Ursus

I think you'll enjoy Maty's book on mythology. I've also read "Roman Passions" and it was ok from what I remember. That book on comparing Rome and China looks very interesting, I may have to consider getting that one when I have some free time. I'm not sure what to think of the illustrated book on Pompeii and daily life Is that a joke, or something?

Best wishes for another year!

Yeah. I think it might be easier to list the "good ones" as opposed to listing the "bad ones." But as far as the "worst," Commodus and Elagabalus certainly rank up there as being totally worthless.

Thanks for the scoop. Even if I take a dim view of the Religious Right in America, I take an ever dimmer view of sweeping generalizations about my country, or assertions that the current president is a savior who will redeem us in the eyes of the world. I'm not spending any money on this movie.

Nephele found me a pic of a Roman mosaic, which I shortened to avatar length. I think it's connection to my username is obvious.

http://www.unrv.com/...o-cleopatra.php The first half of this book, though a little dated, may be exactly what you need.

Judging from the photos, the restored parts seemed tasteful enough. Not abig deal, in my book.

A short but pleasant look at the Beaker people, uploaded to Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PbziD8M-lw&feature=grec_index http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoLxdhOukDI&feature=related

Someone who has seen this needs to do a review for us.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130976125

In the little spare time I have, I have been trying to read Egil's saga, which is an Icelandic Saga from the Viking Age. it is .. interesting. A nice prose epic centering around good ol' Heathen virtues of wealth, fame and family. I may read the other Icelandic saga but at the rate I am going it is going to take months.

Well, the original one was corny as hell. The mechanical owl was ... just silly. But I think the original one worked because it remained true to the spirit of the original myths. This one completely alters the relations between the gods and men, and between the gods themselves as it turns Hades into a Satanic figure. It just felt wrong on so many levels.

I believe there are 3 or 4 threads on this from the past 6 years or so, but since I am too lazy to dig them up: Last name Baer. From the original B

I'm at a loss as how to properly write a review with this movie. It would come across basically as a juvenile "it sucked." So I'll just leave it as saying ..it sucked.

The history channel is basically sensationalist garbage at this point. I haven't bothered watching anything seriously on it in two years at least. Everytime I flip past it's either about Doomsday Biblical Prophecies or reality TV programs that don't even pretend to be about history.

As BH mentions, there were religious rites for the death and resurrection of Osiris that bordered on the theatrical. This basically amounted to priestesses playing the emotional roles of the goddesses Isis and Nepthys and they watch mournfully over the remnants of Osiris that were scattered by Seth. It seems to have originated in the Old Kingdom at the city of Busiris and became quite popular throughout Egypt. (During Roman times these passion plays about the death and resurrection of Osiris [now called Serapis by the Greco-Roman crowds] would be a public feature of Isian religious cult, inciting the mockery of Roman conservatives). But I'm not aware of any theater in proper terms from ancient Egypt. Theater as we know it originated in Ancient Greece ... but that too ultimately derived from a religious cult acting out the death and resurrection of its god ... in this case, Dionysus.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2010/10/21/130722022/looking-for-new-monsters

Because the Celts were not apt to build cities and instead revere trees, and because they treated their womenfolk with a slim degree more of social freedom than the Romans, they have become a convenient facade for those looking for an "other" to perceived patriarchal, industrialized Western civilization. I've met more than one Green Party activist who builds up the Celts as the original eco-feminists. An entire pseudo-religion grossly misnamed as Celtic has grown up around it. Or at least that is how it is over here in the states. Those of you closer to Celtic countries have probably seen the other version of the Celtophile - those who believe in the Celts as a long lost golden race, which is then used to justify modern nationalism in Celtic countries. This has always been my line as well. (Well, unless we're talking about Greek philosophy. I'd rather smear rancid butter in my hair and revere an oak tree than read Plato).

Wow, that was even worse than what I was expecting. My mind is numb. I may have to let this digest for a few days before I even begin to write a coherent review.

This looks like fun: http://www.legionxxiv.org/trooper124/

Hail!

I just won a copy of this dvd (one of the advantages of working in the cable industry). Expect a review in the coming month! If it is as bad as everyone says it is, expect a vicious commentary from yours tuly.

Never freakin' heard of it until today. High mountains were sometimes cult centers for important gods (Zeus and Eastern deities identified with Zeus often had an altar on a mountain). Perhaps it played some role in local Anatolian cult, then. But I never heard of it before today.

Congrats!