Musings on Daily Life in the Ancient and Early Medieval Mediterranean By Sarah E. Bond
Σαβεῖνοςζωγράφος ἐτῶνκϛʹ.εὐψύχως Sabinus, a painter, 26 years old, good luck! Fayoum 1:40=PHI 215881, Aueris (Hawāra) — Rom. Imp. period — SB 1.682. On a red marble epitaph from Hawara now in the Cairo Museum is the commemoration of a young painter living in Roman Egypt named Sabinus. We have a number of epitaphs and mentions... Continue Reading →
Fresco from the Bar of Salvius, Pompeii. In it, a bar maid holds a jug in one hand and a cup in another. One customer shouts “over here!”while another says “no, it’s mine!” The exasperated barmaid replies “whoever wants it should take it. Oceanus come here and drink”. (Caption and Image by Dr. Sophie Hay... Continue Reading →
This morning, the SCS released a statement over confusion about whether I have been formally censured by the society. I have not been formally censured by the SCS but would like to discuss what did happen: At 5:36 pm on February 26, I received an email from the Vice President for Outreach at SCS, who... Continue Reading →
Over on Ancient Jew Review, I have a review of Donna Zuckerberg's new book, Not All Dead White Men. The review was certainly not easy to write, but I do recommend buying, reading, and then sharing this important read. It is honestly the only time in the past two years or so that I have been happy to... Continue Reading →
This semester, I am teaching our department's Archaic to Classical Greek Survey. I specialize in late antique Roman history and GIS, and thus this has been a departure from my normal research interests--and just one reason we are searching for a Homerist with DH skills right now. However, reading and teaching Greek does not mean that... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago, I began to ponder the ways in which Greek and Roman art is presented within the modern museum context--and to ruminate on whether we put a bit too much emphasis on the perceived front of a piece of art rather than the side or back of it. This led to a... Continue Reading →
My latest piece for Hyperallergic addresses the long history of red caps as symbols of politics, ethnicity, and identity. From Mithras to the Smurfs, there is a rich history of using identifying hats. This article was also an opportunity for me to post some photos of Mithras I have taken over the years--and to include a few... Continue Reading →
I think we can all agree that sexual harassment and assault are not inventions of the 20th or 21st centuries. While the visibility of these issues have increased notably in the past 6 months, they have sadly been a part of the tapestry of history since the very beginning. The good news (and there has... Continue Reading →
In an important article over at Eidolon, Nadejda Williams discusses the visibility of female military historians within the field of ancient history. Prof. Williams is a Classicist whose main area of teaching and research is Greek and Roman military history. She is also is an Associate Professor of History at the University of West Georgia. I would urge you... Continue Reading →
One of my favorite reflections on the act of writing was written by a late Roman historian, poet, and rhetorician from modern-day Bordeaux named Decimius Magnus Ausonius. Among many other works, he penned a treatise called the Fasti. In a note to his son, the author reflected on the act of picking and choosing historical events, and... Continue Reading →
History From Below 