Friends of Classics

The Spectator, October 27th 2001
In 'East is East and West is West', Jasper Griffin examines the ebb and flow of an ancient conflict. He begins with Homer's Trojan war, moves on to the Persian war and then Alexander the Great's return match; he considers the Roman empire and its split into an eastern and western half; the triumph of Islam followed by the Crusades; the rise of the Ottoman empire and defeat of Byzantium/Constantinople; and the dominance of western technology after the industrial revolution. He speculates about what would have happened if Muslim fleets had discovered America, as they could well have done at any time from the ninth century AD, and ends with a plea for co-operation, not short-sighted and tawdry triumphalism.

The Times, October 26th 2001
The Greek government has commissioned a £29 million museum to be built below the Acropolis, on the top of which will be constructed a rectangular glass gallery designed to hold the Elgin marbles. It will be called the Parthenon Hall. It will offer exactly the same amount of space as the marbles originally occupied: the new museum and the Parthenon will be in sight of each other. It will remain empty till the marbles return.
The architect, Bernard Tschumi, is confident that the building will be completed in time for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

The Daily Telegraph, November 28
Vesuvius was active long before it buried Pompeii in AD 79, and in about 1750 BC it buried a bronze age village at Nola, near Naples. The wooden structures were destroyed, but the mud that filled the buildings left a natural 'mould' of everything they contained. What is left is a mould, two or three metres high, of the village. Finds include hams, a boar's tusk hat, a goat-cage and a kiln with pots inside in the process of being fired.

The Times, November 2nd 2001
A group of 14 MPs, including Tony Banks, has called for the government to 'start negotiating immediately' for the return of the Elgin marbles to occupy the new Acropolis Museum.

The Daily Telegraph, November 2nd 2001
Obituary of Professor John Gould, emeritus professor of Greek at Bristol, who has died age 73. He is remembered for his inspiring lecturing and teaching, including the JACT Greek Summer School at Dean Close, Cheltenham; his crucial role in developing the JACT READING GREEK course; and his brilliant scholarship, which integrated new work in anthropology with clarity and rigour into mainstream scholarship, to eye-opening effect.

The Times, December 31st 2001
John Carr reported from Athens on the demise of Europe's oldest currency, the drachma, tracing its history from the invention of coinage (c. 700 BC) to Athens' adoption of the drachma, 'handful' (from drattomai 'I grasp'): the handful in question being six obeloi or oboloi, small iron rods, the earlier form of coin.

The Spectator for December 29th 2001
Harry Potter and the Bad Idea
Peter Jones on why he would much rather J.K. Rowling were not translated into Latin and ancient Greek [Full Article]

The Daily Telegraph, 'Weekend' section, December 8th 2001
Cassandra Jardine tells the story of Marcus Aurelius (Roman emperor AD 161-180) and the riches-to-rags TV advertising magnate Jeremy Scott. Scott lost all his money in the nineties but found consolation in the Stoic philosophy expounded in Marcus Aurelius' reflections (in Greek) which we know as his meditationes. Among the passages quoted are: 'The things that affect us stand outside us. Change your attitude and then, like a ship entering harbour, you shall find calm'; 'where you live matters little, since the world is one place'; 'anger and indignation against things that cross you will only make you a laughing-stock'.

The Daily Telegraph, December 5th 2001
Fifty years ago the tomb of King Midas was found in central western Turkey. Now a team has been investigating it further and finding that it was a microbe called soft-rot fungus that caused the extreme decay seen in its structure and 14 intricately inlaid pieces of furniture that were left in the tomb (presumably serving and dining tables for a funerary banquet). The decay was surprising since decay-resistant cedar and juniper wood had been used. Further work has also been done on discovering the secrets of Egyptian embalming techniques. Bitumen was evidently not used, but a mixture of conifer resins, coniferous pitch, plant oils, animal fats and beeswax. The resins served three functions - to act as a waterproof barrier, kill bacteria and deter insects. The concentration of beeswax and conifer resins increased as embalmers realised how effective their properties were. 'Mummy' is thought to have come from Persian mummiya, 'bitumen'. But it is now pointed out that the Egyptian for 'wax' is mum - and much wax was used in the process.

News Summary: 2001