I'm baaaaaack

This day (NP), is for special religious observance.

The Tubilustrium is the fifth day of the Quinquatrus. On these days the trumpets (tubae) were lustrated. This day was sacred to Minerva (Athena), the patroness of trumpets.
The month of March belongs to the warlike Mars, the deity who personifies the protection of the state and the productivity of the community.
This is the twenty-third day of the Festival of Mars. The daily spectacle of the priests of Mars leaping and dancing through the streets of Rome would continue this day.
This was the eighth day of a nine-day fast for the Romans, leading up to the Day of Blood.

I know, it's been a while. But since nobody actually reads this, I don't think I owe anyone an apology.

I'm going to start posting random vacation pictures, if only for my own entertainment (see above). Again, eventually I would like to see this turn into a semi-professional blog...but I don't think that will be any time soon.

More random-ness

Today in Rome

I think, just so that I have something to make me update this a little more often, I'm going to take a page from David Meadows, but I'll be taking my information from this site, which is primarily interested in festival dates. So, to begin with, today is September 21st...

Ante diem XI Kalendas October
Eleventh Day to the Kalends of October

This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

The Egyptians celebrated this day as the Feast of Divine Life. It was an epagomenal day, added to the calendar to complete a 365 day year. On this day they celebrated the birthday of their mother-goddess.

The rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries, begun on the Festival days of the 18th and the 19th, would continue this day.

On this day in 19 BC the poet Virgil died in the port of Brindisii upon his return from Greece. Virgil wrote the Aeneid, an epic account of the travels of the refugees from Troy as they settled successively in Carthage and in Latium, giving rise several generations later to the line of Romulus, the founder of Rome.

On this day in 454 AD, Aetius, who had defeated Attila the Hun, was stabbed to death by the emperor Valentinian III and his eunuch chamberlain Heraclius during a meeting in Ravenna. Aetius has been called the "Last Roman" because of his resourcefulness and vigor in fighting back the barbarians.

In Greece, the Rites of Eleusis were performed this day.


September is the 'magical' seventh month (after March).

Update

Well, I've been busy since I last updated. I've finally started my Master's at the University of Western Ontario, and so far, things are going well. I aced my French sight test, I'm TAing an intro Classics course (where I'm updating this from - I love wireless networks!), and life is, generally, good. I haven't starved yet, the neighbors aren't too noisy, and Chris and I are dealing with the seperation reasonably well, especially since I'll be going home for Thanksgiving next month.

I've gotten so many new books! My baby is a turn-of-the-century book on Greek and Latin palaeography (I'll be taking a course on it next semester). I also found book I of the Aeneid, scanned and parsed, at the library, which made me rather happy, I'm looking forward to consulting it this afternoon. I also had my first real emotional connection while translating, which, rather than laughing while translating the Cyclops or Thesmaphoriazusae, was being thrilled by the Aeneid. Yay!

I was kind of scared when I started on this voyage, but I think I've found my sea legs...

Western girl?

I don't think I ever did mention the fact that, when I was in London over March Break, I officially accepted UWO's offer. So, I'll be heading to Ontario in the fall. That's going to be an enormous change for me, considering I'm typing this in my bedroom, which has been "lady pink" since the last time it got painted, aka when I was seven years old.

Also, my friend Chelsey has been elected (aka cakewalked-into) the position of Classics Society president. She didn't have the competition that I did, but on the other hand, I think she'll make a better president than either I or the clown that beat me would have been/has been. Anyhow, we've been working on a website for the society. We just need to build again from scratch if we want it linked to on the departmental page. Sigh.

Oh well, back to studying for my 100% Greek exam I go!

Second admission letter

I got my admission email from UBC. Or at least, "Stanatia" did. I really don't see why I should consider any school that can't get my name right, and won't tell me how much funding they're willing to offer me. They can take that form email, and, well...email it to someone else!

My father finally figures it out

So I was working on the Cyclops, when my father came home. He's reading what I'm working on over my shoulder, and mutters, "You have to write down all those words?" (="Do you have to translate all of that?").

"Yeah Ba, all of them."

"Ohh, in Greece, that's called Katharevousa, and..."

"Well it's not Katharevousa, it's 5th century Attic Greek. It's by Euripides - you know, the guy who wrote "Medea"? And look how much I've done, I'm on line 510...*flips through the pages*"

"Wow, that's a lot of stuff!"

"I know...this is what I do all day! And this is just my Greek! Now do you understand why I don't have time to do everything else, like the dishes and the laundry? Although I did do those today..."

"Good, good, you should do them more often..."

So, he missed my point about constant schoolwork = no time to clean up after him, but at least now he seems to appreciate how much work I actually do. The only "Katharevousa" he knows is the word for horse - and I have to read Euripides. So the next time he calls me an idiot...maybe he'll stop to think about that for a minute...

My daily workload

It's funny, no matter how much Greek I get done, I never get ahead. With Prof. M, 20-30 lines is "enough", because we really don't have much further to go (eight more pages, I think? Less?) of ο Κύκλωψ, but if I do 40-50+ lines when I have the time so that I won't have to worry when I don't, he just lets me plow ahead. "Oh, you got to 510? Well, you might as well keep going, then". Latin isn't so bad, we have a higher daily line quota (around 40), so we should be going faster, but then Ovid's lines are a lot longer than Euripides'...

It's not that I'm not capable of doing more, I'd just like a little consistency...and to be able to work ahead. That's all.

So, for today:

- do about 40 lines of ο Κύκλωψ, if I can, or more. Do some practice scansion for it, and study for the midterm.
- do the Amores poems about maids - two or three of them, they're less than 30 lines each. Study for the midterm.
- write the last of my German compositions, the one on Dr. Scott's Vorlesung on "forgiveness" in the photography of some Canadian guy in post-war, pre-reconstruction Germany. (it's not that long, or hard...I just don't want to do it). Study vocab, do worksheet on the simple past passive. Test am Montag.
- Do primary sources research on the Floralia by Friday, in other words, go to the Harriet Irving Library, and photocopy everything I can find on it. Keep in mind that I can work on Flora the goddess, and not just the festival itself.
- email people to remind them to choose their Ancient Dinner recipes. In fact, do that now...