A Canadian on-line second-hand bookshop

If you are looking for specific out-of-print books you might like to browse this site.
The prices seem fairly steep to me. Kenneth Dover's edition of Frogs, for instance, is on sale at 85.50 US dollars. But then I've tried to stop buying second-hand books for the past decade and may be well out of touch [...]

The American Empire – can it learn from Rome?

Last Sunday's Observer had Tristram Hunt musing on the TV 'Rome', and concentrating on what it has to say about the USA:
What has always attracted scholars and statesmen to Roman history is the search for the seeds of that decline. Was it military overstretch? Was it the cost of Empire? And, crucially, when did decline [...]

'Spartan', a "mindless" computer game

If you are really into bashing virtual warriors on the head in a vaguely Graeco-Roman context, you might conceivably be interested in this Sega game. See the review.

Halloween and the Romans – Feralia and Pomona

This is the best of the current pieces I have come across on the web about the origins of Halloween. It's from the Sierra Star.
History and Hauntings
By Cathie Campbell – Special to the Sierra Star
(Updated Friday, October 28, 2005, 9:00 AM)
Beware of “bumps” in the night as corn stalks rustle in the fall breeze and [...]

Mary Beard on four new books inspired by Greek myth

See yesterday's Guardian for a long review by Mary Beard of these four books:

Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore
by Bettany Hughes
496pp, Jonathan Cape, £20
Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles
by Jeanette Winterson
208pp, Canongate, £12
The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus
by Margaret Atwood
208pp, Canongate, £12
Songs on Bronze: The Greek Myths Retold
by Nigel Spivey
304pp, Faber, £16.99

Roman Day in Newcastle

Youngsters head down Roman road
Oct 27 2005
By The Evening Chronicle
Children brought history to life when they stepped back in time to spend the day as Romans.
Youngsters aged seven and eight from Kells Lane Primary in Low Fell, Gateshead, dressed as Centurians, Romans and Celts as the highlight of their history project.
They have already taken part [...]

Hannibal and Rome reviewed

There's a review of the TV Hannibal versus Rome by Small Screen here.
It is being televised in America today, but no date for the UK showing is given.

So the Cambridge Latin Course DVD is out.

This is from today's Sunday Telegraph.
Lessons on a DVD put Latin back into state classrooms
By Julie Henry
(Filed: 29/10/2005)
Latin will be taught in hundreds of state schools for the first time using a new programme designed to reinvigorate the subject. Hi-tech lessons, created by Cambridge University at a cost of £5 million, will give step-by-step tuition [...]

The Roman Oppidum near Gaujac

In September I stayed with friends near Uzes way down in the south of France (it's pronounced use – ess). Knowing my classical interests they told me about the hilltop Roman settlement by the village of Gaujac.
Being a lazy so-and-so, I drove right up to the gate of the oppidum. I shall not do that [...]

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