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A publication of the American Philological Association Vol. 3 • Issue 1 • spring 2004

PATRIARCHY AND Book Review: Livia: First PIETAS Lady of Imperial Rome IN THE STAR WARS TRILOGY by Elaine Fantham by Margaret Malamud Anthony A. Barrett. Livia: First Lady of deeply embedded historical myth phy. Permutations of the myth appear Imperial Rome. Yale University Press (1- Alies at the heart of Western views as explanatory devices for decline in a 800-405-1619), 2002. Pp. xviii, 425. 29 of ancient Rome. In its simplest number of post-Roman historical narra- illustrations. Hardcover $45.00. ISBN 0- form it is this: once upon a time there tives, notably in American nostalgic evo- 300-09196-6. Paperback $20.00. ISBN 0- was a virtuous Republic of citizen-farm- cations of its own Republic and its sub- 300-10298-4. ers who embodied pietas, a term that sequent fall from earlier virtues and val- encompasses respect for the patriarchal ues. For the American Founding family, selfless devotion to the laws and Fathers, the Roman Republic had s Rome’s first emperor Augustus lay traditions of the civic order, and rever- served as an exemplary political model Adying, he kissed his wife and said ence for the gods who watched over the for the young nation, and it was invoked “Livia, remember our marriage while you affairs of the family and the Republic. in art, architecture, and political oratory live, and fare well!” At this point (so Sueto- Simplicity, sobriety, frugality, and forti- to help articulate and legitimate Ameri- nius, Augustus 99 tells us), he had dis- tude were all characteristics of the good ca’s identity. Republican Rome offered missed his friends, leaving only Livia to citizens of the Republic. Republican a political ideal, but imperial Rome, the virtues and military prowess enabled Rome of the Caesars, was more prob- share his last moments. They had been conquest, and soon the Republic lematic for, according to the common married for more than fifty years, present- acquired an empire. The acquisition of view, wealth and imperial expansion ing a model union to the public eye. Even wealth and imperial power brought in brought in their wake political and when their busy schedules prevented them its wake corruption, decadence, and a moral corruption. This was the analysis from meeting, Augustus consulted his wife loss of the qualities that had made the Roman historians and their modern suc- in writing over family problems, and some Republic great. Materialism, avarice, cessors had offered for Rome’s decline; and a lust for power undermined the would it be true for America as well? of their letters survive in Suetonius’ imperial fabric of the Republic; corrupt and Americans have identified with both biographies for us to read. Augustus depraved rulers and their imperial Republican and Imperial Rome at dif- continued on page 3 guards dominated a cowed senate; and a ferent moments in their history, and the degenerate citizenry ceased to observe rise and fall of Rome has offered models and respect the old customs and tradi- to emulate and avoid. tions and spent much of its time enjoy- George Lucas’ enormously successful ing spectacles of violence and cruelty in science fiction trilogy Star Wars (1977), the arenas. The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and The The roots of this narrative of a slide Return of the Jedi (1983) gives cinematic from Republican virtue into imperial form to the paradigmatic and powerful corruption are in the works of Roman myth of a virtuous Republic under- historians, especially Livy, Sallust, and mined by a corrupt empire. It is Tacitus, and it has become a standard continued on page 2 commonplace in Western historiogra-

Drugs for an emperor...... 4 Film Review: “Gladiator”...... 12 Book Review: “murder at the Notable Web Site: “Greek panionic games”...... 6 Mythology Link” ...... 13 Tween Good and Evil: Greece, “I, Clodia” – A Play for Rome, and Harry Potter ...... 7 latin lovers ...... 14 Novel Approaches to the Book Review: “Gardens of Fig. 1. Head of Livia. Ny Carlsberg Classics: Part II ...... 8 Pompeii”...... 15 Glyptothek, Copenhagen. Photo © Maicar Book Review: “Cicero”...... 9 Video Review: “The Storyteller: Förlag – GML (Greek Mythology Link, Greek Myths”...... 18 What’s New In alexander

Inside http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/ Studies ...... 10 Guidelines for GML/). Printed with the permission of contributors ...... 20 Carlos Parada. Patriarchy and PIETAS in the STAR WARS Trilogy continued from page 1 unlikely that Lucas had read Roman In Lucas’ story the duty of historians or later reconstructions and restoring the Republic fell uses of their works, and it is apparent to a small band of “free- that he also made use of other motifs dom fighters” led by Luke and archetypes in his films, notably Skywalker, a young man of those described in the work of the humble agrarian origins. mythologist Joseph Campbell. I con- At the beginning of Star tend, however, that the trilogy’s narra- Wars, Luke is an adoles- tive structure and some of its key cent who feels trapped in themes derive from the myth of the rise the rural society of Tatooine, his home Fig. 2. Darth Vader beckons Luke to join and fall of Rome, a myth so pervasive in planet; he is pining for adventure. Luke the dark side. Star Wars: Episode V – American (and European) culture that is called upon to rescue a princess, Leia, The Empire Strikes Back (Lucasfilms Ltd., direct knowledge of its origins is not and help her and a federation of rebel 1980). necessary for its employment. Lucas loyalists restore the Republic. The trilo- had absorbed this explanatory paradigm, gy traces Luke’s personal transforma- mation of Vader back to father. The son and he used it to imaginatively structure tion from an impetuous, untried youth redeems the father, and Luke and his futuristic films. to a pious, restrained warrior-priest; and Anakin Skywalker are reconciled just Lucas’ trilogy boldly transposes the his maturation enables the overthrow of before the death of the father. The ideological conflict between a virtuous the evil empire and a return to the virtu- empire falls and the Republic is Republic and a decadent Empire to the ous Republic. restored; the connection between the context of science fiction. The prologue In a 1995 interview, Lucas stated that maintenance of proper family (father- to Star Wars reads like a lament Livy the focal point of his series was Luke’s son) bonds and a return to a more virtu- could have written: “The Old Republic quest to redeem his fallen father. ous form of government is inescapable. was the Republic of legend . . . . Once, Unknown to Luke, his father, Anakin Filial loyalty and a devotion to the under the wise rule of the senate and Skywalker, had succumbed to corrup- Republic are interconnected, and patri- the protection of the Jedi knights, the tion (or the dark side of the Force) and archy and pietas are conflated in a very Republic throve and grew. But as often had become Darth Vader (“dark father”), Roman manner. Many ancient Romans happens when wealth and power pass the chief villain of the films (see Fig. 2). would have agreed with Lucas’ message beyond the admirable and attain the Vader serves as the evil Emperor Palpa- that the right relationship between awesome, then appear those evil ones tine’s chief lieutenant, and he uses any fathers and sons and between citizens who have greed to match.” The galactic available means to crush the vestiges of and the state is one governed by the conflict revolves around the disintegra- the Old Republic. Before giving in to willingness of the son to subordinate tion of the Old Republic and the corre- the dark side of the Force, Anakin Sky- himself even to death for father and sponding emergence of a corrupt walker had been the star pupil of Obi- country. Self-transformation ensues, and Empire. Like many Roman authors Wan Kenobi, spiritual and physical Luke attains maturity. writing after the collapse of the Roman trainer of Jedi knights. Obi-Wan Kenobi Lucas began work on the script of Republic, Lucas mythologized an Old becomes Luke’s surrogate father and Star Wars in 1972, and his vision and the Republic and critiqued the evils of the trainer; he instills in Luke the spiritual production and release of the films in present imperial era by contrasting values, martial skills, and self-control the late 1970’s and early 1980’s need to them with the vanished virtues of a necessary to complete his quest. When be seen within the context of a resur- bygone age. Luke discovers Vader’s true identity, he gence of conservatism in the United Prior to the present corrupt Galactic redirects much of his energy to redeem- States and the rise of the New Right as Empire, a senate had ruled. The Jedi ing his father. Luke’s quest to restore to a national force. Neo-conservatism was a knights, an aristocratic class of virtuous his father the Republican virtues his backlash against the sweeping changes warrior-priests, guarded its moral, reli- father once possessed as a Jedi knight and traumatic events of the 1960’s and gious, and physical safety. An excess of encapsulates, in a microcosm, his 1970’s and a response to increasing eco- wealth and power eroded the internal attempt to restore the Republic. nomic dislocation: inflation, unemploy- moral fiber of the Republic, and a cor- Luke travels into Lucas’ version of ment, and recession wracked an econo- rupt senator, Palpatine, seized power an underworld to save his father: he my that had once appeared unstop- through the treacherous promise to willingly surrenders himself to Vader, pable. The 1960’s witnessed the Viet- restore the glory of the Republic. Sup- who brings him before Palpatine, who is nam War; the Civil Rights movement; ported by power-hungry elements with- attended by a silent praetorian guard the rise of the feminist movement; in the Old Republic, Palpatine declared garbed in red. Refusing Palpatine’s offer shifts in sexual attitudes and practices; himself emperor and set about consoli- to join him, Luke is forced to fight his the Black Power movement; and the dating his power. In a manner worthy of father. His inability to save himself by assassinations of the Kennedy brothers, the Caesars of Suetonius or Tacitus, killing his father forces his father to kill Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X. In Palpatine eliminated his enemies (the the emperor in order to save his son. the 1970’s, Watergate, the decline of Jedi knights), allowed an imperial The final exchange between father and American imperial power and failure in bureaucratic guard to govern the son proves that it was filial loyalty and Vietnam, inflation, unemployment, and empire, and ushered in a reign of terror. devotion that has wrought the transfor- continued on page 16 2 Book Review: Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome uncle Julius Caesar’s son by testamentary adoption, would first turn his grandsons continued from page 1 Gaius and Lucius into his sons while they claimed publicly that other men should con- Romans of the triumviral years should have were still infants, then finally mark Tiberius trol their wives as he did and allegedly supported Octavian, something neither as his successor by adopting him in A.D. 4. wore homespun togas that she and his morally nor politically obvious in the first But he did not give Tiberius the title of daughter wove for him. People and cities in years after Caesar’s death. Augustus. Now, by this will, Augustus need of help or pardon approached the Even those who resist the whiff of author- made his widow not just his daughter Julia emperor through Livia, and one famous ized royal biography cannot deny the inter- (to replace the daughter he had exiled and episode is recorded in which Livia’s wise est or the scholarship of Barrett’s narrative. disowned in 2 B.C.) but Julia Augusta. and merciful bedside advice prevented him The book’s organization is both original There were no precedents for adopting a from exposing a young nobleman Cornelius and successful, beginning with the sequen- female because no female was expected to Cinna to senatorial condemnation: par- tial narrative of marriage and succession fill either the private or public role of heir. doned and promoted by the emperor, problems (Part I: “The Life of Livia,” which What purpose would such adoption serve? Cinna remained loyal. Livia understood contains five chapters) before separate dis- Barrett follows his report of this bomb- their relationship so well that she condoned cussions of aspects of her personal life (Part shell (73-77) with a full and clear discus- or even provided his sexual diversions. II: “Livian Themes”): her domestic interest sion of its implications in chapter 8. He A model wife, indeed. Perhaps few and her home (ch. 6), her public persona quotes sympathetically the modern view remembered in A.D. 14 that, when the and financial affairs (ch. 9), her role as that Livia’s new title – one which Tiberius republic still enjoyed a half-life, the married patron and intercessor (ch. 10), and her himself would not accept from the senate – Octavian had met the wife of the newly posthumous honors and reputation (ch. 11). gave her a public role: “either she was restored Tiberius Claudius Nero, a former Only chapters 7 (“Wife of the Emperor”) expected to have some sharing in govern- supporter of Sextus Pompeius. Octavian and 8 “Mother of the Emperor” (see below) ing or [she] exploited the opening that wooed her and won her, divorcing his are inevitably concerned with political Augustus’ will inadvertently created” (153). bride Scribonia the day after the birth of power. But Augustus did not do things inadvertent- their (female) child, and marrying the beau- Barrett has set a model for future biogra- ly, and Livia may herself have suggested to tiful Livia (see Fig. 1) within the month, phies of Roman dynastic figures by prefac- him this unprecedented title, which she cer- three days after the birth of her second son ing his many short appendices on specific tainly deployed, as she did the equally Drusus. Barrett, already author of successful problems of place and time with a cata- unprecedented role as priestess of the dei- biographies of Livia’s grandchildren, logue of textual and material evidence, cit- fied Augustus bestowed on her by the sen- Caligula (1990), and Agrippina the ing and translating inscriptions, papyri, ate. As Barrett points out, the senate seems younger (1996), explores the disputed and coins, as well as listing gems and statu- to have shared Livia’s understanding that chronology of this scandal in one of his ary. For teachers and students writing on she was meant to be in some sense co-ruler useful appendices and seems to have estab- this all-important period or on the imperial with her son. She gave formal receptions to lished that Octavian could not have met cult, for example, the appendix will prove the senators and wrote and received offi- Livia early enough to father her second son. both indispensable and easy to consult. cial letters jointly with Tiberius; the senate Barrett is surely right that most of us now Livia survived her husband by fifteen in turn offered her titles and honors, even have an image of Rome’s first first-lady pre- years, but these years as mother of his suc- the tactless proposal to add “son of Julia formed by Sian Phillips’ wily portrayal in cessor, the prickly Tiberius, offer an unhap- Augusta” to Tiberius’ titulature. As biogra- BBC TV’s 1976 production I, Claudius. py contrast. We do not have to swallow the pher of Nero’s mother Agrippina, Barrett is (Her portrayal of Livia resonates still today, gossip that accused her of poisoning alert to the likelihood that some of these since, apparently, Tony Soprano’s mother Augustus’ chosen successor Marcellus or details have been retrojected from that Livia was named after Sian Phillips’ unfor- scheming against her stepdaughter Julia dreadful mother of a monstrous son to the gettable matriarch). He is right, too, to aim and Julia’s male and female children to rec- more sober Livia and Tiberius. to counteract Tacitus’ technique of innuen- ognize that Livia gave every support to the Old age often brings troubles, not just of do, but then Tacitus himself, like Barrett, career of her firstborn son and that Augus- health (Livia seems to have been unusually was a revisionist, trying to penetrate behind tus, too, once left with no alternative, hearty) but from failure to accept a natural the official Augustan version of those fifty equipped Tiberius with a full share of his loss of authority and the new generation’s years. Barrett’s sympathies seem squarely authority in his last decade. But Augustus need for control. Livia’s undoubted prestige Augustan. Thus, Brutus and Cassius are seems to have mistrusted Tiberius even as and patronal influence in Rome, the grati- “assassins” (11, 15), Sextus Pompeius a Tiberius mistrusted both himself and others, tude of the senate, and the honors and wor- “renegade” (15), and Tiberius Nero a loser and he demonstrated this by the extraordi- ship lavished on her by the cities and who deserved to lose Livia (“a worthy fail- nary decision to adopt Livia in his will as provinces of the East cannot have compen- ure,”16). Scribonia, at least, is exonerated his daughter and co-heir with her son. sated for estrangement from her only from her ex-husband’s charge of bad tem- Romans took adoption very seriously, surviving son, who is said to have left Rome per (20). But Barrett writes as though and Augustus, who had become his great- continued on page 5 3 cant – the “size of an Egyptian bean” – DRUGS FOR AN EMPEROR indicating that the emperor was not by John Scarborough addicted to the poppy, which was only one of the sixty ingredients in the theri- ac. In setting down his account, Galen wakening at dawn, Galen the lettuce (see Fig. 3). Also significant was makes sure his readers will understand Acourt physician had his usual light the clarity of the rose oil, a warm aroma that Marcus preferred not the opium- breakfast of crusty three-day-old assuring Galen the fifty-eight other containing theriac of Andromachus but bread dipped in olive oil, washed down ingredients were completely mingled to rather the reliably uncomplicated four- with a cup of cheap and diluted wine. produce in Marcus a sense of well- ingredient theriac of Heras, to be taken Soon he was gathering ingredients from being, comparable to that produced by a in wine and olive oil, with the daily his limewood drug boxes, tins of silver, modern antidepressant. Large quanti- preparation also in the form of lozenges and glass flasks in the first stages of ties of clarified honey would be avail- melted and then dissolved in the wine preparation of a daily potion, shortly to able to the emperor throughout the day, and oil. This theriac was made up of be imbibed by Marcus Aurelius, emper- ensuring that component number six rue, aristolochia, bitter vetch, and bitu- or in the years A.D. 161-80. (opium) acted as a mild tranquilizer, men. Rue was widely known for its The coming day just might include occasionally adjusted to maintain the stimulant effects, and the highest grade some of those interminable embassies emperor’s famous cognitive acuity. of aristolochia was repeatedly prescribed from the East, orientals singing adula- as a tonic and stomach-calmer. The bit- tion, and with stentorian verses, demon- ter vetch was nourishing and produced strating their eternal loyalty to the ruler moderate heat (so important in Galen’s of the world. Galen’s trusted assistants, concepts of digestion), and combined slaves and freedmen trained in the best Marcus Aurelius with rue and aristolochia, thickened Hippocratic and Aristotelian medical needed cool detachment, with the finest Dead Sea bitumen and logic, as well as safe surgeries and the augmented with honey, this theriac was multitudinous actions of simple and all the while displaying a neither narcotic nor dangerous. Only on compound drugs, stood by their master, mental energy befitting his those days requiring long hours and waiting and watching for instructions in intellectual prowess. careful responses did Marcus use the helping to assemble the emperor’s drug, theriac of Andromachus. or for any other tasks deemed useful to Critical, of course, were the grades of the great Pergamene doctor, so honored simples made into compound medica- by Marcus Aurelius. Today, it seemed ments: each had to be as fresh as possi- appropriate to send a slave to inquire Andromachus’ theriac was one of a ble or fashioned into a form that could about the emperor’s appointments, number of these “protective drugs” that be stored for longer or shorter periods of audiences, and legal duties, and how Galen had gleaned from earlier records time (modern “shelf-life”), while retain- long these imperial labors might last. If of antidotes, and many of them had the ing beneficial properties (the dynameis of onerous, then Galen would compound name Mithridatium, commemorating Greco-Roman medicine and pharmacol- some fresh parts of a powerful, sixty- the celebrated acquired immunity ogy). Galen’s multilayered medical ingredient theriac (a protective or “pro- gained by Mithridates VI of Pontus expertise incorporated the varied tech- phylactic” drug) invented a century (120-63 B.C.), who thereby could not nologies of preparing drugs, an accom- before by Andromachus, a physician in commit suicide with poisons but had to plishment attained only after many the court of the emperor Nero. be slain by an attendant running him years of study and inquiries into how The slave returned with a long list of through with a sword. Some of these wine was produced, how oils of olive greetings, salutations, and conferences theriacs had proved dangerous in the and sesame and linseed became useful that required Marcus’ careful attention, hands of inexperienced physicians. in cooking and pharmaceuticals, and perhaps cases at law that would dictate Dioscorides of Anazarbus (fl. ca. A.D. why mineral-drugs (such as the bitu- publication of decreta principium or edicta 70) had warned of the death-dealing men) had to be procured from the sites imperatorum in keeping with the Roman qualities of the opium poppy latex, and of best quality, often mines yielding emperor’s role as chief lawgiver in the as a very learned philosopher-physician, natural ores of gold, silver, copper, iron, Empire. Tedious details, but essential. Galen knew quite accurately how raw lead, and zinc. They also incorporated Marcus Aurelius needed cool detach- opium could be used for murder and inquiries into the many “earths” fre- ment, all the while displaying a mental suicide. Yet Galen was well aware that quently used as antidotes (modern energy befitting his intellectual sometimes Marcus suffered from insom- kaolin – thus the trade name Kaopectate prowess. Thus with the slave’s list in nia, even though he became exhausted – was Samian Earth, a natural com- hand, Galen and his assistants began to by the late afternoon, so physician and pound of silica and alumina, often put together the sixty substances of royal patient often employed greater occurring as pure white, satiny crystals, Andromachus’ theriac, carefully noting quantities and proportions of the not to be confused with chalk, formed proportions and weights of each item. Mithridatium of Andromachus, with a from millions of fossil foraminifera). Especially important was the latex (the larger measure of opium in the mixture Galen comments on the poisonous sap or juice) of the opium poppy (here than usual, a proportion of opium that properties of lead and knows of the dan- in pre-prepared sun-dried lozenges), brought blessed rest without the sinister gers of cinnabar (the common ore of previously verified as genuine as con- outcomes recurrent from untutored mercury) and realgar (arsenic monosul- trasted to the common counterfeit latex, administration. fide), the last a favorite of poisoners. He with its adulterants of animal fat, the The daytime dose for Marcus of this knows and explicates the full range of gum of the acacia, and the juice of wild fully mixed theriac was quite insignifi- toxic substances derived from animals 4 Book Review: Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome continued from page 3

to escape her. Even after his mother’s death, Elaine Fantham ([email protected]) Tiberius absented himself from her funeral was born in Liverpool and educated at and cheated her of the senate’s honorific Oxford. She came to the United States with arch. We can only remind ourselves that her husband as a visiting professor at Indi- until she was over seventy Livia contributed ana University (1966-68). After many years in a very real sense to the stability of the teaching at the University of Toronto, she new emerging autocracy, sharing with the returned to the United States as Giger Pro- unsung hero Agrippa the credit for sustain- fessor of Latin at Princeton University (1986- ing a surprisingly vulnerable princeps. 99). She has published commentaries on Is there anything Barrett could or should Seneca’s Troades (1982), Lucan’s Civil have added to his portrait? I missed only War, Book 2, and Ovid’s Fasti, Book 4. more focus on Livia’s role as leader of She is the author of Roman Literary Culture Rome’s elite women and more curiosity from Cicero to Apuleius (1996) and co- about Livia’s responsibility for bringing up author with Helene Foley, Natalie Kampen, the imperial children (and grandchildren?), Sarah Pomeroy, and Alan Shapiro of both at Rome and when she joined Augus- Women in the Classical World: Image and tus on his long provincial tours. Just as Text (1994). This year she is president of Octavia brought up Iullus, Antony’s son by the APA. Fig. 3. The raw opium latex is gathered Fulvia, as well as her own three children by from the capsule (left) after it is slit Marcellus and two daughters by Antony, so ® (ISSN 1542-2380) is published vertically with special “poppy knives,” twice a year by the American Livia brought up not just Tiberius and Philological Association (APA). The APA, founded almost exactly as was done in Roman Drusus, but Octavian’s daughter Julia. In 25 in 1869 by “professors, friends, and patrons of lin- antiquity. Papaver somniferum L. opium guistic science,” is now the principal learned society B.C. Augustus also invited Agrippa (who in North America for the study of ancient Greek and poppy, courtesy of USDA-NRCS PLANTS had a villa of his own on the Campus Mar- Roman languages, literatures, and civilizations. Database / Britton, N. L., and A. Brown. While the majority of its members are university and 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern tius) to share his own residence: did this college classics teachers, members also include scholars in other disciplines, primary and secondary states and Canada. Vol. 2: 137. mean that Livia helped supervise the school teachers, and interested lay people. The APA upbringing of Gaius and Lucius Caesar produces several series of scholarly books and texts (snakes, spiders, scorpions, blister bee- and the journal Transactions of the American Philologi- after their early adoption? Did they and cal Association. An annual meeting is held each Janu- tles, salamanders, insects as a whole, their siblings stay on the Palatine when their ary in conjunction with the Archaeological Institute and many more) and, from his written of America. natural parents were touring the Aegean? All of the APA’s programs are grounded in the sources, understands the very deleteri- rigor and high standards of traditional philology, with ous qualities of botanical poisons, some While recent art-historical studies such the study of ancient Greek and Latin at their core. cultivated for nefarious use, others com- as Elizabeth Bartman’s Portrait of Livia: However, the APA also aims to present a broad view of classical culture and the ancient Mediterranean bined with beneficial drugs to engender Imaging the Imperial Woman in Augustan world to a wide audience. In short, the APA seeks to stimulant effects (aconite, hyoscyamus, Rome (1999) and the treatment of Livia in preserve and transmit the wisdom and values of clas- mushrooms, hemlock, mandrake, this sical culture and to find new meanings appropriate to Susan Wood’s broader Imperial Women: A the complex and uncertain world of the twenty-first last common in Roman times as a reli- century. able anesthetic). Galen commanded the Study in Public Images (1999) or C. B. The APA’s activities serve one or more of these Rose’s Dynastic Commemoration and Imper- overarching goals: technical details, best recorded in Greek • To ensure an adequate number of well- by Dioscorides of Anazarbus, of animal, ial Portraiture in the Julio-Claudian Period trained, inspirational classics teachers at all levels, botanical, and mineral pharmacology, (1997) have been primarily concerned to kindergarten through graduate school; • To give classics scholars and teachers the tools and thereby served Marcus Aurelius reflect Livia’s changing official portraiture, they need to preserve and extend their knowledge of classical civilization and to communicate that knowl- with a decisive knowledge of which (e.g., Barrett, Figs. 12-14), I would choose drugs were beneficial, which were edge as widely as possible; the private Vienna cameo (Barrett, Fig.19) • To develop the necessary infrastructure to somewhat harmful but still salutary if achieve these goals and to make the APA a model for used with care, and which were simply as best symbol of our subject: in it, a seated other societies confronting similar challenges. Livia is contemplating a small bust of her The APA welcomes everyone who shares this poisonous. vision to participate in and support its programs. All Drugs and poisons in the Roman husband, as if she had both made him and APA members receive Amphora automatically as a benefit of membership. Non-members who wish to Empire were easily obtained by all controlled his image! Even if this carries too inhabitants and shoppers in the fora of receive Amphora on a regular basis or who wish fur- far the power we ascribe to her, there is no ther information about the APA may write to The the West or the agorai of the East, American Philological Association at 292 Logan Hall, where the rhizotomoi (semi-professional doubt that Barrett’s double approach to University of Pennsylvania, 249 S. 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6304, or at the e-mail root-cutters) hawked their herbs, seeds, Livia offers a well-rounded and appreciative address: [email protected]. The APA Web fruits and potent roots, and leaves and portrait of a truly indomitable woman. site is at www.apaclassics.org. Members are urged to pass this copy of Amphora stems in known stalls in each market- on to non-members and to request additional copies place. Anyone could purchase anything, of Amphora from the APA office. and Roman literature numbers many continued on page 17 5 Book Review: Murder at the Panionic Games that Tyrestes had a second girlfriend Bilas- sa. Did she learn of his dalliances with by Mary C. English Ossadia and kill him out of jealousy and Michael B. Edwards. Murder at the Panionic inaugurates the Panionia. Excitement anger? Just when matters cannot seem Games. Academy Chicago Publishers mounts and citizens from the other eleven worse, Bias discovers that Tyrestes’ brother (1-800-248-READ), 2002. Pp. 260. cities in the Ionian League begin to arrive Usthius, now the master of the family estate, Hardcover $23.50. ISBN 0-89733-500-7. for the festivities. On the day before the wanted to marry Bias’ own sister Risalla but competitions begin, the unmarried girls of Tyrestes forbade the union. Did Usthius, or lthough classicists devoted (or perhaps Priene lead the athletes to the shrine of worse Risalla, murder Tyrestes to secure the Aaddicted) to detective fiction have Poseidon. When the slayer faces some couple’s happiness? enjoyed several award-winning series set in minor problems with the sacrificial bull, the While Bias is juggling the investigation Republican and Imperial Rome, they have spectators grow nervous and Crystheus of all these leads, a serious accident occurs long awaited an author who can effectively quickens the pace of the ceremony. The city during the chariot race and a second ath- adapt the genre to the political and cultural magistrates hurriedly distribute the libation lete, Habiliates of Miletus, dies. Polearchus, contexts of ancient Greece. In this debut cups to the athletes and the girls pour wine the uncle of this victim, approaches Bias novel, Michael Edwards rivals such for the League’s heroes. Just as Crystheus is and shows him definitive proof that some- “favorites” as Lindsey Davis and Steven about to chant the solemn prayer to Posei- one tampered with Habiliates’ chariot Saylor as he spins a tale of murder and don, Tyrestes, Priene’s best hope for victory before the contest. When Polearchus intimi- intrigue against the backdrop of the Panion- at the games, clutches his chest, falls to the dates the magistrates of Priene with the ic Games of seventh-century archaic ground, and is pronounced dead by threat of an international incident at the Greece. poisoning. closing ceremony, they insist that Bias find Edwards’ protagonist and leading inves- After the crowd disperses and Tyrestes’ the murderer before the games conclude. tigator is Bias, the minor priest at the Tem- family claims his body, the city magistrates As the deadline draws near, Bias’ own life ple of Poseidon Helikonios in the Ionian city – Valato, Euphemius, and Nolarion – along is threatened. Despite personal risk and of Priene where traditionally the celebra- with Crystheus and Bias convene to discuss imminent political upset, Bias sets in motion tions on the opening day of the Panionia the implications of this death. Since Bias his plan to trap the killer. (the primary festival for the twelve member rushed to Tyrestes’ aid and was the last per- In Murder at the Panionic Games, cities of the Ionian League) take place. Bias son to touch the athlete, Crystheus decides Edwards proves himself more than capable comes from an aristocratic line, although that his pollution marks him as the ideal can- of combining the suspense of a well-crafted his family’s farmland suffers from poor loca- didate to investigate the murder. Like many mystery with the rich period detail of con- tion and its coffers are committed to supply- other detectives, Bias can ill afford to be vincing historical fiction. He has chosen an ing dowries for his six sisters. In the weeks implicated in a scandal as he struggles to interesting setting for this new series, and before the games, Bias and the major priest secure a more influential position in his city. the twelve cities of the Ionian League will Crystheus work tirelessly to prepare the He also possesses no real qualifications to certainly provide a wealth of material for shrine for the sacrifice to Poseidon that undertake such a task. Nevertheless, his his subsequent mysteries. Although the plot duties to Poseidon and to the magistrates of of the novel is slightly less intricate than Priene compel him to accept the assignment. those of Davis and Saylor, readers will no Coming in Future Issues Warned by his father to tread with caution doubt grow attached to Edwards’ detective of Amphora and diplomacy, Bias, accompanied by his and eagerly await Bias’ next case. An Matthew Dillon on Mel Gibson’s clever slave Duryattes, sets out to question adept storyteller and a master of suspense, The Passion of the Christ anyone who had access to Tyrestes Edwards can look forward to a long career Sean Richards of Legio IX Hispana moments before his death. in the genre of ancient detective fiction. on Roman army reenactors Before the first day of competition has Sally Grainger on what’s new in ended, the list of suspects becomes alarm- Mary C. English (englishm@mail. classical cookery ingly long. Two of the magistrates have montclair.edu) has a Ph.D. from Boston Uni- Jeanne Reames-Zimmerman on clear motives. Valato has a beautiful versity (1999) and is an Assistant Professor Alexander the Great in film daughter Ossadia whom gossip identifies of Classics and General Humanities at William Murray on Actium as Tyrestes’ lover. Did Valato discover their Montclair State University in New Jersey The Classical Buzz: David Frauen- illicit affair and avenge Ossadia’s honor? and coordinator of her department’s classi- felder on reality shows and gladiatorial Nolarion, once considered Priene’s best cal language programs. She recently combat athlete, is the father of Endemion, Tyrestes’ became editor of The Classical Outlook, the Charles Beye on classical architecture best friend and fellow competitor in the journal of the American Classical League. in Boston games. Did he murder Endemion’s rival so Her own research interests include the com- Jacqueline Long on cats in Rome that his son could uphold family tradition edy of Aristophanes and Latin love elegy. and claim victory at the Panionia? To com- She reviewed Jane Alison’s The Love-Artist plicate the situation further, Bias also learns for issue 2.1 of Amphora. 6 The Classical Buzz

TWEEN GOOD AND EVIL: ful woman turned GREECE, ROME, AND demon who stole or ate HARRY POTTER children. Never- by David W. Frauenfelder theless, Lamia and her kind are necessary creatures who signal to their audience s there a villain in Harry Potter?” demned as Satanic the series’ use of death’s natural fearsomeness. Ghost sto- “II ask a set of literature-loving magic. Though institutionalized religion ries have a right to exist: death is scary tweens (kids aged 8-12), who is absent, the values espoused in the and we need to hear that. have consented to what I hope will be Harry Potter novels follow the tradition- My young interviewees ranged far an instructive Q & A session about the al lines of British Christianity, the and wide to find true villains in ancient popular series of novels by J. K. Rowl- Christianity of heroes from King Arthur story: Hera, Hades, the king who didn’t ing – and their ancient counterparts. to Frodo Baggins. This brand of faith obey the oracle. They did well with the Eight hands shoot up like rockets. allies itself with the life-affirming material available. In a world where, Lydia answers first: “Voldemort!” aspects of paganism and can use things according to the poet Pindar, divine “And what about Greek mythology?” like magic – and mythical creatures like beings dole out one good for every two I continue. “What villains do you know hippogriffs – with confidence in their ills, there will be no absolutely good in Greek mythology?” good, evil-fighting purposes. being – nor evil one. No hands. A silent grinding of mental In the tradition of J. K. Rowling’s Sometimes a character’s anger does cogs. Blank faces. experience, the Evil One, the Satan of resemble that of modern villains, espe- I let the silence run until Will won- Christianity, merges with forces of death cially to those used to American plots ders aloud, “What about that bad king in native British myth, giving birth to and characters. In the Aeneid, for exam- who didn’t do what the oracle said?” opponents like Voldemort, a kind of fall- ple, the goddess Juno (Greek Hera) Kate wants to know what an oracle is. en angel who, according to Harry’s pro- comes close to Voldemort status. Her “Hades is the god of the dead,” Miri- tector Hagrid, “Went . . . bad. As bad as “implacable hatred” of the Trojan rem- am says. “He might be a villain.” you could go. Worse. Worse than worse.” nant led by Aeneas could easily prompt “No, he’s not,” Molly counters. “In Voldemort lives close to the grave and a modern screenwriter to stamp her as Say Cheese, Medusa, he’s not.” yet somehow robs from it (vol de mort, villain. In the opening lines of Aeneid, She is referring to a book in a popular which can mean “theft from death”), she schemes to create a huge storm that Scholastic Press series that sends up always finding a way to prolong his life at will scatter the ships of Aeneas and his Greek myth for the tween crowd. She others’ expense – such as by drinking followers. Juno gnashes her teeth over seems most impressed that Gorgonzola unicorn blood. her inability to destroy the Trojans, jeal- cheese might have been invented by Tolkien’s Sauron, the evil, far-seeing ous that Minerva killed Ajax the son of the Gorgons. eye of this year’s Oscar-winning Lord of Oileus, “impaled on a sharp, rocky crag.” Others consider the question further. the Rings, provides a convenient parallel Juno’s villainous ways continue “Hera does some mean things,” says to Voldemort. But another, closer exam- throughout the poem, but to the Zachary finally. ple to Voldemort may be found in Romans, she can never become a true “There’s no one I know in Greek Lloyd Alexander’s Newbery Award- Voldemort. Juno was a respected goddess mythology,” says his sister Erin, “who winning Prydain Chronicles, where the in Roman religion; she may have at one kills people just for fun.” less-than-fearsome god of the dead in time in history opposed Rome, but no Erin is right. Bestsellers tell us about Welsh myth, Arawn, morphs into an evil more. In the Aeneid, Juno is never defeat- ourselves, and it’s clear our American sorcerer bent on world domination. His ed in a cataclysmic fight to the finish. She story culture values an honest-to-good- army, which includes the “Cauldron accepts a compromise from her husband ness villain, a person so devoid of Born,” soldiers who cannot be killed Jupiter, the guarantor of fate: the Trojans human feeling that he, according to because they are already dead, are ani- will go on to become Romans, but the Erin at least, “kills people for fun.” The mated through Arawn’s magic cauldron. Trojan name will be lost. bestsellers of ancient Greece and Rome These beings are reminiscent of Rowl- And what about Hades? First-time (what we call classics were very often for ing’s Dementors, faceless guards of the readers of the Demeter/Persephone their audience popular culture) took a magical Prison of Azkaban who have the story can certainly take the god of the different view. There, Good and Evil ability to suck the soul out of anyone dead as an enemy: he snatches the did not exist in capital letters. They they encounter (the Dementors, as well frightened Persephone from the mead- always mingled, as they do in real life. as the hippogriff, play a pivotal role in ow where she picks flowers with friends. The change between then and now is the newly-released third Harry Potter Her mother, Demeter, spends many a dramatic, but an awareness of the movie). sad day searching for her child, and all change on young readers’ parts – our In ancient Greece and Rome, this because of that dastardly Hades. kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, stu- alliance of evil and death – and its apoc- Yet for Greeks and Romans, Hades dents – could make an even more dra- alyptic menace – never found a place. and Persephone were always a married matic difference in their lives. To be sure, folk tales could turn spooky, couple, and she possessed considerable Much of Harry Potter’s appeal comes reminding their audience of the power power as queen of the underworld. In from the evil-fighting premise, which is of the dead and those beyond the grave, Aeneas’ poem, our hero had to submit why I was perplexed at the reactions of from furies to ghouls to bogey-men. the Golden Bough to Proserpina some conservative Christians, who con- Lamia, for example, was a once-beauti- continued on page 13 7 NOVEL APPROACHES TO THE CLASSICS: PART II by Thomas Falkner

n a culture obsessed with image and (1984), is a caricature of Stanley Fish, his arrival in Italy and the new life he is Iperception, it is only natural that and Alan Bloom lies just below the sur- undertaking. Where Odysseus’ revital- academics should note the kind of face of Saul Bellow’s Ravelstein (2001). ization begins with the building of the “press” they are getting, and classicists Like his protagonist, Hellenga is an raft, Woody’s begins with the purchase have good reason to do so. Classics has alumnus of the University of Michigan, of a National Steel guitar (we are given often served in the popular imagination teaches classical mythology, and has a an epic ecphrasis, or digression, on the and in the media, particularly during the wife who teaches Latin and three instrument). He resumes his long love “culture wars” of the last decades, as a daughters. In the novel, the Woodhull of the blues, like Odysseus giving voice conservative outpost within the acade- daughters all go off to college – Cookie, to his own suffering; Turi, though less my. This is understandable, given the the eldest, to Harvard; Sara (who serves innocent than Nausicaa, offers a sexual antiquity of the discipline, its traditional intermittently as narrator) to St. Clair; and emotional reawakening. The sec- place at the center of Western educa- and Ludi, the youngest, to Grinnell. ond half draws on materials from the tion, and the conservative values of the The girls recall their father as a great Iliad. Like Achilles, Woody is given Greek and Roman elites that are con- storyteller with a penchant for stories leave to move beyond the past by the spicuous in our core texts. As a disci- about a father and three daughters. The appearance of Cookie in a dream. In a pline, moreover, classics has been more fairy tale analogues end there, however, reprise of the ransom of Hector, Woody cautious than some others to embrace as we learn at the outset that Cookie seeks a rapprochement with Strappafel- controversial new approaches and intel- died on August 15, 1980, at age 22, in a ci’s father as two grieving parents. Like lectualities. But the perception also sug- neofascist bombing at the train station Achilles, Woody’s struggle is ultimately gests some false, if deep-seated, impres- in Bologna, an event based on the his- with mortality itself. The author gives sions about the value of the study of torical bombing of the same time. Col- the theme dramatic force by framing it antiquity. Many classicists have found lateral damage includes Woody’s twen- as a conflict between Woody and Han- themselves disagreeing with those who ty-five year marriage to Hannah who, in nah. Cookie’s remains have been seem to support the discipline for the the aftermath of the tragedy, leaves the interred in a hillside cemetery in St. wrong reasons, promoting the ancient family to become a nun. Clair, but the monument lacks an epi- texts as timeless touchstones of great- The novel takes up Woody’s spiritual taph until the novel’s end. Sara ness or Latin as part of a “back to odyssey some six years later. Part One, recounts: “Mama wanted a line from basics” curriculum. set in 1986-87, tells of his departure Dante – La sua voluntade è nostra pace – So, it is not surprising that in contem- from St. Clair after he is questioned but Daddy wouldn’t go for it. And now porary academic fiction, which is often about a “conflict of interest.” Turi I’m glad. He wanted something that satirical in nature, the figure of the clas- Mirasdiqi, an Iranian student and senior tells the truth. And I think he’s got it” sicist should serve as a foil to adminis- at St. Clair, is not only his sexual partner (457). Woody substitutes the medieval trators, feminists, leftist critics, the but a prize student he has recommend- contra vim Veneris/ herbam non inveneris;/ politically correct, and assorted academ- ed to Harvard. She is also the daughter contra vim mortis/ non crescit herba in hor- ic evildoers. Such is the case in The of his dear friend Allison, whom Woody tis (“Against the strength of love, you Human Stain (2001) by Philip Roth, had loved in graduate school and who will find no herb; against the strength of whose protagonist, Coleman Silk, will had comforted him in Rome in body death, no herb grows in the garden”). be the subject of the third part in this and soul after the bombing. Even worse, Woody achieves no special insight series of essays in Amphora. It is also an Allison is a college trustee, and she and into the reason for his daughter’s death, apt starting point for a discussion of her husband Alireza, an Iranian busi- though he does come to recognize the Robert Hellenga’s The Fall of a Sparrow nessman living in Rome, are poised to power of love as an offsetting reality. (1998), the story of a classics professor in present a sizeable gift to the endow- But his victory over his wife in this con- a small Midwestern liberal arts college. ment. Part Two is set the following year test of wills, not to mention Sara’s cele- The behavior of Hellenga’s protagonist in Bologna, where Woody attends the bration of it, points to some problems – specifically, a prolonged sexual affair trial of two of the terrorists both to testi- with his character and the novel as a with one of his students – puts him at fy and to cover the story for the Tribune. whole. Few readers will approve of his odds with his dean, his colleagues, and In the process, he reengages with life. relationship with Turi on professional or the institution’s policy on “amorous He becomes personally involved in the personal grounds. But at no time does relationships” with students, leading fate of Angela Strappafelci, a young ter- Woody recognize the affair as a betrayal him, Achilles-like, to remove himself rorist Cookie’s age who planted the of both Turi and her family, even when from the community altogether. bomb, and active in the Association of he personally helps the college to accept Hellenga, an emeritus professor of Families of the Victims. He also begins the family’s money for an endowed English at Knox College, clearly draws a relationship with the woman who chair in classics! At the college hearing on personal experience in his portrayal owns the restaurant-pension where he to which he is summoned, he cannot of Alan Woodhull (“Woody”), a profes- lodges and literally sings for his supper. appreciate that his colleagues’ concern sor of classics at St. Clair College in The Aeneid is clearly the model for has nothing to do with puritanical downstate Illinois. Academic novels fre- the narrative which, as in Brooks Otis’ morality or political correctness. His quently quarry the real world for materi- analysis, has an Odyssean and an Iliadic defense – “I was lonely”– suggests his al: Morris Zapp, from David Lodge’s half: the protagonist’s wanderings in the inability to see beyond himself. Unfor- Changing Places (1975) and Small World first half are followed in the second by tunately, the novel conspires to justify 8 his behavior, as first Allison and then Book Review: Cicero her Muslim husband come to forgive their dear friend with surprisingly little by Jane W. Crawford effort. Anthony Everitt. Cicero. Random The book, as with most biographies, pro- Throughout the novel, those who might offer a critical view of the protag- House (1-800-733-3000), 2001. ceeds chronologically, following a brilliant onist are squelched or made to look Pp. xix, 359. 5 maps. Hardcover chapter (“Fault Lines”) that summarizes the foolish. In a classroom scene, for $25.95. ISBN 0-375-50746-9. history of Roman conquest and growth and instance, Woody leads a discussion of explains the condition of the Roman state in Odysseus’ decision to decline Calypso’s nthony Everitt’s new biography of the years before Cicero’s birth. The provin- offer of life and sex without end. The cial upbringing of the fledgling politician selection of the materials is apt, under- ACicero is a welcome addition to the scoring the “heroic choice” that Woody corpus of works about the great Roman ora- and his first forays into oratory and politics will make to embrace life and its limits tor and statesman. It cannot be said that it are treated in the two following chapters, in the face of death, and Woody suc- advances our knowledge of the events or which take us to the year 77 B.C. In both, ceeds in persuading the class to agree the politics of Cicero’s life to any significant Everitt takes care to set the stage accurately with him/Odysseus. More troubling is degree, but it offers a new and appealing and informatively, dealing with the impact his dismissive treatment of students of the dictatorship of Sulla and Cicero’s who attempt, however ineptly, to chal- way of looking at this fascinating man and lenge him – questioning Odysseus’ his equally fascinating times. speech for Roscius of Amerina (a complicat- choice as “a male thing” or relating it to Everitt’s approach is to let Cicero speak ed tale, well told by Everitt), the nature of the role of women in “the archetypal for himself, through quotations primarily Roman religion, and so on. He also takes patriarchal text.” Such questions are taken from Cicero’s own words and those the reader on a guided tour of the Roman simply, and tellingly, brushed aside. So of his contemporaries. It is clear from his Forum, explaining how the structure of the too with his dean who, with her East area both influenced and reflected the reali- coast preferences and her habit of refer- use of the sources that Everitt has a very ring to herself in the third person as solid grasp of the issues and personalities ties of Roman political life. Everitt is obvi- “the dean,” is stiff and stuffy, thereby of Cicero’s period, and his apt choices ously writing for the non-specialist, but undermining her legitimate objections enable us to see the world of late Republi- experts will also appreciate his skill in pro- to Woody’s behavior. The college’s can politics through the eyes of one of the viding the necessary background in deft president is concerned mostly about the major players of the day. Yet the book also and sure strokes. His style is appealing and possibility of losing the gift from the the information presented is, with a few Mirasdiqis. shows us the personal and private side of Most disappointing is the short shrift Cicero, revealing his triumphs and frustra- exceptions, correct. given to his relationship with his wife tions in a very accessible manner. Everitt is Hannah. We learn that the night of a sympathetic biographer for the most part, Cookie’s death she walked the streets of but when the facts demand it, he does not Rome crazed, imagining herself Mary hesitate to criticize Cicero. The book is thus Magdalene, and her subsequent break- Everitt is a sympathetic down is reported without context of his- not a compendium of praise but rather a biographer for the most part, tory or psychology or, for that matter, balanced view of a complicated and multi- but when the facts demand sympathy. Inexplicably, she decides to faceted personality. abandon her life and family to join a The preface is enticing and helpful at the it, he does not hesitate to convent that in its severity is a carica- same time, setting the stage and discussing criticize Cicero. ture of 1950’s Catholicism. As a result, the problems of reporting accurately on the Hannah’s calling to a new life, unlike his, appears merely aberrant, and she period. The actual opening of the book another version of the madwoman in the sweeps the reader into ancient Rome on the attic. She finds no understanding in the Ides of March, 44 B.C. Beginning thus, in With chapter 4, Everitt begins the expo- family, and just as inexplicably, her medias res, with the assassination of Caesar sition of Cicero’s career as an advocate at departure seems to take no emotional at the end of the Republic, Everitt invites us the bar and as a novus homo (“new man”) toll on her daughters. to consider the impact of Cicero’s career in striving to gain a foothold in Roman poli- In the end, Woody reminds the read- tics. This is again a carefully-crafted chapter er of the disagreeable colleague down shaping and guiding the state in its turbulent the hall who is dedicated above all else final half-century. The contrast between that explains much that needs to be under- to the demonstration of his own superi- Cicero, the senior statesman, and Caesar, stood about Cicero’s position as an outsider ority. Woody does it all. He throws the radical dictator, is well taken. The divide and the forces that shaped his remarkable “Homeric banquets” for his students, between conservative oligarch and daring rise to the consulship in 63 B.C. Everitt’s has a dog named Argos, and sings the populist, sometimes wide, sometimes almost treatment of this period includes discussion blues in seven languages. He hunts of Cicero’s important court cases from these ducks, knows his olives and cheeses, non-existent, shaped Cicero’s persona and and writes an Italian cookbook with his influenced his political and personal choices years, including the Verrines, and deals new partner. His children adore him, throughout his public life. It explains much of with the complexities of the political scene indeed, can hardly be imagined ever why Cicero was what he was, and Everitt is with skill and insight. disagreeing with him. He is also, right to signal this at the outset. Equally impressive are the next three continued on page 15 continued on page 10 9 Book Review: Cicero WHAT’S NEW IN ALEXANDER continued from page 9

chapters (5-7), which cover the most impor- STUDIES tant events of Cicero’s career, from its by Waldemar Heckel heights to its depths: his consulship and the suppression of the conspiracy of Catiline; n the 1970’s and 1980’s it seemed The important inscriptions pertaining to the Bona Dea scandal and the trial of Ithat one could scarcely pull a classi- Alexander’s relations with the Greeks Clodius; the growth of Caesar’s influence cal journal off the shelf without were published, translated, and dis- and the position of Pompey; and the terrible finding some article, note, or review of a cussed by A. J. Heisserer in Alexander the work on Alexander the Great or the Great and the Greeks (1980); and, for those blow of exile. Although there are some Alexander historians. Greek historians without Greek or Latin, there are count- details that are unclear, Everitt, in general, appeared to have abandoned the well- less sourcebooks and translations con- shows great mastery of the complex and traveled roads of the fifth century B.C. taining relevant documents. For those often obscure events of these initially tri- and sought new adventures in the who cannot keep the actors straight umphant and then increasingly bleak years untamed jungles of Alexander studies without a program (and that includes in Cicero’s life. His coverage of the alleged and the Hellenistic world. In 1969, J. R. most of us), there is my forthcoming Hamilton, in the Preface to his com- Who’s Who in the History of Alexander, “first Catilinarian conspiracy” is deft; his mentary on Plutarch’s Alexander, which represents an updated and only treatment of the actual conspiracy and the lamented that “no ancient writer on slightly less ambitious reworking in debate that followed it is excellent. Making Alexander, not even the invaluable Arri- careful use of quotations from Cicero’s own an, had been provided with an English letters and speeches, Everitt reveals clearly commentary” (v). Yet the lost historians for Alexander’s period – forty or so writ- the orator’s personality, in all its pride in ers, contemporary with the events they achievement and desolation at failure. We describe, whose works survive only in see how Cicero acts and reacts; we learn fragments (mostly in the form of quota- how he analyzes personalities and internal- tions and paraphrases) – had already izes events according to his own (some- been the subject of intensive study for times faulty) perceptions; we feel his power 120 years, culminating, but not ending, with a book published by the APA, and his anger, his cockiness and confusion. Lionel Pearson’s The Lost Histories of Through a sensitive selection of sources, Alexander the Great (1960). Furthermore, Everitt gives us a compelling and extraordi- three important bibliographies of narily readable account of Cicero’s political Alexander studies appeared in succes- and private self during these years. sive years in the early 1970’s –Nancy J. Fig. 4. Silver tetradrachm of Alexander. In the ensuing chapters (8-12), Everitt Burich, Alexander the Great: A Bibliogra- phy (1970); E. Badian, Classical World 65, Alexander as Heracles with lion head- provides an informative and accessible 1971, 37-83; and J. Seibert, Alexander der dress on the obverse. Photo reprinted study of the philosophical, rhetorical, and Grosse (1972). Nevertheless, my own with permission from the Nickle Arts political writings that spanned Cicero’s life- bibliography (http://hum.ucalgary.ca/ Museum, University of Calgary. time. At the same time, he explicates the wheckel/bibl/alex-bibl.pdf) contains pressures and problems leading to the fatal some 1,240 items of which over 700 competition between Pompey and Caesar appeared after the last of the above- English of Helmut Berve’s Das Alexan- mentioned surveys was published (cf. derreich auf prosopographischer Grundlage, that resulted in civil war in 49 B.C. Cicero also the useful electronic bibliography vol. 2 (1926) and relies heavily on earlier himself was not much involved in politics maintained by K. H. Kinzl at prosopographic studies: see my The Mar- then; he was busy with court cases and with http://www.trentu.ca/ahc/ch207b-bib.html). shals of Alexander’s Empire (1992), A. his writing. In discussing this less public, Now, in the twenty-first century, we Tataki’s The Macedonians Abroad (1998), more contemplative, period of Cicero’s life, have, in addition to Hamilton’s work on and Elizabeth Carney’s Women and Everitt uses the sources masterfully to reflect Plutarch’s Alexander, commentaries on Monarchy in Macedonia (2000). Arrian by A. B. Bosworth (1980, 1995; So, the question must be asked: why, Cicero’s mature years. His treatment of vol. 3 in preparation) and on Curtius by with all these tools now available, does Cicero’s family, especially the death of his John E. Atkinson 1980, 1994) and even the study of Alexander and, perhaps, daughter Tullia and his somewhat prickly on Justin’s epitome of Pompeius Trogus even the number of Alexander scholars relationship with his brother and son, is sen- by John Yardley and Waldemar Heckel themselves seem to be declining? I am sitively presented. We see Cicero, warts (1997). Specialized studies of Arrian and not talking about the dilettante: today and all: his uncertainty and vacillation dur- Curtius have appeared, along with a virtually everyone with a historical bent new edition by Raffaella Tabacco of the is an authority on Alexander, and every ing the war; his retreat to writing and to the Itinerarium Alexandri (2000); a commen- war-gamer has an Alexander Web site, pleasures of his country houses; his humor, tary on the Metz Epitome is in prepara- while lawyers and executives indulge temper, happiness, and despair. tion; and at least two scholars have indi- their passions by writing for Military In the last year and a half of his life, cated to me that they are working on History Quarterly or Military Heritage. commentaries to Diodorus’ Book 17. James R. Ashley’s The Macedonian continued on page 11 10 Empire (1998) will satisfy the needs of pography, military history and, above Book Review: Cicero all, Quellenforschung, Alexander histori- “war-gamers” but is essentially the continued from page 10 work of a well-meaning amateur. Others ans do what Alexander historians have have sought to extol the strategic les- done for more than a hundred years… Cicero was reborn to politics and to the sons of Alexander’s conquests for busi- (London Review of Books, 1 November 2001, 7) role of senior statesman. Following Cae- ness leaders. We need only consider sar’s murder, Cicero took up the challenge Partha Bose, Alexander the Great’s Art of In his conclusion, Davidson warns: of restoring the Republic that he had loved Strategy (2003), subtitled The Timeless and worked for all his life. The momentous Leadership Lessons of History’s Greatest The texts are finally running out and Empire Builder. (In fact, “history’s great- Alexander historians are finally run- events of 44 and 43 B.C. (covered in est empire builder” was probably ning out of excuses for not doing some- chapters 13-16) were ultimately fatal to Genghis Khan, and neither he nor thing more interesting with their subject Cicero. But he did not go down without a (10, my italics). Alexander could be considered a proper fight. Cicero’s renewed prominence, the role model for anyone but the most masterful “Philippics” delivered against ruthless modern executive.) But what of Is the message sinking in? Are Alexan- the academic factories that once rolled der scholars finally freeing themselves Mark Antony, his high hopes and his deep professional Alexander historians off from the tyranny of the text, the disappointments are all chronicled with their assembly lines? Have they pedantry of prosopography, and the understanding and insight by Everitt, rely- retooled and programmed their newest meaninglessness of military history? ing on Cicero’s own perceptions and Simply put, the answer is “no.” models, if they study Alexander at all, to words. Everitt’s account of Cicero’s death search for different truths? What, if any- Davidson’s “forces of evolution” have is not emotional but elegant and thing, is new in the world of Alexander indeed had little impact on Alexander- studies? land, and yet the “great beasts” are restrained. Before that question can be evolving – evolving within their own This is an excellent biography of Cicero answered, it is important to remind our- lost world and still employing the same that will be enjoyed by professional classi- selves that the study of Alexander tried and true methodology. The extant cists and the general public. The few inac- accounts, whether written in Greek or embraces a number of aspects that have, curacies (for example, 73: Padua for for quite some time now, been regarded in Latin, all derive from the Roman Capua), the sometimes burdensome need as old-fashioned or misguided. It world – from the late Republic to the involves the study of the “great man,” middle Empire – and this aspect is to flip back to the source lists to trace the of war and politics, of elites, and, of beginning to receive the attention it quotations, and the occasional missing ref- course, imperialism. Historians have deserves: Elizabeth Baynham’s Alexan- erence do not detract from the consider- focused so much attention on the der the Great: The Unique History of Quin- able value and pleasure to be found in tus Curtius Rufus (1998) pays special achievements of Alexander that their Everitt’s Cicero. works read more like biographies than attention to “Roman Curtius,” and this histories. Much of this is the result of book now finds an interesting compan- the nature of the ancient sources: the ion in Diana Spencer’s Roman Alexander: Jane W. Crawford ([email protected]) evidence for economic and social issues Reading a Cultural Myth (2002), which will be moving to the University of Virginia is scant; the spotlight, trained on the goes well beyond earlier studies of con- in mid-August. She has published two army and its leader, never remains in scious imitation of Alexander by Roman books on Cicero: The Lost and Unpub- politicians and emperors. In 1996, A. B. one place long enough for us to observe lished Orations (1984) and The Fragmen- meaningful change; and, even for the Bosworth’s Alexander and the East: The tary Speeches (1994). She is currently political historian, the politics are those Tragedy of Triumph examined historical of the army and its commanders. There and historiographical parallels between working on an edition of Cicero’s pro Cae- is little that can be regarded as constitu- the history of Alexander and that of the lio and preparing a translation of the tional or legal because there are very conquistadors and the conquest of New fourth century commentary on some of few legal documents, and most acts of Spain. In the same year, P. M. Fraser Cicero’s orations by the Bobbio Scholiast. the king and “state” are reactions to the produced a thorough and scholarly situation, dictated by expediency rather study, Cities of Alexander the Great. Fur- than determined by tradition. Is it time, thermore, a number of studies in the then, to retool or close shop? Has last decade have given much needed Alexander scholarship become old and attention to the “reading” of art and boring? James Davidson certainly thinks coinage (see Fig. 4): one thinks particu- so. In “Bonkers about Boys,” a review larly of Andrew Stewart’s magisterial, of Alexander the Great in Fact and Fiction Faces of Power: Alexander’s Image and (2000), edited by A. B. Bosworth and Hellenistic Politics (1993), Ada Cohen’s Elizabeth Baynham, he comments: The Alexander Mosaic: Stories of Victory and Defeat (1997), and Frank Holt’s In Alexanderland scholarship remains Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the largely untouched by the influences Elephant Medallions (2003). which have transformed history and Will the next generation of Alexan- classics since 1945. Some great beasts, der scholars lament, as Alexander is said having wandered in, can still be found to have done to Philip, that there will be here decades later, well beyond the no new worlds to conquer? Only if they forces of evolution. Secluded behind the high, impassable peaks of proso- continued on page 19 11 Film Review: Gladiator (2000) metae, the turning posts for chariot races, by Martin M. Winkler that seem to have wandered in from Mervyn LeRoy’s 1951 Quo Vadis). But n this day we reach back to hal- action cinema, are the scenes of graphic even so, most of the Colosseum is comput- “Olowed antiquity.” With these violence on the battlefield and in the arena, er-generated and looks it (see Fig. 5). Expe- words fictional senator Cassius announces meant to deliver the thrills that today’s audi- rienced viewers will immediately realize the equally fictional reenactment of the Bat- ences expect or demand. Much of the vio- that the famous “fly-over” of Cyber-Rome, tle of Carthage in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, lent action in Gladiator is enhanced by which gives us the first glimpse of the the first Roman epic produced for the silver means of cranked-up sound effects, Colosseum, appears distinctly different from screen since the mid-1960’s. To every- extremely rapid editing, and, by contrast, the “real” images surrounding it. By con- body’s surprise, Gladiator overcame preju- occasional slow motion – all geared to a trast, the gigantic Forum built for The Fall of dices against a film genre long discredited the Roman Empire looks almost like the gen- for the elephantine size of its last exemplars uine article. Indeed, this ravishingly beauti- and for their often lumbering, if inspira- ful set has made Mann’s film famous. tionally-minded, plots. The colossal box- The cinema has been a While responding viscerally to the com- office success of Scott’s film has again kind of seismograph of puter-generated images that provide much made epic cinema a promising venue for social and political currents of the thrills of Gladiator, audiences know filmmakers and studios. But does Gladiator, throughout its history, that it is all fakery, put together on comput- which contains countless inaccuracies, ers. As a result, Scott runs the risk of relying anachronisms, and distortions of fact, really and Gladiator, too, addresses too much on special effects to draw his reach back to antiquity, or is it not rather contemporary issues. audience into his story. The final duel in firmly rooted in its own time? Gladiator is a case in point. It can thrill As will be immediately apparent to any- momentarily because of its souped-up visual body with a sense of what academics like and aural effects but, considered as pure to call intertextuality, Gladiator owes far generation of viewers brought up on music action, which is the acid test of any specta- more to the history of epic cinema than it videos and computer games. Scott, who cle, it is disappointing. Little, if any, intelli- does to the history of imperial Rome. Its started out by making television commer- gence seems to have gone into the design chief, if unacknowledged, source besides cials, clearly shows his hand when Max- of the climax to a plot that has been unfold- other films is Anthony Mann’s The Fall of imus, about to be killed on Commodus’ ing for well over two hours. The correspon- the Roman Empire (1964), the last big- orders, turns the tables on his executioners. ding part in Mann’s film exemplifies how screen Roman epic before 2000 (and your He hurls – whoosh, whoosh – his sword this sort of thing ought to be done: it pres- reviewer’s favorite). Both films begin with through the air after one who is trying to ents a carefully structured sequence of the final days of the noble emperor Marcus escape on horseback and, of course, stunts so intricate, suspenseful, and realistic- Aurelius during his campaigns on the Ger- brings him down. Sophisticated special- looking that it remains a superb example of man frontier. His murder gives the throne to effects technology that a director like Mann action cinema even today. It is an appropri- his callous son Commodus and not to the could never have imagined makes it all ate culmination point to an accomplished film’s hero, a fictional general whom Mar- possible. But this technological advantage epic. Tellingly, it lasts significantly longer cus had preferred – earlier, Livius; now, comes at a price. In Gladiator, the recon- than Scott’s perfunctory version. Maximus. Alongside a romance with Mar- structed Colosseum, for example, looks Gladiator shows us a familiar view of the cus’ daughter Lucilla, the hero’s efforts to magnificent and authentic (except for the city and empire of Rome. Scott resuscitates thwart the designs of Commodus, who is bent on destroying Marcus’ legacy, form the chief plot of either film. In both, the city of Rome plays a major part as the setting of the theme of empire and power, and both end with a duel between the hero and Commodus at historically important sites: earlier, the Forum Romanum; now, the Colosseum. The “bad guy” is predictably vanquished, although Maximus dies in Lucilla’s arms while Livius could walk away from it all with her. Quid novi: what is new, one might ask, in Gladiator? New for a Roman spectacle, although to be expected in a film that had Fig. 5. The computer-generated Colosseum in Gladiator (DreamWorks/Universal Pictures, 2000). to stay competitive with contemporary 12 the Nazi iconography to which directors of Tween Good and Evil: Greece, Rome and Hollywood’s Roman epics in the 1950’s Harry Potter continued from page 7 and early 1960’s – but not Anthony Mann – had resorted to characterize pagan Rome (Persephone’s Roman name) before he books, do you think Harry has gotten as an evil empire. On the other hand, the was allowed to see his dead father. worse, or better?” I ask them. Republican ideals surviving even in this Hades himself always had a dual nature, “Better,” Aaron assures me. “He’s a imperial Rome are presented as worth pre- as fearsome lord of the dead but also as teenager now, so he’s going to be a little giver of wealth through the richness of grouchy.” serving. Commodus’ rule, the film implies, is the earth. The kids expect good to win out in a dangerous aberration. Maximus’ sacrifice On the human side of the equation, the end. Well and good, I say. But does might put the empire back on the right track, there is the king Will proposed in our that mean that they must only hear this with power returned to the senate as the Q & A session who failed to obey the reassuring type of story? Books like Say Roman people’s governing body. This oracle. There are plenty of these, but Cheese, Medusa sell – and remove the would restore the harmony between rulers Oedipus may be the most famous. In original stories’ healthy Greekness. If Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus we are serious about a true multicultural and ruled that many Americans today miss appears on stage first as hero in a detec- education for our children, we will want in their own country. It is indeed this and tive story where the question is, “Who to think hard before giving them related contemporary issues that give Gladi- killed Laius?” Oedipus spends most of ancient stories watered down for Ameri- ator an uncanny relevance for and beyond the play fulfilling his noble detective can consumption. The Greeks had it the time of its release. role, inching closer to the truth. But right: villains are hard to pin down, and Today, political discussions of the United then comes the twist. We find out that sometimes we have to look inside our- the killer, the villain, is Oedipus him- selves before we blame others. If chil- States as the sole remaining superpower self. He killed Laius, his father, though dren knew that early, they’d be better regularly tend to make reference to ancient he didn’t know what he was doing at prepared for the shadings to come later Rome. More and more frequently since the the time. Unlike Tolkien and Alexan- in life: on juries, in the voting booth, American war in Afghanistan, the U. S. has der, Sophocles does not allow us to sep- everywhere. come to be called an empire, both here arate the good guy from the bad. For After all, nearly no one “kills people and abroad, and analogies to the Roman him, life isn’t so simple so stories won’t for fun”– not even, as I suspect J. K. be either. Rowling will reveal, Voldemort himself. Empire and its eventual fate have surfaced Five books into Harry Potter’s saga, on an increasing scale. The cinema has J. K. Rowling has left ample hints that David W. Frauenfelder (frauenfelder@ been a kind of seismograph of social and good may not be so good. She has dark- ncssm.edu) received his Ph.D. from the Uni- political currents throughout its history, and ened her hero’s character, for one thing. versity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gladiator, too, addresses contemporary My young experts will tell you that in He is especially interested in imparting to issues: those of empire, militarism, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, general audiences the enduring importance of Harry spends most of his time yelling. the ancient world; as part of that mission he heroism. Its primary significance, then, is And he has begun to realize a strong is chairing this year the APA Outreach Prize not its global commercial success or its connection between himself and Volde- subcommittee. He teaches Latin, Greek, and revival of historical epic cinema but the mort. For a little while, he psychically Greek mythology at the North Carolina remarkable fact that it managed to reach – “becomes” Voldemort and has a desire, School of Science and Mathematics in no, not so much back to hallowed antiquity among other things, to bite Dumble- Durham, NC. “The Classical Buzz” is a as forward to a rather less hallowed future. dore’s head off. new regular column in Amphora. My tweens shrug off these shadings in Harry’s character. “Over the five Martin M. Winkler ([email protected]) is Professor of Classics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Most recent- Notable Web Site: ly, he is the editor of the essay collection Greek Mythology Link Gladiator: Film and History (2004). He http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/ reviewed the 1963 film Cleopatra for issue 1.2 of Amphora. n Internet site with free access dedicated to the Greek Amyths and related subjects, created and maintained by Carlos Parada. The Greek Mythology Link is a collection of myths retold by Carlos Parada (author of Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology, 1993), containing essays, images, tables, and maps (more than 1,400 web pages and more than 2,200 images of mythological motifs). The mythical accounts are based exclusively on ancient sources and are referenced. Among the contributors are Professor Jerker Blomqvist (Lund), Professor Juan Antonio López Férez (Madrid), Ian Johnston (Malaspina), Dr. Susanna Roxman (Lund), and Professor Fritz Graf (Ohio).

13 I, CLODIA – A PLAY FOR LATIN LOVERS by Emily Matters

ince 1982, our Classical Languages that this was material for a musical, and Moon, the co-producer. Background STeachers Association (CLTA), I sought collaboration with The Conser- material was sent to all teachers who based in Sydney, Australia, has vatorium High School, a public high made group bookings. The complimen- held a Drama Festival at ten-year inter- school for students talented in music tary program contained extensive notes vals, featuring one or more plays in that teaches Latin as part of its general and informative articles. All patrons, on authentic Latin or Greek. Sydney audi- curriculum. The Conservatorium departure, were issued with a “Latin ences have seen Euripides’ Iphigenia in offered not only the use of its Choral Lovers’ Kit” containing small promo- Aulis and Sophocles’ Antigone in Greek, Assembly Hall for the production but tional items with a Latin theme. The as well as a dramatization of Vergil’s also a sixteen-year-old composition stu- play was professionally filmed, and a Aeneid 4, called Dido, in Latin. What is dent, Marianne Scholem. Marianne’s videotape, with English subtitles, has perhaps remarkable is that the actors are grasp of the task was amazing. All I had been prepared. This should be a useful high school students, chosen from a to do was to give her copies of the resource for general use, but particularly number of our members’ schools, poems to be set to music, indicating the for classes studying pro Caelio and tutored and rehearsed out of school meters with musical notation, and to Catullus’ poems. hours to reach a high standard of dra- spend a couple of hours in conference The CLTA has made available for matic and linguistic fluency. with her and her composition teacher, purchase all the materials associated The 2002 production took a differ- discussing the style, desired atmos- with I, Clodia. The contents of the ent, more light-hearted direction from phere, and emotional tone of all the teaching package (items available sepa- the productions listed above – a musical pieces. There needed to be some back- rately) are comedy entitled I, Clodia. For some ground and linking music as well and time I have been pondering the dramat- some strong repeated themes – the • Videotape of I, Clodia original 2002 ic potential inherent in the character of main one being odi et amo. After six production, with English subtitles Clodia Metelli, as portrayed by Cicero months of hard work, Marianne came ($25 plus $14 for shipping by air in pro Caelio and by Catullus, in his up with a stunning score for a twenty- mail) • I, Clodia script – in Latin/Greek poems, as “Lesbia.” (I conveniently put piece orchestra, solo singers, and chorus. with English translation ($50) aside all academic controversy about The CLTA engaged a professional • Complete musical score to I, Clodia Lesbia’s identity.) Not only would Clo- director and drama teacher, Adam ($50) dia, a woman making an impact in her Macaulay, who proved ideal for the task • Booklet of verse and prose own way on the male establishment in of auditioning and training a cast of passages used in the play – with Rome, be interesting to portray, but the about seventy young people recruited English vocabulary, historical activities of her colorful brother, Publius from twelve schools, both public and background notes, and literary Clodius Pulcher, and the political private. Adam’s lack of background in information ($20-$25) intrigues involving Cicero, Pompey, and the classical languages was no real hand- Caesar seemed to offer many possibili- icap; the students were coached in their All prices are in Australian dollars ties for the stage. Throw in some Egyp- lines for three months before rehearsals and include performance rights. tians as Rome sorted out the Ptolemies, began and then continuously through The best thing about I, Clodia is the and you have material for a stage hit! the rehearsal period by a team of volun- number of students who really enjoyed The script began as a patchwork of teer teachers. They reached a high stan- learning Latin, speaking Latin, inter- original Latin pieces, mainly from dard of fluency and accuracy – not preting Latin, and meeting other stu- Cicero’s letters and some of his speech- 100%, perhaps, but easily 98%. dents of Latin. Their sense of fun came es, and a number of Catullus’ poems. To make the play more accessible to through to the audience whose appreci- Some lines from Sulpicia’s poetry (from the general public, we used English sur- ation left us in no doubt that it was all a slightly later period) were used to give titles projected above the stage, as is worth it. Clodia a real Roman woman’s voice. To commonly done with foreign-language compose the necessary linking dialogue, operas. The process was difficult and Emily Matters teaches at North Sydney I stole liberally from Plautus and other costly, but the results were very worth- Boys High School in Sydney, Australia, and Latin authors to ensure that the lan- while. I, Clodia had wide appeal and is President of the Classical Languages guage was as authentic as possible. won the admiration of many non-Latin- Teachers Association, based in Sydney. There are two Greek set-pieces: one, a ists. One member of the audience asked Enquiries about the materials noted above Homeric hymn to Demeter, is per- me afterwards what “dialect” they were should be addressed to Emily Matters at the formed as a women’s tribute to Bona speaking and went on to say it remind- e-mail address [email protected]. Dea; the other, Sappho’s poem φαινεται` ` ed her of Spanish. The overall response, µοι, is performed at a dinner party including local media coverage, has attended by Catullus and inspires him been very favorable and has brought to compose his own poem 51, ille mi par Latin into the public eye in a novel and esse deo videtur. There are bits of addi- arresting way. tional Greek dialogue in the “Egyptian” Above all, I, Clodia has been a teach- scenes. ing project. Booklets containing the Somewhere along the process of original extracts from the play, with script-writing, it became clear to me vocabularies, were prepared by Karyn

14 Book Review: Gardens of Pompeii NOVEL APPROACHES by John Van Sickle TO Classics: Part II continued from page 9 Annamaria Ciarallo. Gardens of Pompeii, canals allowing cultivation of flax and translated by Lori-Ann Touchette. J. Paul hemp for textiles. Close to the town were frankly, a pedant, with an annoying ten- Getty Museum (1-800-223-3431), 2001. large vegetable gardens. Upward and out- dency of offering tedious allusions and digressions and untranslated lines of Pp. 84. 139 color illustrations. Hardcover wards on the slopes rose scattered agricul- Greek and Latin that do little to $24.95. ISBN 0-89236-629-X. tural estates (villae rusticae), their grain advance the story. It would be different fields, vineyards, and olive groves inter- if the author were presenting Woody as he title of this slender yet weighty volume spersed with pastures, and, still higher, an object of satire, but there is little in Tmay well attract enthusiasts of garden- forests of oak (with provender for herds of the narrative voice that encourages such ing and Greco-Roman culture, yet anyone pigs) and groves of beech (fagus) in which a view. Woody lacks the capacity for intro- deer thrived. inspired to pursue the topic further (via spection, much less self-criticism. At no internet search) would find the title shared Turning from the rich rural context, the time in this existential journey does he with widely praised scholarly tomes by Wil- third chapter describes the “large and small find anything wanting in his relation- helmina Jashemski (1975, 1992). Ciarallo green spaces” (37) within the 163 acres of ships with his wife, children, or col- does offer numerous vignettes of fruits, the town. Here new methods of excavation leagues. All the characters in this story shrubs, and flowers excerpted from wall have made it possible not only to identify (almost all are women) are merely instrumental in Woody’s pursuit of his specific plants but also to describe how paintings that adorned Pompeian houses own destiny – he is closer to his until buried by the eruption of Mount Vesu- they were arranged to enhance views from Odyssean model in this respect than he vius in A.D. 79. Yet the images serve Ciar- rooms around the courtyards and how the might like. This would not be so bad allo to illustrate not gardens themselves so plantings were fenced and supported by were he not the protagonist in a novel much as plant population and its social and reeds. Excavators have distinguished orna- that is supposed to be about the possi- economic context. Her project statement mental use of fruit trees as well as orchards bility of growth and redemption in the wake of tragedy. Woody has the requi- and vegetable gardens within the city emphasizes that in the classical period site experience, but without reflection, there was a strong bond between human walls. he is missing the other half of the equa- society and the plant world, with plants The fourth chapter turns to staples of tion. Despite the acclaim the book has playing roles in “every sphere of daily life: Mediterranean culture: grain, olives, and received, its protagonist presents a fig- for food, textiles, and cosmetics; for reli- grapes. In each case, Ciarallo provides a ure largely unsympathetic, one whose gious and above all for healing purposes” brief summary of the evolution of the politics are not so much conservative or liberal as reprehensible, and a view into species and development of multiple vari- (4-5). Thus, Ciarallo reads wall paintings as the discipline that few classicists would “observation of nature” (4-5) and seeks to eties and adaptations to the local economy. find flattering. correlate them with other evidence (pollen, Fascinating details emerge, for example, wood, seeds, fruit, root castings) that that the stone wheels in olive mills could be Thomas Falkner ([email protected]) makes it possible to determine what plants adjusted to perform three degrees of pres- is Professor of Classical Studies at The Col- Pompeians actually used. She appends two sure, from a light first pressing for the finest lege of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, where he has served as Dean of the Faculty and Act- oils, to a final crushing of the seeds, which lists with the scientific names of plants pres- ing Vice-President for Academic Affairs. In ent then and today. produced a residue burned in lamps; or July 2004, he will become Provost and The first chapter sketches not only native that root cavities show how city vineyards Dean of the Faculty, and Professor of Clas- plants but evidence from paintings for the were planted in keeping with “a planting sics at McDaniel College in Westminster, later introduction of important species like system whose distances and dimensions Maryland. His most recent publication is the lemon and apricot, as well as species were recommended by the classical “Scholars versus Actors: Text and Perfor- mance in the Greek Tragic Scholia,” in authors” (60) – here a specific referral to like the peach, so long established that Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an many variants were developed, which was the sources would have been welcome. Ancient Profession, edited by E. Hall and also the case with figs. Readers may be sur- In short, the botanico-ecological plan P. E. Easterling (2002). His current inter- prised to learn how energetically ancient provides a significant frame for much inter- ests center on contemporary productions of horticulturalists developed varietals of esting information with informative images. Greek tragedy. favorite species. In many cases, too, we are referred to pas- The second chapter broadens horizons sages in ancient authorities, most notably to offer a systematic account of the region’s the compendious Natural History of Pliny, complex ecosystem: the Sarno river mean- but also Varro and Columella on agricul- dered across a fertile plain below the back- ture. But detailed arguments, citations, and drop of a Vesuvius that was still a single, demonstrations are lacking since the book tranquil peak cloaked in vineyards and summarizes recent scholarship in Italian, woods. Near the sea were reed beds and much of it from the catalogue of an exhibi- continued on page 16 15 Patriarchy and PIETAS in the Book Review: STAR WARS Trilogy Gardens of Pompeii continued from page 15 continued from page 2 recession all contributed to an uncertain Right’s appeal lay in its masterful refig- tion identified only as Homo Faber (Milan, and anxious present. uring of the recent history of the United 1999), which proves to be Homo Faber: Within this cultural and political con- States. The era prior to the upheaval of Natura, scienza e tecnica nell’antica Pom- text, it is not surprising that many the 1960’s was portrayed as an era of pei (cf. http://galileo.imss.firenze.it/pom- Americans wished to retreat to simpler prosperity and social stability. Ronald pei/indice.html). Ciarallo’s only reference times. Lucas had already tapped into Reagan’s overwhelming defeat of Jimmy that desire with his second feature film, Carter had much to do with his nostalgic to non-Italian scholarship is to Jashemski’s American Graffiti (1973), which was a evocations of America’s “golden age.” work. sentimental and nostalgic recreation of Reagan reached back in his speeches The final product is not so thoroughly pre-1960’s suburban life (modeled after before the upheavals of the mid-1960’s digested as one might wish. The draw- his hometown of Modesto, California). and 1970’s to a mythical, stable, prosper- backs of scholarly haste are aggravated by Like the response of Livy and other ous, and rooted past. Lucas’ nostalgic editorial flaws, above all, by failure to Roman writers to the tremendous evocation of a romanticized historical era upheavals of their times, Lucas’ cine- and the Golden Age of film in American translate idiomatically from the original matic response to his times was a retreat Graffiti and in his later collaborations tongue. It would have taken a general into a fundamentally conservative with Steven Spielberg in the Indiana awareness and conscious effort to get from mythology. In the preface to his History Jones trilogy meshed well with the rhet- Italian academic style, with its often of Rome, Livy wrote: oric of the Reagan era, which drew heav- abstruse and allusive manner, to the con- ily on Hollywood for its history and sen- crete narrative more typical of what the Ital- The study of history is the best medi- timents. The affirmation of conservative cine for a sick mind; for in history you patriarchal values, embracing of individ- ians themselves call “the Anglo-Saxon have a record of the infinite variety of ualism, and the back-to-basics moral world.” Idioms would have had to be inter- human experience plainly set out for fundamentalism of the Star Wars trilogy preted, not transliterated. Given the evident all to see: and in that record you can were suggestive of the Reagan era yet to find for yourself and your country both expertise of Ciarallo, consulting with a examples and warnings; fine things to come. Indeed, the conservative ideology careful editor could surely have weeded of the Star Wars films fit so well with the take as models, base things, rotten out the host of opacities and even sole- through and through, to avoid.” (trans- New Right’s militant patriotism and its lation by Aubrey de Selincourt, The call for a return to the values of the tradi- cisms while elucidating such annoyances Early History of Rome, 34) tional patriarchal family that one film as vague reference to “symbolic meaning” critic claimed that “Lucas and Spielberg or failure to specify when describing In a similar vein, Lucas said that he helped make the world safe for Reagan.” medicinal uses whether they are still wanted his films to provide models and According to the February 10, 1997 issue thought to work. Typographical flaws are myths that would inspire young audi- of Time, which featured the resurgence ences; in one interview he said: “The of the Star Wars series as a cover story, few, but the Appius who grafted an apple 60’s shot the hell out of any shared Lucas remains committed to these thus named appiana ought not to be identi- vision we had for this place. I wanted to ideals. The article suggests that, if any- fied as “a member of the Clauda family” make a kid’s film that would strengthen thing, Lucas’ earnest desire to generate instead of Claudia (20); and “coronairum” contemporary mythology and introduce a “wholesome” fairy tale for audiences ought to be coronarium (16). The white on a kind of basic morality. Everybody’s of all ages has increased. And, as the black printing of supplementary sections is forgetting to tell the kids, ‘Hey this is spectacular success of the recent film right and this is wrong.’” Gladiator (2000) attests, the cinematic very hard to read. No garlands, then, for Like Livy’s Early History of Rome, vision of a restoration of the virtuous copy readers and editors, above all the Lucas’ modern myth in his back-to-the- Republic (American and Roman) Getty, which ought to have devoted more future trilogy is profoundly conservative. through a return to the traditional values of its fabulous resources to assuring that Both offer a message of social recon- of the patriarchal family and state such a subject received the editorial quality struction and personal transformation remains deeply satisfying to American it deserves. through a return to the traditional values audiences. of the patriarchal family and state. Luke A reader might wish, after seeing so is a traditional populist hero writ large – Margaret Malamud (mmalamud@nmsu. many vignettes excerpted from particular like Cincinnatus or George Washington, edu) is associate professor of ancient history Pompeian houses (notably the House of the he emerges from the farm to save the and Islamic studies at New Mexico State Wedding of Alexander), to be given some Republic. A white male who embodies University. She is co-editor with Sandra R. sense of the dwelling itself as an ensemble agrarian origins, spiritual virtues, martial Joshel and Donald T. McGuire, Jr. of and its place in the social and urban fabric prowess, and filial loyalty, he saves a Imperial Projections: Ancient Rome in mythical Republic and redeems his Modern Popular Culture (2001). She of the town: this would have added the father. The politics of the trilogy opt for thanks the students in her Classical Tradi- domestic component or level to the ecologi- restoration rather than revolution: after tion in American Culture class, especially cal scheme (putting the oikos back into the the divisive 1960’s and 1970’s, the rec- Scott Shipman, for their lively and stimulat- ecology). Also, although most of the illustra- onciliation of fathers and sons was an ing comments and contributions. tions serve their documentary purpose, the appealing fantasy. Part of the New 16 strip of Cupids making perfumes (House of Drugs for an emperor the Vettii) should be larger to show details continued from page 5 of the craft. That likely group of readers who love Italian gardens may sympathize tales of expert poisoners who plied their Galen’s “drug books” were last edit- with the attempt to evoke city gardens in trade for high fees to those who could ed (more or less) by C. G. Kühn as Vols. Pompeii by printing a photograph of the afford their services. And since most cit- XI-XIV in the still-standard Cl. Galeni Cinquecento fountain terrace at Villa Lante izens and non-citizens of the Roman Opera Omnia (1821-1833). The Latin Empire were farmers or those who “footings” below the half-pages of (40); but the caption locating it in Caprara made their livings in the countryside, Greek are simply reprints of Renais- will puzzle aficionados, who have savored there was a consequent and widespread sance translations, and many of the cor- the delicate Villa Lante in Bagnaia (Viterbo) proficiency in food plants, plants ruptions in the Greek reflect Renais- then threaded narrow roads across the employed as beneficial drugs, and all sance collations; sometimes the Latin Cimini mountains to the opposite slope varieties of poisons, whether derived bears little resemblance to the Greek so overlooking the Tiber valley, where from plants or from animals and miner- a “Greekless” scholar cannot trust the als. From the time of Theophrastus of Latin versions. Galen’s Antidotes (from Alessandro Cardinal Farnese erected his Eresus (372-287 B.C.), writings in which details about Marcus’ use of massive villa at Caprarola. Greek and Latin set down specifics of opium are drawn) is in two books, and Readers of diverse levels may glean natural pharmaceuticals, and the Hel- the text is in Kühn, Vol. XIV, 1-209. something from this book, from its welcome lenistic and Roman multi-ingredient Some of the articles in Armelle Debru, ecological perspective to its manifold tid- theriacs were basic antidotes or prophy- ed., Galen on Pharmacology (1997) bear bits of botanical and local lore, despite the lactic compounds that would negate an directly on theriacs and poisons. Sec- attempt at stealthy assassination by ondary literature on Roman drugs and frustrations signaled above. means of an imperial dinner. The phar- poisons is rather sparse, given the mass macology and toxicology of the Roman of texts available. For an introduction to John Van Sickle (jvsickle@brooklyn. Empire have crucial roles in politics some of the important questions and cuny.edu) teaches at Brooklyn College, and, only when modern readers assume problems of ancient Roman pharmacolo- gardens in East Hampton, and lectures for this, can they comprehend the stories in gy, interested readers may consult John garden clubs and arboretums on the mys- Suetonius, Tacitus, and other authors Scarborough, “The Opium Poppy in about death through poisoning. Hellenistic and Roman Medicine,” in teries of scientific names of plants (see Fictional inventions in the preceding Roy Porter and Mikulas Teich, eds., http://academic. brooklyn. cuny.edu/ are few: Galen’s breakfast, his assistants, Drugs and Narcotics in History (1995), 4- classics/jvsickle/bt-gard.htm). and the anticipated arrival of eastern 23, and “Drugs and Medicines in the embassies are deduced from corollary Roman World,” Expedition, 38, no. 2, Greek and Latin texts of the same era; 1996, 38-51; and Charles Brewster Ran- all other details (drugs, formulas, meth- dolph, “The Mandragora of the Ancients ods of manufacture, the technologies of in Folk-Lore and Medicine,” Proceedings APA Speakers Bureau oil seeds, mineral drugs, and poisons) of the American Academy of Arts and Sci- emerge from the Greek of Galen of ences, 40, no. 12, January, 1905, 487-537, he APA maintains a roster of Pergamon and Dioscorides of which is still unmatched for its collection Tenthusiastic speakers who are Anazarbus, with bits drawn from Pol- of references. available to address a wide variety of lux’s Onomasticon (marketplaces and audiences – civic groups, profession- items for sale), Justinian’s Digest (Mar- John Scarborough is Professor of the His- al societies, library and other reading cus’ decreta and edicta), Nicander of tory of Pharmacy and Medicine (School of groups, middle schools and second- Colophon’s Theriaca and Alexipharmaca Pharmacy and Department of Classics) at ary schools, junior and senior col- (poisonous animals, plants, and minerals the University of Wisconsin-Madison. An leges, universities, and many other augmented in the Scholia of both author of several books on Greek, Roman, organizations. works), and Theophrastus’ Historia and Byzantine medicine and pharmacy, his The Speakers Bureau can be plantarum IX (the rhizotomoi, who latest monograph, in its second edition, is found by going to the APA Web site remained quite prominent in the Medical and Biological Terminologies: at www.apaclassics.org and clicking Roman and Byzantine centuries). Pliny Classical Origins (1998). A volume on on Outreach, listed on the left hand the Elder’s marvelous potpourri the Hellenistic pharmacology is nearing comple- side of the screen of the home page. Natural History also contains thousands tion. Under Outreach, you will find the of details about what we would term Speakers Bureau. The Bureau lists folk medicine, and the overarching e-mail addresses of dozens of speak- prominence of farm life shines forth for ers as well as descriptions of the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine times, talks they are prepared to give. A from Homer and Hesiod to the Geoponi- glance through the topics described ca (in Greek) and in the Roman evoca- there will make clear the breadth of tions of honest livings gained from agri- presentations that are available, from culture depicted by Cato the Elder, Medical Practices in Pompeii and Varro, Columella, Palladius, Pelagonius, the Roman Empire to Women’s and the later veterinary manuals (in Letters from Ancient Egypt. Latin).

17 Video Review: The Storyteller: Greek Myths (1991, 1999) nightmare: in the Labyrinth he is looking for the monster, and finds it in his own reflec- by Betty Rose Nagle tion. The Orpheus episode stresses that singer’s influence on the natural world and sions. Daedalus, for example, is last seen he late Jim Henson is best known, of is organized around the agricultural cycle compulsively making figurines of a winged Tcourse, for his Muppets, but a must-see and its rituals. It starts at planting time, with boy. An earlier scene in his story introduces for readers of Amphora is the marvelous a dance honoring Persephone, and has the contrast between his inept son and tal- series The Storyteller: Greek Myths. This Orpheus and Eurydice live happily through ented nephew: Icarus, the son, clumsily Henson and Associates production first spring and summer; her death interrupts the drops and breaks a toy owl with wings that aired on HBO in December 1991 and was harvest celebration, and wood laid for the flap; Talos, the nephew, quickly fixes it. released on videotape eight years later. harvest bonfire becomes her funeral pyre. Talos’ death – maybe accidental, maybe These little gems each have a running time When Orpheus loses her the second time, subconsciously intentional – happens when of 25 minutes (Theseus and Orpheus on he forsakes music, and uses a rock to Daedalus swings his nephew around over one cassette, Perseus and Daedalus on pound on his lyre strings; the malignant jan- his head in an imitation of flight, and the another), and they are outstanding both as gling blights all fertility; the crazed women boy falls from a rooftop. Talos’ fall not only creative adaptations of the myths and as who kill him do so to end that blight. foreshadows Icarus’ own more famous one, children’s videos which, like the best of chil- The construction of these four episodes but the Storyteller explicitly makes a causal dren’s literature, have depths only adults never lets an audience forget that they are connection between the two since Icarus fell can plumb. They feature such well-known stories being told. Each unfolds with con- on the flight from Crete where he and his actors as Derek Jacobi (Daedalus), Art stant cuts and dissolves between the myth father had fled in the aftermath of his Malik (Orpheus), and Michael Gambon proper and its narrative frame, buttressed cousin’s death. A vulture who witnessed (the Storyteller himself and, incidentally, the by constant interaction between the teller Talos’ fall in Athens reappears on Crete to new Albus Dumbledore in the just-released and his canine companion. The Dog is a taunt Daedalus; the inventor then kills it and third Harry Potter film). Other film notables sort of implied audience who resembles the uses its feathers to make the famous wings. involved are the producer of Four Wed- children in the actual audience. Receptive The episode concludes with a ceiling panel dings and a Funeral (1994), the director of to stories, and familiar with some of their in the Labyrinth sliding open to reveal two Shakespeare in Love (1998), and the cine- conventions, such as the “happily ever winged figure silhouetted against a full matographer of Harry Potter and the Cham- after” ending, he interacts with the Story- moon (an homage to Steven Spielberg’s ber of Secrets (2002) and Troy (2004). The teller as children might, by asking ques- 1982 film E.T., perhaps?). The other series was spun off from an earlier one on tions, reacting emotionally, and anticipat- episodes are no less impressive in their European folktales titled simply The Story- ing developments. invented details. When Danaë gives little teller (1987), also produced by Henson The stories are shot in full color, while Perseus a toy sword, she tells him “you kill and written by Anthony Minghella, who scenes in the shadowy Labyrinth are in monsters with it,” anticipating his later wrote and directed both The English Patient color so washed out it resembles black-and- adventure. Theseus forgets to hoist the white (1996) and Cold Mountain (2003). white (an effect famous from the 1939 film sail because he has wrapped the Minotaur’s Designed for children, the videos feature The Wizard of Oz). Moreover, the cuts and head in it as a trophy. As Orpheus sere- monsters from Henson’s Creature Shop (the dissolves that call attention to the relation- nades an alder tree, it splits open to reveal Minotaur, the Gorgon, and a vulture invent- ship between frame and tale produce some the nymph Eurydice inside, as if his music ed for Daedalus). In addition, they assume striking visual effects. After we have seen has brought her to life. their audience will know nothing about Medea tell Theseus to purify himself before One of the strengths of both the Theseus these stories – the Storyteller provides back- dining with the king, in the frame the Story- and Orpheus episodes is the way their ground when he answers questions from his teller idly pours water from a small urn; this structures bring out latent meanings. The talking Dog, his charmingly childlike inter- dissolves into the waters of the stream former is punctuated by a contrast between locutor and a source of comic relief. This where Theseus is bathing, and that image the hero’s broken promises and the effec- ancient Athenian Storyteller roams the in turn dissolves into the stream of poisoned tive curses of female characters. Aegeus’ ruined Labyrinth, scavenging artifacts which wine Medea pours for him. Elsewhere, the death climaxes a series of accelerated prompt his stories – Orpheus’ lyre, the clay screen is filled with the image of a vase crosscutting between Ariadne cursing The- figure of a winged boy, and the Gorgon’s painting whose animated figures enact the seus as he leaves, and the king watching head from a broken statue of Perseus. In Storyteller’s voice-over; when these dissolve for his return; it is accompanied by the the latter case, the Storyteller reassembles into human actors, the story’s action echo of Medea cursing the reunion of the statue as he tells its story, a process resumes. In addition to these visual effects, father and son as she flees Athens. We are emblematic of the way a culture uses myth the Storyteller’s penchant for rhetorical and left with the powerful image of Theseus to make sense out of the world. poetic devices calls attention to these myths alone in a gloomy throne room, wearing a These episodes present all the familiar as stories being told. gold bull’s horn crown, while a voice-over details, but they also invent many others that These videos have provoked thoughtful flesh out and reinterpret the standard ver- recounts the Athenian hero’s recurrent continued on page 19 18 What’s New In Alexander Studies their seat belts as they move from the continued from page 11 Hellespont to the Hydaspes at speeds that would put the Concorde to shame. buy into the theories of the doomsayers the second edition of the Cambridge And what will be the reaction of stu- who believe that there is nothing left to Ancient History, vol. 6 (1994), as will the dents who discover Alexander and of do in the traditional areas and that only forthcoming Alexander the Great: A Concise scholars in related fields of study? Will new-fangled theories and topics are Guide (edited by Waldemar Heckel and they recoil from the tedium of the text? “interesting.” The fact remains that Lawrence Tritle). Ian Worthington’s I think not. The apparent lull in scholar- there is still much to be said about Alexander the Great: A Reader (2003) is ly activity, at least on the part of military matters, although I hope that the first serious attempt at making a younger scholars, is nothing more than what does appear does not follow the broad range of (“undoctored”) scholar- that, a lull. New edifices will soon rise disturbing trend that seeks to legitimize ship available to students since G. T. on the foundations of scholarship laid in the actions of right-wing governments Griffith’s Alexander the Great: The Main the past thirty years. through dubious interpretations of the Problems (1966). There are now very few past. No serious study of Alexander’s literary sources for Alexander that have Waldemar Heckel received his Ph.D. from generalship has been published since not been translated into English: Iolo the University of British Columbia in 1978 J. F. C. Fuller’s The Generalship of Davies has translated the Itinerarium after jumping on the Alexander bandwagon Alexander the Great (1960). A definitive Alexandri in The Ancient History Bulletin of the seventies. He shows no signs of ever treatment will need to consider D. W. 12, 1998, 29-54, and Richard Stoneman wanting to jump off even though he has diffi- Engels, Alexander the Great and the Logis- has given us The Greek Alexander Romance culties in getting the band to play his tune. tics of the Macedonian Army (1978) as well (1991) and Legends of Alexander the Great He is currently Professor in the Department as older works like B. H. Liddell Hart’s (1994). Furthermore, new Loeb editions of Greek and Roman Studies at the Univer- Strategy (1967, repr. 1991) and C. E. of Aelian’s Varia Historia and Valerius sity of Calgary. Callwell’s Small Wars: Their Principles Maximus supplement the existing trans- and Practice (3rd ed. 1906, repr. 1996). In lations of Arrian, Plutarch, Diodorus, fact, in this age, when guerrilla warfare Curtius, Justin, and Strabo. N. G. L. in the Middle East and Central Asia – Hammond produced two works of Quel- that is, in the very heartland of Alexan- lenforschung: Three Historians of Alexander der’s empire – dominates the news and, the Great (1983) and Sources for Alexander indeed, the lives of many families the Great (1993), and Ian Worthington whose relatives are engaged in opera- has announced the ambitious Brill’s New Video Review: tions there, the study of Alexander’s Jacoby. Hence, Alexander is now much The Storyteller: Greek campaigns is anything but a tired and more accessible for undergraduates than meaningless pursuit. I say nothing of he was when the first baby boomers Myths the “experience of war,” which has entered college. continued from page 18 become, since John Keegan’s The Face of What does this mean for the future of Battle (1976), a minor industry of its Alexander studies? Well, first of all, it discussion in my college-level classical own. So dominant a figure is Alexander means that the work of Davidson’s non- mythology course, especially of the differ- in world military history that both B. H. evolving “great beasts” has not been in ences between them and assigned text ver- Liddell Hart, in his Great Captains vain. Since we must face up to the reali- sions. I have watched them numerous other Unveiled (1927), and Bevin Alexander, in ty – and those who do not are the true times, always discovering something more. How Great Generals Win (1993), have dinosaurs and worthy of reproach – that They would be ideal vehicles for introduc- omitted him entirely in order to leave the majority of our students are no room for some other important com- longer approaching Alexander through ing these myths to elementary students, manders. Diplomacy and administration the study of Greek and Latin, we can whose age-group was their intended audi- are also areas that require further take comfort in the fact that the work of ence, but high schoolers and college stu- attention. the past twenty to thirty years has made dents will not find them childish. Henson’s The important question of Alexander’s it possible for them to approach (and earlier eight-part Storyteller series (with interaction with the East – culturally as wish to learn) the ancient languages John Hurt as the Storyteller) has recently well as militarily – has taken on new because of their interest in Alexander. meaning as scholars have moved away Second, recent work makes Alexander been released in DVD format. I hope that from Eurocentric views and as the pub- studies more accessible to scholars in the DVD release of his later series, The Sto- lication of Near Eastern evidence has other fields, and since the door to inter- ryteller: Greek Myths, will soon follow. made it possible for historians to gain a disciplinary studies swings both ways, more balanced picture. Pierre Briant’s this will ultimately stimulate new Betty Rose Nagle ([email protected]) massive L’Empire perse (1996) has now research of a comparative nature. Third, is an Associate Professor of Classical Stud- been translated into English by Peter T. for those who are not primarily Alexan- Daniel as From Cyrus to Alexander: A His- der scholars but are required to teach ies at Indiana University, where she regu- tory of the Persian Empire (2002). the subject, the task will be less daunt- larly offers an introductory course in classi- Access to Alexanderland has been ing and consequently more interesting cal mythology. A spin-off of that course – made easier by various recent publica- for their students. The history of Classical Mythology in Film – debuts in Fall tions (in addition to the texts and com- Alexander will cease to be something 2004. Among her major publications are mentaries noted above): Joseph Rois- that is dealt with superficially in the last translations of Ovid’s Fasti (1995) and man’s edition of Brill’s Companion to two lectures of a Greek history course, Alexander the Great (2003) complements in which students are advised to fasten Statius’ Silvae (2004). 19 ® GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS A Publication of the American Philological Association Sponsorship: Amphora, a publication Suggested Length of Submissions: sponsored by the Committee on Out- Articles (1200-1800 words), reviews reach of the American Philological (500-1000 words). Editor Association, is published twice a year, in the spring and fall. Anonymous Refereeing: Submissions Anne-Marie Lewis will be refereed anonymously. York University Audience: Amphora is intended for a [email protected] wide audience that includes professional Footnotes: Amphora is footnote free. classicists, present and former classics Any pertinent references should be majors, interested academics and pro- worked into the text of the submission. Editorial Board fessionals in other fields, high school teachers and students, administrators in Addresses for Submissions: Marty Abbott the field of education, community lead- Submissions (and enquiries) may be Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia ers, and anyone with a strong interest in sent either by mail to the postal address [email protected] and enthusiasm for the classical world. below or electronically to the e-mail address below: Adam Blistein Submissions: Amphora welcomes sub- Executive Director, APA missions from professional scholars and Dr. Anne-Marie Lewis [email protected] experts on topics dealing with the Editor: Amphora worlds of ancient Greece and Rome Program in Classical Studies Helene Foley (literature, language, mythology, history, 262 Vanier College Barnard College culture, classical tradition, and the arts). 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Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow Brandeis University American Philological Association [email protected] Non-Profit Org. 292 Logan Hall, University of Pennsylvania U.S. Postage 249 S. 36th Street PAID Daniel Mendelsohn Philadelphia, PA 19104-6304 Permit No. 2563 [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Philadelphia, PA Web site: www.apaclassics.org Matthew S. Santirocco New York University [email protected]

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