Ovid

Ovid, author of Heroides, Ars Amortia, and Amores, was born on March 20 43 B.C. Not much is known about his life other than what one can draw from his poetry because he wrote more about his own life than many of the other poets did. His father wanted him to become a lawyer but after he sent his son to Greece to study philosophy Ovid fell in love with writing poetry. He married three times and divorced twice by the time he was 30 and had only a daughter. His last wife was part of the influential gens Sulpicia and would help him during his exile in Tomis.He was exiled to Tomis in 8A.D. as a result of him writing a poem about Augustus daughter being somewhat of a promiscuous girl.

Charon

Charon was the ferryman of the dead. The souls of the dead are brought to him by Hermes, and Charon ferries them across the Acheron River. He only accepts the dead which are buried or burned with the proper rights, and if they pay him an obolus (coin) for their passage. For that reason a corpse had always an obolus placed under the tongue. Those who cannot afford the passage are left to wander on the bank of the River Styx for centuries.

Achilles

Achilles was the son of the mortal Peleus and the Nereid Thetis. He was the mightiest of the Greeks who fought in the Trojan War, and was the hero of Homer's Iliad. When he was a boy it was prophesized that the city of Troy could not be taken without his help, so his mother dunked him into the River Styx so that he could be not be killed. Unfortunately after his friend was killed by Hector while he was in Achilles armor, Achilles was shot in his heel by an arrow and died because this is the area of his body that was left untouched by the Styx River.

Acilles

Poem

Heimekleos convenit de longe parte de Greenland et
fuisse nuper omnis de venator in Polaris

Pompeii Street Level View

Google Earth allows one to tour Ancient Rome without ever leaving the house. Google Earth's new street view option gives viewers the option to tour Pompeii with a 360 degree, panoramic view of the ruins of Pompeii. Not only can you take a street level tour of Pompeii, but with a few clicks you can move yourself to the Pyramids of Giza and the Acropolis at Greece. This will surely revolutionize the way tourists can see the world.

Pompeii from Street Level

Hadrian's Wall Relit

The wall that was once built to separate the uncivilized from the civilized, and became shambles within centuries after the Roman's civilization collapsed. Recently volunteers, about 500 in number, lit up Hadrian's wall from end to end during Britain's Tourism Week. They started at the ancient Roman fort of Segedunum all the way to Bowness-on-Solway.

Hadrian's Wall

The River Styx

The Styx River was the river that separated the living and the dead. The Styx winds around Hades nine times, and it came from the Greek word sutgein meaning hate. The Greeks revered it so much that they took oaths by mentioning its name, and that Charon would ferry the dead into the underworld.

Styx

Google Pulling out of China?

As Google begins to uncensor its the web in China through its Hong Kong base, and has been met with resistance from the Chinese government. The government had repeatedly hacked the browsing giant to try and find the emails of radical groups inside the country. Once Google found out they soon mobilized against the world's largest country, threatening to pull out. And it seems inevitable that they soon will as the country's and browsing giants relations have quickly deteriorated. Only time will tell in this historic confrontation.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/03/as-google-pulls-out-of-china-will-others-follow/37491/

Roman Timeline

Using Video Games for Education

As of late video games have become an aide in the educational field. Some of the latest Real Time Strategy games such as Sid Miers: Civilization games, the Total War series and even some First Person Shooter Games such as the Call of Duty Franchise and the Brothers in Arms series have created a way for people to learn the subject material through a first person experience on the computer or flat screen. For example the first Brothers in Arms game was researched so well that if one was to play the game enough to the point where they memorized the layout of the towns in which the person played they could become a tour guide there. The Total War series has teamed up with the History Channel in their most recent games, making the units the same in detail all the way down to the color of the feather in their hats. Not only does it represent units correctly but the campaigns have events that happened each half year in the country that you are playing as, along with the campaigns being historically accurate except for the part when you can change history by expanding your empire to its greatest heights. So the real question is when will teachers start assigning video games instead of homework?

St. Patrick

Born In Kilpatrick, near Bumbarton in 387 and died Downpatrick, Ireland on March 17 461 he has become one of the most favorite saints among Christian's everywhere. He is one of three saints (St. Nicholas and St. Valentine being the others) that has a day celebrated in their name. His parents were Romans who lived and were in charge of the Britain colonies. At age 14, St. Patrick was captured in a raid and made to tend sheep once taken and enslaved in Ireland for about 6 years until he went to the coast, found some sailors, sailed to Britain, and reunited with his family. He then studied under Saint Germanus for the Priesthood, and once he was ordained he went once again back to Ireland. Once he was on the shores of Ireland, a chieftain of one of the tribes tried to kill him but Saint Patrick made his sword arm immobile until the chieftain agreed to not kill him. He converted thousands and built churches everywhere. He also used the Shamrock to represent the trinity.

Saint Patrick @ Catholic.org

Why Violence is Acceptable

I think that people are more concerned over language than violence because it has been ingrained in us since the beginning of time. Violence has been celebrated as the solution to the survival of the fittest for as long as man can remember, and put in the perspective of Romance to Heroism as a result. Language on the other hand is something that people can control and is looked at upon by the higher ranking citizens as something that a vulgar low class citizen would use. Even great warriors and generals, who refined violence to its finest abilities, were/are regarded as top citizens and were even leaders of some of the greatest civilizations to ever exist. These generals were revered whereas those who used foul language were often cast aside as street rats, not worthy of the upper class. A foul mouthed general could make it up the society ladder, but more often than not they would often be ousted or passed over for a more clean mouthed leader. Perhaps the greatest example of mass celebration of violence, though, is the Roman Coliseum and a variety of today's top ranking sports such as football, rugby, and hockey. Even in today's society the saying "He's all talk and no action," brings a negative connotation to the person who it is directed out, even though the person is using foul language over actually physically hurting someone. If one really stops to think about the values of our society compared to those of almost any religion, we are the most hypocritical people on the planet.

PartXLI-Catullus64

Summary: CAtullus writes that many sinful things have happened such as a mother offering her son sex, or that a father cannot have a funeral for his son, but perhaps the most henious sin of all is that their love can never exist and the marriage cannot happen.

PartXL-Catullus64

Dionysus- Dionysus was the god of wine, agriculture, and fertility of nature, who is also the patron god of the Greek stage.The Roman version was the god Bacchus.

Delphi- The Oracle which many prominent figures such as Alexander the Great would come to consult about their future.


Triton River-


Summary: Catullus writes that this was the first time that the earth had experienced a greedy crime by Theseus misdoing in Crete, but would not be the first misdoing of love i nthe future of generations. Most would end in bloodshed.

PartXXXIX-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus writes that she must run o nthe threads of life that the Moirai have woven for her. On this path on which she runs she will find truth and happiness for the gods are on her side.

PartXXXVIII-Catullus64

Janus- Janus was the Roman god of gates and doors as well as beginnings and ends. He is always depicted as having two faces, one facing one way and the other in the other direction.

Summary: Catullus writes that she should run and be reunited with her love just as he hopes Peleus and Thetis will be bonded in happy marriage for eternity.

PartXXXVII-Catullus64

King Priam- Priam was the Kin of Troy for ten years and during the Trojan War. It was his fate that he should ruin his country, his family, and himself.

Polyxena- Polyxena was the youngest daughter of Priam and Hecuba. During Hector's burial, Achilles spotted her and immediately fell in love with her. She was ultimately the reason that Achilles died because she was the bait for the trap in which Achilles ended up dying.

Summary: Catullus must like the idea of running, because he has used it quite a lot. In this instance he says that she should run like Achilles should have instead of walking into the trap that was laid before him with Polyxena as the bait. Love was his downfall.

PartXXXVI-Catullus64

Dardanelles-

Scamander River-

Summary: Catullus yet again expands upon the idea that she should run, like the citizens should have ran from Achilles and how she should seperate the rivers of life to explore virtue.

PartXXXV-Catullus64

Phrygian Fields-

Teucrian- The citizens of Troy, which was made famous by Homer's epic the Illiad.

Pelops- Pelops was the son of Tantalus and the grandson of Zeus. When he was just a boy his father cut him up, put him in a stew and then served him as a feast to hte gods. The gods detected the trick, though, and restored Pelops to life. Though, his shoulder had been eaten by Demeter they just replaced it with ivory. He became even more beautiful than before his restoration adn Poseidon, who fell in love with him, gave him his own chariot.

Summary: Catullus continues to expand upon the idea that this woman should run just as the citizens of Troy should have before their city was destroyed, and just as Achilles should have done to not be killed.

PartXXXIV-Catullus64

Summary: The Moirai continue to tell her to run because her love will turn out to be as tragic as Peleus and Thetis wedding or as tragic as Achilles death in the Trojan War.

PartXXXIII-Catullus64

Emathia- The earliest poetic name for Macedonia.


Achilles- The Greek hero of the Trojan War. The son of Peleus, king of Thessaly, and the sea-goddess Thetis. He was dipped into the river Styx and the only part left untouched by the immortal effect was his Achilles tendon, which is where he got shot with an arrow and died.

Summary: Then Catullus writes that the Moirai told Peleus to run far away to get away from Crete and that she will be rewarded and somehow made up for what treachery was committed against her.

PartXXXII-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus is describing one of the Moirai who is decided the fate of man particularly Theseus and his lover on the shore of Crete. The woman is also threading the wool to make something.

PartXXXI-Catullus64

Apollo- The son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. Apollo was the god of music, prophecy, colonization, medicine, archery, poetry, dance, intellectual inquiry, the carer of herds and flocks, the god of light (known as "Phoebus"), the god of plague, the destroyer of rats and locust, and in Homer's Iliad, Apollo shot arrows of plague into the Greek camp.

Mount Idrus-

Moirai- The three Fates, they were the destiny of man. they were assigned to every person for his or her share in the scheme of things. The three were Klotho, Atropos, and Lachesis. They were often lame to show the slow march of fate.

Summary: Catullus writes that the gods sit at the judgment table and eat while the Moirai do their earthly biddings of earth to decide the fate of man.

PartXXX-Catullus64

Phaethon- The son of the Sun God, he asked his mother proof of his divine heritage and was sent to the courts where he was to ask his father to grant his favor. He drove the chariot and lost control, and was destroyed by Jupiter so that Earth would not combust into flames.

Prometheus- One of the seven Titans, he was the wisest among his race and gave humans arts and sciences. also when Jupiter first withheld fire, Prometheus stole it from the chariot of the Sun. Jupiter had Prometheus chained to the frozen rock in the Caucasus Mountains where a vulture tore at his liver night and day for eternity.

Summary: The gifts are laid out and someone is coming with the revenge of Prometheus in them to take their revenge on the person who caused them discord.

PartXXVIX-Catullus64

Penios-

Doric (ethnicity)- The Dorians were an ancient Greek tribe who lived in the North-Eastern part of the Greek Peninsula. They were then driven to the coast of Asia Minor by the Macedonians and Aegians.

Summary: Catullus writes that he is then sent into the pleasant valley of Penios which is abundant with plant life and Doric dancers and it seems like the placed were touched by king Minos himself.

PartXXVIII-Catullus64

Chiron- Chiron is the civilized Centaur who trained several famous disciples, being known for his wisdom and justice. Chiron, who was not a drunkard like other Centaurs, never used his weapons against a man. His home is Mount Pelion.

Mount Peleus-

Summary: The goddess of Dawn then brings the soft wind which then turns into a harder wind to try and bring down Theseus. Then Chiron brings down gifts from Mount Pelion.

PartXXVII-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus says that others were making sounds such as beating brass drums and were clasping the bedspread and were making their way for the gods who were to come after them.

PartXXVI-Catullus64

Bacchus- The Roman god of Wine, and was the Roman version of the Greek god Dionysus. He was the son of Jupiter and carries a wand tipped with a pine cone. The Maenads and Satyrs followed him carrying ivy-twined fir branches as thyrsi.

Satyrs- In Greek mythology the Satyrs are deities of the woods and mountains. They were demi-gods with the legs, hooves, and horns of goats and attended on the god Bacchus.

Mount Nysa-

Maenads- The female followers of Bacchus.

Summary: Catullus says that Bacchus and his followers were greatly upset by this happening and that they were shaking their spears in anger over what had happened to Theseus.

PartXXV-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus then said that despite these earlier promises, Theseus boat began to get rocked by the wind and waves. His father began to weep as he watched form the walls of the Citadel of Athens, and then Theseus died and Phaedra began to weep at his death.

PartXXIV-Catullus

Erectheus- The King of Athens, he was a benevolent ruler and the re-founder of the polis. Athenians thought themselves sons and daughter of Erectheus because of his huge impact on the Athenian society.

Summary: Catullus says that Athena has promised to Aegus to protect his son Theseus and to help him kill the Minotaur. And he will also be safely guided to home where he will be happily greeted by his father Aegus.

PartXXIII-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus says that Aegus is not happy to let Theseus go because he is getting old and he wants to spend what time he has left with his son in safety, and he also just doesn't want to see his son in danger.

PartXXII-Catullus64

Aegeus- The father of Theseus, King of Athens, saved him from the poisoned death by Madea because he recognized his sword that he had hidden under the rock. The Aegean Sea was also named after him.

Summary: Catullus says that Theseus had forgotten to tell his father Aegus that he had a safe journey, and told Theseus to return to him safely.

PartXXI-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus writes that she is angry and hates Theseus from the depths of her heart and hopes that something equally bad will happen to him because he assisted in the murder. After she said this the earth and seas began to shake.

PartXX-Catullus64

The Furies- In Greek mythology, the Erinýes, they were female deities of vengeance and chaos representing the anger of the dead. They often haunt their prey, who are the people that committed or assisted in some sort of murder, and either drive them into a craze to kill themselves or kill them themselves.

Summary: Catullus then says that she knows she will get a visit from the furies because of her assistance in the murder of her brother of the minotaur, and she invites them to come because she wants to end her life.

PartXIX-Catullus64

Mount Ida-

Summary- Catullus investigates whether or not she should be more upset over the fact that she helped kill her brother or be upset that she helped the man that just left her and was the love of her life.

PartXVII-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus continues to talk about how she wishes Theseus' boat had not touched the shores of Crete and destroyed her life. She says that him leaving just mocks her.

PartXVI-Catullus64

Syrtis- Quicksands and shoal water off the coast of North Africa.

Scylla- The daughter of Phorcys she was remarkable because of her beauty. Circe changed her into the Render and she seized sailors and cracked their bones before slowly swallowing them.

Charybdis- The whirlpool between Italy and Sicily in the Messenian straits. She was the daughter of Mother Earth and Neptune.

Summary: Catullus then continues to talk about how she can't believe she fell for him and asks what force of nature spat him up and let such a man walk the earth and let him do this to her.

PartXV-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus talks about her anger again and how men are not afraid to break an oath with a woman. She never failed him when she helped him kill her brother, but now he fails her by leaving her on the island of Crete.

PartXIV-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus again explains Phaedra's outrage at Theseus because he left even though he promised to be with her forever. She now does not have his sweet voice and she cannot trust a man again.

PartXIII-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus describes how Phaedra is very upset with the way Theseus left her with nothing, but her love for him. She yells at him for leaving because he did it for the will of the gods.

PartXII-Catullus64

Phaedra&Pasiphae- Phaedra was the daughter of Minos and the wife of Theseus, but she soon fell in love with Hippolyta. Pasiphae was daughter of Helios and Perse, and wife of King Minos. She was the mother of Glaucus, Andogeus, Phaedra, and Ariadne. When Minos insulted Poseidon, the god started a passionate love in Pasiphae for a bull. She had Daedalus design a construction so that she could mate with the bull, therfore she became the mother of the Minotaur.

Summary: Catullus talks about how Phaedra embraces Pasiphae one last time because of her love with Theseus. And then he talks about how Theseus left her at the shores breaking her heart.

PartXI-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus then describes how Theseus killed the Minotaur and how it threw its horns into the air taking its last breaths.

PartX-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus talks about how Cupid mixes with people's feelings and plays with their emotions for fun. He then talks about how Adriane misses him because she misses the feeling she gets when he would fight the Minotaur for her so she put her prayers up to the gods for him.

PartVIIII-Catullus64

Androgeos- The son of Minos (king of Crete), and was murdered by Aegeus in Greece because of his great success at the Panathenaic Games.

The Minotaur- The Minotaur was the half-bull half-man born of the union of Pasiphae, Minos’s wife, with a bull. Theseus destroyed it at the heart of the Labyrinth (built by Daedalus), with help from Ariadne.

Summary: Catullus continues to talk about Adriane's deep passions being drawn up from within her about her love Theseus.

PartVIII-Catullus64

Piraeus- The harbor of Athens that was about three miles in distance from the city. It was and still is one of the largest harbors on the Mediterranean.

Crete- Home of King Minos and his son the Minotaur who lived in the labyrinth. The palace of Knosos was at the center of the island, and dominated the Cretan landscape. The island was south of Greece.

Summary: Catullus explains that when Crete would suffer from disease, famine or any other natural disaster they would take Athenian citizens and feed them to the Minotaur to try and appease the gods.

PartVII-Catullus 64

Summary: Catullus explains how she lets go of her cloak and exposes her breast. She lets go of her cloak and headdress because she cares not for them anymore, but cares only for Theseus who left her in the first place.

PartVI-Catullus64

Summary: Catullus then describes how Adriane watched Theseus leave her on the shore and she is saddened by what she sees. She watches him leave like the statue of Maenad, because she is still.

ParV-Catullus

Theseus&Adriane- Theseus was the King of Athens, and was almost killed by Medea by way of poison but was stopped because Aegus recognized his son by his sword. He also killed the Cretan Minotaur. Adriane was the sister of the Minotaur and she helped Theseus on Crete to kill the Minotaur. She was abandoned eventually by Theseus.

Summary: He then talks about all the gifts that Peleus has in his room from the wedding and compares it to Adriane being abandoned at the Shores of Crete by Theseus.

PartIV-Catullus64

Cieros&Phthiotic Tempe-Cieros is a town in Thessaly. Phthiotic Tempe was the beautiful valley in Thessaly, between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa through which the River.

Crannon&Larissa- Crannon was a central town in Thessaly, and a battle here ended a rebellion in Greece. Larissa is a town in Thessaly on the River.

Pharsalus- The Battle of Pharsalus was the battle in Pharsalus, Greece in which Julius Caesar obliterated Pompey's forces.

Summary: Then he says that no food was growing from the plowed fields of Pharsalus.

Part III- Catullus64

Thessaly-

Tethys&Alcinous- Tethys was a titaness and an aquatic sea goddess. She was the sister and wife of Oceanus and the mother of chief rivers. Alcinous was the queen of Deprane where Jason was warmly received during the chase of the Colchians.

Summary: Catullus asks Peleus if he deserves Thetis by asking if he embraced her, if Jupiter would let him marry her or if Oceanus would embrace him. Then he says that all of Thessaly is coming to see their wedding.

Part II- Catullus64

Nereids- The fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris who lived in the Mediterranean Sea. They helped sailors through rough storms and were also believed to prophesize. They were also a part of Poseidon's retinue.

Peleus&Thetis- Thetis was a nymph who captured Zeus attention because of her beauty. He couldn't have a child with her though because it was foretold that the son would grow so powerful that he would be able to overthrow Zues, much like Zues did with his father Cronos. So he made Thetis marry a mortal, Peleus grandson of Zeus, instead so that Zeus could not be overthrown. Their wedding brought on the Trojan War.

Summary: Catullus then talks about the Argonauts ships first voyage and how the Nereids were encountered on their voyage. It then jumps to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis for the beginning of the Trojan War.

What I Did Over Winter Break

Part 1- Catullus 64

Mount Pelion-

Neptune- Neptune was god of the sea and was akin to the Greek god Poseidon but not exactly identical. He originally comthe directions of es from the Etruscan god Nethuns, but it wasn't until he was dedicated a book by Sibylline that the name came up. Neptune was associated as well with fresh water, as opposed to Oceanus, god of the world-ocean. Like Poseidon, Neptune was also worshiped by the Romans as a god of horses, under the name Neptune Equester, patron of horse-racing.

Phasis- The City of Colchis, at the mouth of the river Rion along the shore of the Black Sea. It was the capital of the kingdom of Æetes, who was a son of Helios and a brother of Circe.

Argives- A term referring to a person who lives in the city of Argos, Greece. In the writings of Homer it refers to the soldiers who besieged Troy.

Golden Fleece- The treasure sought by Jason and the Argonauts, it came from Nephele who sent a golden ram instead of Phrixus having to be sacrificed to appease Ion. Phrixus and Helle were then transported by the flying ram to safety, but Helle fell off and landed at Hellespontand Phrixus landed safely at Colchis , married the daughter of King Aeetes, sacrificed the ram to Zeus and gave its fleece to the King.

Athena Polias- The defender of Athens, this variant of Athena was specially created by the Athenians and they viewed her as their protector. She was the goddess of warfare but also, when combined with Pallas, carried a martial status as well.

Argonauts- A band of heroes before the Trojan War and accompanied Jason to Colchis. Their name comes from the name of their ship, Argos, which was named after its builder, Argus. There were 49 of them in all and are depicted in Homer's epics.

Summary: The Argonauts are embarking on their journey to retrieve the golden fleece from Colchis in their boat the Argus and are being watched over by the goddess Athena.