Classics in Contemporary Culture

Romans in Stone

An article (Japan Times) about an exhibition (Vixerunt Omnes: Romani ex Imaginibus) at Japan's National Museum of Western Art highlights personality cult and the currency of these ancient images:

These funerary monuments, produced to mark the passing of folk from all walks of life, often lack artistic refinement, but they possess a vigor and liveliness that reaches through the centuries. In that sense, many of these ancient artifacts speak more clearly to us than images from centuries nearer our own: starchy Renaissance portraits, for example, or formal Victorian-era photographs.

[UPDATE: Also see RogueClassicism for a longer excerpt]

RIP Peter Ustinov

This obituary for Ustinov focuses on his "ancient" roles (e.g., in Spartacus, Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth) and comments:

Hirsute and rotund, he looked like our conception of an ancient decadent, and that, combined with an unmistakably Epicurean sensibility and an aura of unaccountable vanity, made him a natural for [these] roles...

Does anyone know anything about, or have a strong opinion on, Barefoot in Athens (1966), in which he plays Socrates?

Do It For The Children!

Arguing that "kids should be a tax break," Terry Dwyer appeals to the example of the Roman Empire:

"Overtaxation of families, at the extreme, can contribute to the sort of depopulation and fiscal collapse seen in the later Roman Empire and now re-emerging in high-tax European welfare states," he said.

The Passion: Contradicts the Gospel

Ok, I admit that I have not yet seen The Passion...but I looked at a book of stills from the movie in a bookstore the other day, and was appalled to note that the inscription placed above Jesus on the cross was written only in Aramaic (or Hebrew?--didn't stay too long to browse) and Latin...again (my chief complaint with the movie, sight unseen) NO GREEK! This, of course, contradicts John 19:27, the only Gospel that gives details about the language of the inscription; the passage says the inscription was in "Hebrew" (possibly meaning Aramaic), Greek, and Latin. Take that, Gibson apologists...

Mithridates, He Died Old...

...and hated Rome...and has now had a historical novel written about him, by Michael Curtis Ford. It's called The Last King, and is reviewed at OregonLive.com...

Pythagoras and Prada

Jane Ridley's column (Daily Mirror)--a nod (unconscious, probably) to Semonides?--categorizing women into 27 types (a response to a similar survey of men by "gender expert" Stephen Whitehead) includes the following:

BIRD WITH A BRAIN

BOTH an intellectual and a good-time gal. Stuffs her books in her Gucci handbag and knows as much about Prada as Pythagoras.

Prime example: Wildlife presenter Charlotte Uhlenbroek.

Hmm...this article is getting play all around, as (e.g.) in the Hindustan Times--go figure!

In related news...Pythagoras' theorem helps determine how high one's high heels can be! Oh, and he was right about the music of the spheres too...

Parmenides' Fallacy

In an article on the war in Iraq, the war on terrorism, etc., Philip Bobbitt (Guardian) looks back to the pre-Socratic:

But whether we are safer now than three years ago is not the right question. Such an inquiry is a prime example of what might be called "Parmenides's fallacy" - named (a little unfairly) after the Greek philosopher who held that all change was illusion. This fallacy occurs when one tries to assess a state of affairs by measuring it against the past, as opposed to comparing it to other possible present states of affairs.

Brazen Watchdogs

In an article on lobbyists and their power in NY state, a vague and unformed allusion to Greece:

Blair Horner, the legislative director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, said that some of Mr. Grandeau's troubles might stem from the many aggressive stands he had taken in recent years, stands that made him many enemies.

"Compared to the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil of most enforcement here, [David Grandeau] looks like one of the giants who used to guard the harbors in ancient Greece,'' Mr. Horner said.

I guess he means Talos--perhaps in his appearance in the movie Jason and the Argonauts (click here and scroll down for screen shot)?

Those Romans!

More reflex invocation of the ancient Romans...from the Left:

All previous world history tells us these actions are not sustainable, for much the same reasons as occurred in the later Roman Empire, or for Nazi Germany after it foolishly invaded the USSR.

...and the Right:

The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful and enduring that the world has ever seen. It became strong by adhering to strict codes of laws and moral principals. The empire's heroes were brave and selfless warrior-leaders, and older people were respected and honored.

But as the Romans became more powerful and affluent, they became decadent and self-indulgent. Immorality and moral corruption of every sort were rampant and they lost all sense of decency. Much of Roman society was like spoiled selfish children. Immersed in their puerile and evil indulgences, they lost their will to defend themselves and were eventually conquered by stronger, less "civilized" people.

Sound familiar?

...and the Catholic:

In the film, the flagellation scene is certainly graphically violent as Jesus’ body is savagely torn apart with the hideous whips and tools of the ancient Roman Empire. The merciless sadism of the colonising Roman legions is terrifyingly portrayed and symbolised their contempt for the whole Jewish people.

Monsters & Mazes

Tomorrow in Warwickshire:

Theatre company Moby Duck will be retelling the story of the Minotaur in their show The Mazemaker at Nicholas Chamberlaine Technology College in Bedworth on Thursday.

The production is aimed at children aged eight and over and is part of the Live & Local season

Jane Griffiths, of Live & Local which takes entertainment to villages and towns, said: "This is a great, gory story about one of the most famous monsters of ancient Greece."