#classics content

[penthesileas]

the gilgamesh translation is by herbert mason and i think it's an adaptation moreso than a translation ?

thanks! sounds interesting, next time i can get to a library i’ll see if i can find it

[penthesileas]

highlights from a scholarly article i read today:

"In fact, the model for a bad emperor can be traced back to Antony, lounging around in eastern costume, the loose robes and lopsided ivy crown of Dionysus. Antony had always been easily swayed by the lure of exotica ... In fact, nearly all 'bad' emperors wanted to be Hellenistic kings - fopping around in fringed silk, loose clothes and slippers..."

"Yet, Augustus, as the first emperor, also had the potential to be very bad indeed. There were vested interests in squeezing him into Dionysus' buskins ... Cleopatra sent him a DIY Hellenistic king outfit as a symbol of her acceptance of his victory."

"It is not enough to dismiss Elagabalus' dressing up as simply the activities of Rome's greatest walking disaster."