WotWotius

Simple: personal interest.

Bang on! I think I helped a little too much...

Couldn't agree more. There isn't any relation at all. Ethics are after all the informal rules of behaviour, whereas quality of art is a somewhat subjective appraisal of ability in expression. The behaviour of an artist (and many of them are distinctly flakey, others extremely cunning) varies enormously, and since ethics are rarely imposed on artists, their own ethical codes vary along with their personalities and egos. Be that as it may, this is far from the manner in which the Romans perceived artists. Along with actors, freedmen and musicians, artists were very much considered a package deal of immorality and slothfulness. The very notional that an individual is associated with actors and musicians would conjure up all sorts of imagery within the mind of the Roman elite - indeed Pliny the Elder describes theatres 'havens for perverts' - and by association with such types, they too embodied the traits assigned to actors. But the issue went further than this: an entourage of artists was also considered to be part of the iconography of what the Roman dubbed lincentia. This was fairly complex concept, but could be boiled down to meaning an excess of freedom, which existed both alongside and in isolation of the notion of servitude - vice was, after all, considered to be a form of cyrpto-slavery. While Roman artists could well have been perfectly nice individuals in their own right, this does not escape the issues that the Roman aristocracy, at least in principle, viewed such types at a distance.

No, but that is a fantastic site. A real insight into how the Romans could just make a landscape disappear. 98 BC is an important year for this site. Also, while reasonably prominent, it does not feature on the UNRV Map.

It is in Spain.

No, it is a civil one. It is in a modern European country.

... you mean they have both kinds: Country and Western!

Unfortunatly, I feel I have to revise other areas, so I don't think that this will amount to a finished paper - at least not now, anyway. Maybe I shall write one in a month or so - who knows? If anybody has anything else of interest to say about Nero, please feel free to chip in. The more novel, the better!

No.

No.

No.

Does anybody know of a site containing De Incendio Urbis - a rather curious poem, often attributed to Lucan. An English translation would be preferred.

Yes.

It is always nice to be able to say: civis Europaeus sum.

Nope. Do you want a clue?

Nope.

This one may be quite hard, but here it is anyway:

It is Tarragona, right?

Italica?

Both the Ian Scott Kilvert and the Rex Warner Penguin translations I find to be better than the Dryden edition. Then again, I must say that I do rather like Dryden's translation of the Aeneid; it is quite fresh, considering it was translated in the seventeenth century.

Once you have scrubbed it and let it dry, you should put baking soda on the affected area - it absorbed the smell, you see - and they hoover it up. If this is not effective the first time, repeat the process, but mop it up with a little bit of malt vinegar on a sponge; this not only creates a chemical reaction, but it also cleans the carpet. You must make sure that the carpet/affected area is completely dry before applying the baking soda. This process can also be used (believe me) for cleaning up vomit. Tip: Putting baking soda at the bottom of a bin will also absorb any odours excess 'bin juice'. WotWotius the Domestic Goddess.

Baelo Claudia? If not, I give up...

These ridiculous analogies even penetrate the press: Agricola and Iraq Although, I must say that it is quite a well written article.

Speaking as somebody who is dead inside on most days, this touched me. Congratulations.