Category Archives: Rome

Eldritch Lore of Lightning, Stars, and Magic

Posted on August 10, 2023 by JE

On Facebook, Michael Swanwick mentioned a historical (or maybe apocryphal) episode when the Pope invited Etruscan seers to use lightning magic to defend Rome against Alaric and his Ostrogoths. It’s a pretty good story, whether or not it’s actually history. … Continue reading →

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Vintage Archaeology

Posted on April 17, 2023 by JE

Emlyn Dodd has a nice piece up today at The Conversation about a newly excavated winery from the later Roman Empire. The property originally belonged to the Quintilii brothers, and then became part of the emperor’s holdings after Commodus had … Continue reading →

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Trump or Carinus?

Posted on March 21, 2023 by JE
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Goa, Going, Gone

Posted on January 31, 2023 by JE

I was scrolling through an electronic edition of a venerable Latin dictionary, which is a totally normal thing to do, and I was brought up short by the entry for superstitio: “excessive fear of the goas; unreasonable religious belief.” I … Continue reading →

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Let’s Give Vespasian a Great Big Hand

Posted on January 1, 2023 by JE

Prandente eo quondam canis extrarius e trivio manum humanam intulit mensaeque subiecit. —Suetonius, Divus Vespasianus 5.4 “Once, while he was having lunch, a stray dog carried in a human hand  from the crossroads and threw it under his table.” This is one of the … Continue reading →

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Merv?

Posted on December 18, 2022 by JE

A gryphon holding up the corner of a sarcophagus. I took this photo in the Vatican Museum, in the now-distant summer of 2008. I was collecting gryphons that year.

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Delusions of Grandeur

Posted on December 15, 2022 by JE

divinam ex eo maiestatem asserere sibi coepit; datoque negotio, ut simulacra numinum religione et arte praeclara, inter quae Olympii Iovis, apportarentur e Graecia, quibus capite dempto suum imponeret. —Suetonius, CALIGULA 22 “From that time he began to claim godhood for … Continue reading →

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The Late, Late Show

Posted on July 16, 2016 by JE

I was watching TV, and for some reason there was a rather elderly Kim Basinger talking about awkward marriage proposals she’d received in her life. “But the worst,” she said, “was from Maxen Wledig.” This interested me, as Maxen Wledig … Continue reading →

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Roming Again

Posted on May 11, 2012 by JE

Having gotten married and having moved all our worldly possessions to one flammable location, and placed them under the protection of a pair of fire-breathing slavering beasts and a gang of meth-addled bikers, Diana and I flew off to Italy … Continue reading →

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I Didn’t Know It Until Yesterday…

Posted on May 25, 2011 by JE

… but it’s been me and Paranà Coffee all along. Proof beyond the jump.

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