The Classical World

So, today I learned about Open Textbooks, and this, this is important. Basically, it’s FREE, QUALITY, LEGALLY-ACCESSIBLE TEXTBOOKS. That’s right, guys. 

You need expensive textbooks for college? Look up your ISBN on MERLOT.

You want a quality textbook for your class that’s up-to-date and not expensive? Check out the Open Textbook Network.

Are you an elementary or high school teacher trying to find resources for your classes but your district can’t afford new materials? Openstax is what you’re looking for. 

Here are some blogs I would recommend to anyone who was a fan of mine:

reallyoldglass, ancientcoins, classical-beauty-of-the-past, ancientrome, greek-museums, mythologer, archaicwonder, archaeologicalnews, ancientart, theancientworld, romegreeceart, ancientpeoples, archaeology

(For some more fandom-y Classical nonsense) thoodleoo, classicsmatters, celzmccelz, chelidon, and whatshouldwecallhomer are all wonderful.

I hope that you like them, and that you all will enjoy my queue as it finishes off my blog this week. 

Best regards, 

I have enjoyed sharing my studies and interests in the Classical world with all of you over the years, and I wholeheartedly encourage any of you who have a passion for these subjects to continue to learn and look for new ways to learn about them in the future. 

Thank you for following this little blog of mine, and for messaging me your kind words, whether you did so five months ago or more recently. A lot has changed, but I will always look back on this time in my life fondly. Please continue to browse through my archives and tags whenever you’d like. I won’t be deleting this blog, but I will be leaving it up for posterity. 

Thank you all again, and good luck in all that you do,

Capitoline Museums - Boy with a Thorn

A Roman bronze sculpture, probably 1st century CE.

Terracotta lekanis (dish). Eos top - Eros, woman, and swan bottom.

Tom Cutterham, “Today’s students are anything but coddled,” Times Higher Education

Glass cup with wreaths and Greek inscription, reading “Take the victory”

Roman, Augustan Period (early 1st century A.D.)

molded glass

Inscribed Roman Pugio Dagger, 1st Century AD

A highly unusual feature of this iron dagger is the punched inscription on the crossbar, which may be interpreted as: 7 PRIICONIS (centuria) Preconis / the century of Preco.

The Hope Athena

Ostia or Rome, Italy, 2nd century A.D.

Roman copy after a Greek original of the 5th century B.C.

marble

Stirrup jar with octopus, ca. 1200–1100 b.c.; Late Helladic IIIC Mycenaean Terracotta

A large, wide-eyed octopus stretches its tentacles across the curved body of this vessel. Flecks of paint and thin, arching lines denote the creature’s membranes, and large concentric rings represent its eyes. The spiraling ends of its tentacles lure the viewer around the sides to another, similar octopus that decorates the back of the jar. This type of vessel takes its name from the stirrup-shaped handles at the top. In antiquity, such jars—easy to carry and stow, and designed not to spill—were commonly used to transport wine and oil throughout the Mediterranean. Although this vessel is a product of the Mycenaean culture of mainland Greece, its marine imagery derives from the art of Minoan Crete. When the Mycenaeans conquered Crete (ca. 1450 B.C.), Minoan styles exerted considerable influence on the art of the mainland. The design on this vase ultimately derived from motifs that decorated marine-style vessels of the Late Minoan I period.

Control of the sea was essential to the Mycenaeans for gaining and maintaining power over their vast domain. The shape of this stirrup jar and its octopus decoration testify to the importance of the sea as an avenue of communication and source of food and wealth.