Five Common Historical Misconceptions Explained

Vikings, Lady Godiva, Napoleon, Vomitorium, Columbus

Archaeologists uncover amphitheatre used to train gladiators near Vienna

The ruins are a ‘sensational discovery’ with a structure to rival the Colosseum in Rome, archaeologists say.

Read the article here.

Thomas Sowell – Dismantling America

Exercises to build the body of a Greek God

The Doryphorus displays the canonic proportions of the male torso established by Polykleitos and it was the model for the Hellenistic and Roman heroic cuirass, a fine example being the Augustus of Prima Porta.

From listverse.com:

Height (78 inches, 198.1)
Neck (19 inches; 48.26)
Biceps (16.5 inches; 41.9)
Chest (52 inches; 36.8cm)
Forearms (14.5 inches; 36.8cm)
Buttocks (47.5 inches; 120.6cm)
Calves (19 inches; 48.26cm)
Waist (40.5 inches; 102.8cm)
Thighs (26.5 inches; 67.3cm)

Read about the exercises here.

Cicero

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?

- Cicero

War and History with Victor Davis Hanson

The Pagan Roots of Christmas

Parts of our Christmas celebrations have roots in Pagan Roman festivals Saturnalia, Sol Invictus & the Calends.

See a short video from discovery.com here.

Top 10 Color Classical Reproductions

From the listverse.com site:
When we think of statues and buildings of the classical period, we tend to imagine white marble; scientists in recent years have discovered that it is in fact most likely that many of the buildings and statues were painted and probably adorned with jewelry. The Vatican Museum has recently put on an exhibition of some of the most famous antiquities from the era with reproductions painted as close to the originals as they can – this is possible because many statues contain trace amounts of pigment from their original coats of paint. This is a list of ten spectacular reproduction statues from the Classical Period. As usual, click each image to view a larger version.

See more comparison pictures here.

Mini-Colosseum Excavated in Rome

From the discovery.com article:
Beneath Rome’s Fiumicino airport lies a “mini-Colosseum” that may have played host to Roman emperors, according to British archaeologists.

The foundations of the amphitheater, which are oval-shaped like the much larger arena in the heart of Rome, have been unearthed at the site of Portus, a 2nd century A.D. harbor near Ostia’s port on the Tiber River.

Read the article here.

Agora, The Movie

I found out about an upcoming (December 2009) historical movie that looks interesting from N.S.Gill’s Ancient History Blog.

Go here to see a trailer and other related stuff.