Author Archives: Peter Kruschwitz

About Peter Kruschwitz

Berliner. Classicist. Scatterbrain.

And the Owl doesn’t care…

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

The internet is a strange place – full of the most wondrous things and inspiration. Over the last year, I have published a number of blog posts to do with (mostly poetic) memorials for dogs in the Roman world – … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmina Epigraphica, Epigraphy, Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Restoring a Ghost Inscription from Reading

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

I have deep respect for the immense learning, skills, and achievements of many of my academic teachers as well as other scholars with whom I was fortunate enough to cross paths at various stages of my professional life. An example … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, History of Reading, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What have the Syrians ever done for us…?

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

Things are difficult – and not particularly cheerful – at the moment. The so-called migrant crisis, the barbarism of ISIS troops in Syria and elsewhere, the humanitarian and fiscal crisis of Greece, Europe’s politicians’ utter inability to defend the human(e)ly … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Reading’s Latin Inscriptions

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

May I be forgiven some shameless self-advertising? My latest book has just been published by Reading’s wonderful Two Rivers Press! The book contains an anthology of 48 Latin inscriptions that are on display in Berkshire’s county town of Reading (as … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmina Epigraphica, Education, Epigraphy, History of Reading, Poetry, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Displaced Human Beings: Seneca, the Refugee Crisis, and Human Migration

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

In A. D. 41, long before he became one of Rome’s most powerful political figures, the Roman politician, Stoic philosopher, and writer Lucius Annaeus Seneca got to experience first hand what hundreds of thousands of people are enduring at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Prose | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

God(s) Help Us All!

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

The last few days I spent in the Taunus mountain range in Hesse, Germany, exploring Roman remains with my son, who, as my loyal readers may remember, is interested in everything Roman (as well as everything else). Among the most … Continue reading →

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All Work and No Play…?

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

This year’s August is a strange month for me. On the one hand, this August is the final month of my British Academy Fellowship, which has allowed me to work on my project ‘Poetry of the People’, focusing on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmina Epigraphica, Epigraphy, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cecil the Fabled Lion

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

Cecil the lion, one of the most iconic creatures of Zimbabwe’s national parks, has been killed by trophy hunters, creating an international outcry in the press as well as in social media (for an overview see e. g. this page) … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Four-legged snake 1 – Latin 0

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

News just broke about a sensational discovery: a four-legged ancestral snake. Truly fascinating stuff. Its name? Tetrapodophis amplectus, apparently. τέτταρες (tettares) ~ “4”. πούς (pous) ~ “foot”. ὄφις (ophis) ~ “snake”. But … what exactly is amplectus supposed to mean? … Continue reading →

Posted in Prose | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Interpreting the Interpreter’s Poem

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Peter Kruschwitz

Some time ago, I published a little piece about the idea that the etymology of a name should reveal something about the character of a person – nomen est omen – as reflected in the Latin inscriptions. One piece that … Continue reading →

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