Category Archives: Epigraphy

Herd immunity

Posted on March 20, 2020 by

As the UK’s ‘herd immunity’ approach to the coronavirus crisis has proven to be somewhat of a debacle, I would like to share how the farmer Sagaris protected his herd during an epidemic. His story is recorded in a Greek … Continue reading →

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

Craving facts: the new graffito from Pompeii

Posted on October 17, 2018 by

Yesterday news broke about the discovery of a graffito from Pompeii that was, in the usual sensationalist way, hailed as a text that would require us to rewrite our history books: View this post on Instagram Pompeii, Regio V. Casa … Continue reading →

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People of Changing Colour

Posted on October 3, 2018 by

In a vitriolic letter to Marcella about one Onasus, dated to A. D. 385, St. Jerome, one of the Christian fathers, makes a remarkable, commonly overlooked statement (Letters 42.2): non et lucus ideo dicatur, quod minime luceat, et Parcae ab … Continue reading →

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‘You’re dead, you’re a joke,’ or: How should one respond to that image of a Pompeian who was struck by a massive piece of rock?

Posted on June 27, 2018 by

Contrary to what most people think, there is not only one certainty in life, namely that we all must die: there is a second one, and that is that, before we die, we must live with the certainty of death. … Continue reading →

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Blazing with passion

Posted on June 15, 2018 by

It has been just over one year now since the devastating fire of Grenfell Tower in London – a horrendous, fast-spreading blaze that killed dozens of people and left over two-hundred of the tower block’s inhabitants in the sudden need … Continue reading →

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Abusive working relationships

Posted on March 14, 2018 by

Many strikes do not leave any substantial traces in the historical record. In other cases, the historical record proves extremely hard to read. The following instance is one such example – to show just how sketchy the evidence can be … Continue reading →

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Creative disruption and relentless retribution

Posted on March 7, 2018 by

Strikes are annoying to everyone: employers, customers, and – last, but certainly not least – their employees. Annoyance quickly leads to anger, and anger quickly leads to advocacy for acts of retribution for a perceived injustice – retribution that in … Continue reading →

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Strike, Legal Action, and Delusion

Posted on February 26, 2018 by

Many stories about walk-outs and strikes in the Roman Empire originate from its Eastern provinces. A particularly noteworthy event in this context is the strike of the bakers’ guild in Ephesus in the second half of the second century A. … Continue reading →

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United we stand, divided we fall

Posted on February 23, 2018 by

A Latin inscription from Beirut, dating to the third century A. D., records a conflict between shipowners from Arelate (Arles) in Gaul and the Roman government: [- – – I]ulianus naviculariis / [mar]inis Arelatensibus quinque / [co]rporum salutem / [qu]id … Continue reading →

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Once a thief…?

Posted on November 29, 2017 by

I have been looking at the Latin inscriptions of Silchester recently, and in that context I came across a very remarkable item: the so-called Vyne ring: The Vyne ring, around a seal depicting (and naming) the goddess Venus, bears a … Continue reading →

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