas (i.e., a beautiful youth) or Thersites (i.e., a bow-legged, ugly man)?” I first learned about this inscriptionContinue reading “Epigraphy Enchiridion: A List of Open Access Books for Teaching Greek and Roman Inscriptions”

Times New Roman: Classical Inscriptions, Epigraphy Hunters, and Renaissance Fonts

The Renaissance (ca. 1330-1600) is often remembered for its revival of Classical literature. Modern books like The Swerve celebrate the Renaissance era book hunters such as Poggio Bracciolini, who travelled to hidden monasteries in search of Latin manuscripts of Virgil or Cicero, and uncovered lost works, such as Lucretius’ De rerum natura. However, the Renaissance was also a time for rediscovering Latin and GreekContinue reading “Times New Roman: Classical Inscriptions, Epigraphy Hunters, and Renaissance Fonts”