Category Archives: Prose

From Pompeii, With Love

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Exeter is a place that inspires me to talk about nonsense emerging from Pompeii. Seven or so years ago, I applied for a lectureship at the University of Exeter. For my presentation, I chose to talk about my initial observations … Continue reading →

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I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do…

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Last week’s blog post dealt with one of the more bizarre little incidents from the 2014 FIFA world cup – Luis Suárez’s biting of Giorgio Chiellini. An equally iconic scene of this year’s world cup, rather more amusing, was that … Continue reading →

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Ulpian and Cicero on Internet Security

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

A strange thing happened the other day. On one of the main Classics-related listservs, the Liverpool-based ‘Classicist list‘, an email that contained several internal, private email messages (that clearly were never intended to be seen by anyone other than their … Continue reading →

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Demagoguery and Populism

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

In the wake of recent elections, both at a local level in Britain and, more generally, for the European Parliament, there was a lot of talk about the (continued) rise of demagogues and populism, often with a backwards nationalist or … Continue reading →

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Neither the First, Nor the Wurst

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

When Conchita Wurst, the carefully designed and meticulously planned stage persona of the Austrian artist Tom Neuwirth, won the 2014 European Song Contest with his song Rise Like A Phoenix, a majority of people simply enjoyed the power of music … Continue reading →

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The Divine Riches of the Latin Language

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

My son’s interest in the Latin language, fuelled by his engaging Latin teacher, remains unbroken. Recently, for example, he wished to discuss the authenticity of some volumes of John Maddox Roberts‘s beautifully entertaining SPQR series with me (to a depth … Continue reading →

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Epigraphy CIS – Cause of Death: (illegible scrawl)

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Latin inscriptions are fascinating. Like personal letters of the same time, they allow unique glimpses into the ancient world and the fate of individuals – if, in the case of tombstones, usually through the prism of the perception of those … Continue reading →

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Two Easter Tales

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Easter tends to be a most cheerful holiday for Christians – and Not-Quite-So-Christians – all over the world, an occasion on which public life is suspended: celebrated in early spring, when nature finally resumes its life and the sun starts … Continue reading →

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Discussing Cicero, Against Verres II 1.53 ff. (for A-level students)

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

Reading’s Department of Classics was delighted to host the 2014 Ancient World Study Day on March 26th. On this occasion, I was invited to offer a talk on Cicero’s speech In Verrem 2.1.53 ff., the OCR set text for 2014, … Continue reading →

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Pliny on Regulus: ‘Will two stories serve you, or must you have a third, according to the canon of the schools?’

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Peter Kruschwitz

The following text was presented at the JACT GCSE Latin and Greek Conference at Westminster School London on 14 March 2014. I am immensely grateful to Ms Katharine Radice for the invitation to this event. I. Pliny did not like … Continue reading →

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