Category: Ancient Rome
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Actaeon
Praise for Tales from Ovid: ‘A breathtaking book…To compare his versions with the Latin is to be awestruck again and again by the range and ingenuity of his poetic intelligence…He rescues the old gods and goddesses from the classical dictionaries and gives them back their terror. There should be a copy of his book in…
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A Happy Roman New Year
The Romans celebrated the New Year as a time of new beginnings and fresh starts, and New Year celebrations in ancient Rome were full of symbolism and held huge significance. Janus, the god who the month of January is named after, was often depicted with one face looking backward and another face looking forward, representing…
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Crossing the Rubicon: Caesar’s bold move
The Roman-built stone bridge over the Rubicon marking the spot where Caesar’s troops allegedly crossed in the small hours of 10th January 49 BC © Carole Raddato. The Rubicon is a small river, or stream in northeastern Italy which flowed into the Adriatic Sea, and marked the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul and…
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Who was Julius Caesar?
In his The Life of Julius Caesar, par. 45-53 (translated by J.C. Rolfe), the ancient Roman historian Suetonius describes the appearance of Gaius Julius Caesar as follows: “They say he was tall, fair-skinned, well-built, with a full face, black and lively eyes. He was distinguished by excellent health: only towards the end of his life…