Warrior Grave, The Rapa Nui's diet, Biblical Town discovered

Warrior Grave Found Under English Golf Clubhouse

Don Shim ,who made the discovery, with the spears.

The warrior grave dating to over 2,000 years old produced five spears. The grave is thought to have belonged to a warrior of  the Catuvellauni tribe. A tribe that existed in Britain before the Roman Conquest. Read More Here.


East Islanders ate What?

East Islanders or the Rapa Nui, according to the analysis of teeth, did not eat much seafood. This was a huge shock to many researchers. Instead, the Rapa Nui ate plants, yams, bananas, and for protein: the indigenous chicken and rat. Read it here.


Biblical Town Near the Sea of Galilee Discovered

The Sea of Galilee boat is the most famous artifact from this newly discovered town. Although the boat was uncovered in 1986 the discovery of the town means we now know it was found on the ancient town's shoreline

A 2,000 year town thought to be Dalmanoutha (from the Gospel of Mark) has been discovered near the Sea of Galilee. Although, the town was prosperous; scientist are not positive that it is the town that Mark describes in the New Testament. Read it all here.

GRE:The effectiveness of a country's leaders is best measured by examining the well-being of that country's citizens.

The effectiveness of a country's leaders is best measured by examining the well-being of that country's citizens.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.



The statement made is open ended since it states "effectiveness" of a country's leader is best measure by examining the well-being of said country's citizens. Effectiveness is unclear in its meaning; whether it is an indicator of the leader's self- agenda (as with a dictator) or preserving the people's rights (as with a democratic country). If a country's leader is a dictator with no regard of its citizen's well-being then their well-being is not an indicator of the dictator's effectiveness. It is essential to remember that through time there have been several effect leaders that implanted their laws and citizen's right humanely, but their actual citizen's well being was not superb.

In ancient times, the Romans were capable of ruling most of the known world from trade routes to India, Egypt and even to Britain; however even the citizens who lived in the capital, Rome, were often subjected to disease and death due to the nearby swamps and mosquitoes. The fact that, in the Roman Empire's capital, citizens were dying and were not living in the best of circumstance should not reflect on the emperors ability to manage an empire of great lengths with ease and grace. In these two cases, the statement does not hold true. The ancient empire's citizens , as well as the dictator's, did not fare well, and it is not a reflection of a leader's ineffectiveness or effectiveness.

However, it could be argued that country who do pride themselves on being democracies or even humane countries; the statement could be proven true. The United State of America is commented to be the place "Where dreams come true" or other sayings such as the "American Dream." This sanguine approach to the country places a substantial amount of pressure on its leaders to produce a country in which the average day citizen is prospering well. However, citizens in America (or other similar countries) may not have the highest well-being due to their financial circumstance or personal issues. The president is not responsible for every trouble a citizen may have. Therefore, the well-being of citizens is subjective on what is being judged and evaluated for the "well-being" indicator.

Albeit, if the statement were to be calculating "well-being" from a citizen's happiness of their rights, then democratic countries' effectiveness would be a direct reflection of a citizen's well-being. After all, democratic comes from the Greek words "demos" and "kratos" meaning people and power. Therefore, the original statement made would reflect only democratic countries and the in particular the rights given to the citizen's of aforementioned countries. 

The most recent civil rights to come into discussion across the globe is the right of same-sex marriage. Based on this right and a leader's ability of providing it, this may be reflective a citizen's well-being. A leader's ability to understand both sides of the argument while working within it's constitution would then show a leader's effectiveness to provide their citizens with laws and rights which would aid in their well-being. But, just as with many liberties, there are many sides to the coin; not every law and right is accepted by every citizen. Civil right, women's suffrage, health care and same-sex marriage are a few examples of topics which are impossible to appease everyone on. Every citizen has different views, beliefs, and maxims which they live by. Then consequently, a leader's effectiveness of providing laws and rights within a given country may upset or even anger some citizens, while at the same time it may uplift the spirit and well-being of other citizens. Thus, a country's citizens' well-being is difficult to judge since not every citizen have the same ideals of laws, rights, and well-being.

It could then be attested that the statement is too rigid in its claim. That the effectiveness of any leader can not be solely based upon the well-being of citizens. There are too many variable from the type of leader, government, morals of citizens, and essentially what is meant by "effectiveness." It then leads to the conclusion that the statement should be rendered to read " A leader's effectiveness in ruling their country for the betterment of their citizen's can be evaluated and judged by that country's citizen's well-being." This statement is clearer in its attempt to render the citizens' well-being as an indicator of leadership.

Pompeii from the British Museum Film Review

The British Museum filmed a behind the scenes look at their exhibit: Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum, which ran from March 28th to September 29th, 2013. It was a collaboration of various museums who authorized the careful exchange and borrowing of several prized possessions.

The film presented to the audience many staff from the British Museum and specialist from ever field. The film took audiences on a journey that was the last days of Pompeii and Herculaneum. As an audience member, we were exposed to the grandeur and simplicity that went into grooming, preparing for the day, cooking, going about business and then an in depth look at Mount Vesuvius' activity and destruction.

The film was a tribute to individuals who had no knowledge of the site or its history, but it was also a treat for students of the ancient world who were given a personalized tour of rarely seen items by great scholar.

Mary Beard walked us through the life and day of individuals of Pompeii and Herculaneum. She disclosed very early on to cease an expectation that all Romans lived in such a luxurious way and reminded the audience of the slave to citizen ratio. She also graced us with her Latin translating various scenes and inscriptions.

Carbonized Bread

Giorgio Locatelli explained the food of the time period that was evident from the well-preservation of the ash. In the following video, he attempts to recreate the famous carbonized bread found at Pompeii. The following link provides a video, explanation and receipe.

Andrew Wallace- Hadrill is a man who loves to find the treasures that many disregard. He is one of the leading archaeologist who go wear no man wishes to go: into the sewers. In the film, he share a wealth of knowledge that he and his team discovered in the sewers (which were used to human waste as well as trash). They is a sundry of pottery from all over the world, "misplaced" jewelry, and evidence of their diet.

A piece depicting the fertility of the Pompeii region due to the volcanic soil.

Lastly, Rachel da Thame discusses the panels from the House of the Golden Bracelet and the plant and bird life.

There is a wonderful app that looks at items in detail for a small fee.  Overall, the experience was well worth the $15.00 and the occasional glances from the 10 other audience members. But, I will say there was some quiet joy, when I saw a mother and young son come to the showing.

Top Ten Ancient Roman Graffiti Inscriptions



Gates in a peace line in West Belfast, marking the boundary between segregated communities in Northern Ireland. Wikicommons.

 

In modern times, paint, particularly spray paint and sharpies are the most commonly used for graffiti. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner's consent is considered defacement, which is a punishable crime. However, sometimes graffiti expresses a social ,political, or even personal messages. Graffiti has been welcomed as a genre of artistic expression in certain areas of the world. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to both Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
Ancient graffiti, like modern graffiti, displays phrases of love, political rhetoric, or simple words of thought or messages of social and political ideals^.  Graffiti, also, includes Latin curses, magic spells, alphabets, political slogans, and famous literary quotes, providing insight into ancient Roman street life.

The introduction theme of HBO's Rome has a nice collection of Roman inspired Graffiti with images and words.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/8YDngmnixSc[/youtube]

Some of the best examples of ancient Roman graffiti can be seen at the Coliseum and public bathhouses in Pompeii and Herculaneum, since they were preserved so well by the ash from Mt. Vesuvius' eruption. It is important to note that most graffiti were not transcribe by the wealthy upper-class, because an upper-class citizen would have no "lingering"  business at the Coliseum, public bathhouses, or even the Lupanar (famous brothel in Pompeii).


Engraving of Kilroy on the WWII Memorial in Washington DC. Wikicommons.

Ten ancient Roman graffiti inscriptions explained and compared to modern graffiti

Prepare to "Ridere clara voce" or "Laugh Out Loud"  or "LOL"

 

LUCIUS PINXIT.
Translation: "Lucius painted/wrote this."
The original "Kilroy was here," which is explained here.
APOLLINARIS, MEDICUS TITI IMPERATORIS HIC CACAVIT BENE.
Translation: "Apollinaris, doctor to the emperor Titus, had a good crap here."
Well, I guess everyone- even imperial physicians- need to go.
HECTICE, PARVE, MERCATOR DICIT SALVE AD VOS.
Translator: "Hector, baby, Mercator says "hello" to you."
This is common in public restrooms to see sharpie inscriptions saying  "Hello" or even entire conversations.

 

DOMINUS EST NON GRATUS ANUS RODENTUM!
Translation: "The boss isn't worth a rat's ass!"
Thousands of year later and people are still saying this!

Hoplomachus (left) vs thraex (right) (Terracotta, British Museum). Wikicommons

MIXIMUS IN LECTO. FAETOR, PECCAVIMUS, HOSPES. SI DICES: QUARE? NULLA MATELLA FUIT.
Translation: "We have wet the bed. I admit, we were wrong, my host. If you ask ‘why?’ There was no chamber pot."
Well, I guess if a grown man wets the bed- leaving a reason is polite.

 

SUSPIRIUM PUELLARUM CELADUS THRAEX.
Translation:" Celadus, the Thracian, makes the girls sigh."
A Thracian is a type of Gladiator- If I had to guess either Celadus or one of his girls wrote this.
IN PECUNIIS AUTEM MAGISTRATUS NERONIS PRINCIPIS HOC DICIT CIBUS EST VENEUM.
Translation: "The finances officer of the emperor Nero says this food is poison."
Everyone is a critic when it comes to food.

IN NONIS APRIL 19TH, EGO PANIS FIAT.Translation: On April 19th, I made bread
Well, this inscription was found in a gladiator's bathroom stall; so it must be a euphemism-
or a boast of culinary skills.

NTIOCHUS PEPENDIT DE HIC CUM MARCUS AMICAM CITHERA.
Translation: "Antiochus hung out here with his girlfriend Cithera."
This inscription is similar to the idea of carving names or initials in tree bark.

 

Venus on seashell, from the Casa di Venus, Pompeii. Before 79 AD.

Not every ancient graffiti was lewd, sexual, or humorous; here is an example of "disappointed love" explained quite elegantly:

 

Quisquis amat. veniat. Veneri volo frangere costas

fustibus et lumbos debilitare deae.

Si potest illa mihi tenerum pertundere pectus

quit ego non possim caput illae frangere fuste?

Whoever loves, may go (to hell). I want to break ribs of Venus

with a club and debilitate the goddess' lions.

If that woman can break my tender heart

why can't I hit her over the head?

- Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum IV, 1284.

Let's not forget that even if we are going to commit the crime or art of Graffiti- we should do so with proper grammar.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/XbI-fDzUJXI[/youtube]

Ancient Canoe, Arifacts for Sale, Ancient Etruscan Prince

7 Year Old Boy Finds Ancient Canoe

A 2,000 year old canoe has been discovered by a seven year old boy who was being taught how to scuba dive by his grandfather near Ocala, Florida. He discovered the canoe believing it was a giant mussel, but it turned out to look more like a giant log. However, researchers are still studying the piece to determine an exact time and material.Read More.


Egypt demands return of artifacts for sale in Jerusalem auction
Jerusalem is attempting to sell for auction stolen artifacts. There are 126 pieces are in question along with two stolen sarcophagus' covers. Read it all here.

Skeleton of Ancient Prince Reveals Etruscan Life

Inside the Tomb

Dating to the 7th century B.C.E, a tomb thought to belong to one of the member of the Tarquinia's royal  family has been discovered.  This Etruscan tomb was found near both a King and Queen mound-chamber.Read on it here and there are some great photos of the tomb here.

Mars: From Roman God of War to First Science Feed in Latin.

Ancient Mars

Mars [Latin: Mars or Marvors] was the Roman god of war (the Greek god of war was Ares). Mars’ placement in Roman mythology is near identical to that of Greek Mythology. Some major myths that include Mars can be read on here. However, Romans had a different appreciation for Mars than the Greek had for Ares. The foundation of Rome was credited to a son of Mars: Romulus.

Romulus and Remus fed by the she-wolf. Panel from an alter. (98-117 CE)

From Mars, the month of March was named; it was in March that many festivals to Mars were held. Mars was also very important to the religion of everyday Romans; as can be seen by the evidence of the temples to Mars. The most famous temple to Mars was built by Emperor Augustus: Mars Ultor or Mars the Avenger.

Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum. Rome

Modern Mars

Computer-generated view of Mars.

In tradition of all the planets, the fourth planet from the sun was named after a Roman God. The planet Mars was named after the god of war due to its red color (reminiscent of blood). The red color of Mars is due to iron rich minerals on its surface. The planet Mars has two moon of known as Phobos and Deimos. These two names, respectively, are from the Ancient Greek for Fear and Terror. [ To those Disney Hercules fans, it is these two names which Hades' servants Pain & Panic are derived from.] The following video features Mars’ two small moons as captured by Curiosity Mars Rover :

Modern day audiences have a fascination with Mars; it is clear through our movies, music, books, and science fiction. Books on Mars can be seen here; while movies on the red planets are listed here. In the last few years we have seen a resurgence in the exploration and discovery of Mars from the Curiosity Rover to the launch of the HiRise. HiRise stands for High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment which “Explores Mars, One giant image at a time.” The great thing about this experiment is that the images are available to the public through HiRise’s website, twitter, and tumblr. Here is their main website.

Life on Mars: Materia cana rerum stratarum in Melani Chasmate -or-  Light-toned stratified materials in Melas Chasma (the image has been colored).

Bringing Mars and Latin Back Together

The images’ captions are being translated in several languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Icelandic, Italian, Greek, Russian, and Arabic. You can learn about the Translation Program here. However, one language that HiRise’s page does not show is Latin, BUT it does have a live Latin twitter feed  and tumblr feed.  This is actually the first science feed done completely in Latin. BBC News even wrote an article on the translator’s progress in this Latin Project. The Latin project is known as “Making Mars Speak Latin” was made possible through the Iris Project.

You may view “Beautiful Mars Latin” Tumblr Images in Latin Here.

An interview with the lead of the translating team, Dr. Lorna Robinson of the Iris Project, quoted the following:

“There has been debate over whether to keep the Latin more simple or make it as close to classical Latin as possible.

 We reached a compromise – wanted to keep it clear and accessible to outsiders without being wrong.”

The volunteer translating program has 21 members who translate weekly assignments in Latin through discussing the scientific terms and deducing what terms would best suit the translation and the audience translating it. Dr. Lorna Robinson also commented on how surprised she was to see that many of Mars’ terrain features already had Latin names: “One of the fascinating things for me has been discovering how many parts of Mars have been named in Latin.”  As can be seen in this image: “Valles Marineris” is very similar in the English and Latin.

Mass wasting in Valles Marineris (Lapsus massarum in Valle Marineris)

The efforts made by HiRise to inform and update the public in as many languages possible is amazing. The HiRise camera used sends over 12 images back to Earth each day and will be in use until 2023. As of August, there were about 30,000 images of beautiful terrain. It is this beautiful terrain of glaciers, dunes, craters, valleys, and more that are giving the Latin Translators some difficulties- since in Latin courses scientific terms are not usually taught. However, it is a wonder example of how Latin is not a dead language, but continues to find ways to grow and adapt in modern society.

Jerusalem Treasure, Ancient Pottery Inspired Video Game, Ancient Beer

Ancient "Ophel" Treasure Found in Jerusalem

A find of golden treasure sheds light on a time period of Persian rule on Jewish settlement about 1,400 years ago. One scholar belives "They [these treasures] were abandoned in the context of the Persian conquest of Jerusalem in 614 CE. Since there was only a small Jewish presence in Jerusalem during the Byzantine period, Mazar thinks the treasure was brought to the city by Jewish emissaries after the Persian conquest, when the city once again welcomed Jews. Read more here.

Apotheon's Ancient Pottery Adventure

The game originally was meant to be a Greek- Sci Fi element with almost a Zeus meets Vulcan theme. However, less is more and the creators decided to drop the sci-fi element. The true beauty of the game is its loyalty to pottery texture, terrain and figures. Read on it here.


8 Things I Learned About Ancient Beer
Before indulging on your weekends, be thankful from where the beer you drink comes from.Read more.

Latin Quotes

Salvete Omnes,
The following quotes are done with the simplest form and are meant to be fun! While, I did not translate certain words such as “damn” and “chocolates” etc.; this was due to a stylistic approach or a lack of an ancient words. Also, it should be noted to those new to Latin that the word order is rarely the same as in English, i.e: Latin more commonly puts the verb at the end of the sentence. However for the newer students of this language, I did include some repetitive language, uses of “sum” that usually would be omitted, and attempted to keep the English word order for a majority of the sentences.Enjoy!

Movies

 

“Shark! Shark!”

“Pistrix! Pistrix!”

“Frankly,my Dear, I don’t give a damn”

“Vere, mea cara, non mihi curae est”

“There’s no place like home.”

“Nullus est locus simlis domui.”

 

“E.T Phone Home”

“E.T  domum vocat”

“Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

“Vita arcae dulcium similis est. Numquam scis quae impetrabis.”

“I’m the king of the world!”

“Rex mundi sum!”

“Who’s on first?”

“qui in primum est?”

“Beam me up, Scotty!”

 ”Me transmitte sursum, Caledoni!”

“What we do in life echoes in eternity.”

“Quod in vita facimus, in aeternum resonat.”

Books

 

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

“Ante lector morit quam millia vitas vivet.  Autem ille, qui numquam legit, una vita sola digit.”

- George R.R.Martin, A Dance With Dragons

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

“Non decet somnia cogitare et oblivisci vitae.”

-J.K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

 

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

“Avis non sum; et non rete me irretit: libera sum mortalis cum voluntate libera.”

Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

“Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.”

“Nostrae ab opportunitatibus vitae formaverunt, etaim ab quoque non attactis opportunitatibus.”

 F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

 “All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost;”

“Omne, quod est aurum, non fulget, Non omnes vagantes aberrant;”

-J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Inspirational Quotes

 

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

“Noli lacrimare quoniam terminauit, subride quia evenit.”
― Dr. Seuss

 “Fortune favors the bold.”

 

“Audentes fortuna iuuat.”

– Ancient Proverb

 

“Always Faithful or Loyal”

Semper Fidelis [Semper Fi] 

-Motto of the U.S Marine Corps

 

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

“Esto ea mutatio quam videre vis in mundo.”

―  Mahatma Gandhi

 

“Know thyself!”

 ”Nosce te ipsum!”or “Nosce te ipsam!”

-Delphic Maxim

“Love conquers all.”

“Amor vincit Omnia.”

- Vergil

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Upon writing this article, I thought it would be fun to translate some recognizable quotes for the sake of entertainment and teaching Latin sentence structure and words. However, upon researching this topic, I found an alarming rate of blogs, boards, and even forums dedicated to translating popular quotes into Latin for tattoos. This search then lead to several pages dedicated to showing the examples of how Latin tattoos can go completely awry due to poor translations.

 

While there may be many ways to express an idea in Latin and it is difficult to exactly translate English quotes into Latin, these tattoos had major errors! You can see of them here and even celebrity ones here. Tattoos with wrong verb forms, nouns not properly declined, and even some phrases that don’t even make sense . This, then leads to the question of “Why Latin?”  Some people attest that Latin has become popular due to celebrities’ Latin tattoos; also that Latin somehow elevates a phrase or saying. However, there are many who think otherwise:

“What is the point of having tattoos in languages that one does not understand?  To show off gibberish to friends believing that they are incredible?  Tattoos if done correctly would perform their intended roles, but if done incorrectly, then attract unwanted attention.  So many have Dog Latin (which is defined here) permanently embedded on their skins.”

I came across one site that actually sells a translating service (not a bad idea for Latin majors) here. Regardless of the rhyme or reason, Latin is seeing a resurgence through the skin of the 21st century individuals. However, if the Latin is poor or even poorly constructed then is it true Latin? As the famous quote goes:

  “Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur.” —”Whatever is said in Latin seems profound.”

Valete Omnes