Monthly Archives: January 2015

Meet the gloomiest Romans of all time

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

Last week, I introduced a (very small) choice of inscriptions that presented a variety of ways in which heartbroken parents had begun to come to terms with the loss of their offspring. An inscription that I chose not to include … Continue reading →

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Coping with the Death of a Child

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

A friend of mine had an extraordinary, deeply unsettling experience this week. She had lunch with a co-worker and her daughter, a young lady in her 30s, who was visiting her mother for some quality time. When, the following day, … Continue reading →

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Immerging into a Layered Past

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

The number of texts that have survived from Graeco-Roman antiquity is finite, but impossible to quantify: an unknown number of texts are still hiding somewhere, and thus every day on which a new text – or part thereof – becomes … Continue reading →

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Killing Jokes and Suicide Jests

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

There are two essential rules for anyone who wants to crack a joke: timing, timing, timing – and be mindful of your audience. Aelius Lamia, who had his first wife, Domitia Longina, pinched by Domitian, had to learn that lesson … Continue reading →

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