Egypt
- Book Review: Cleopatra - A Biography
npr With an exerpt from the book following the review. Cleopatra was a tragic temptress who left a string of broken hearts up and down the Nile -- or at least, that's what her enemies in Rome wanted you to think. Now, a new biography of the Egyptian...
- New Book: Obelisk: A History
PennState Live Brian A. Curran, associate professor of art history at Penn State, is a co-author of "Obelisk: A History," published in April 2009 by MIT Press. The illustrated book traces the fate and many meanings of obelisks -- giant standing stones...
- Exhibition: Examining The Relationship Between Egypt And Rome
ANSA A sweeping new exhibition in a legendary Rome venue explores the centuries-old love affair between the two ancient civilizations of Egypt and Rome. The exhibit at Castel Sant'Angelo, features a host of artefacts exploring the development of...
- Blog Update
Hello to everyone Thanks HUGELY to Ben Morales-Correa for doing such a fantastic job whilst I was soaking up the sun and sights in Italy. You would not believe how much it has lightened my load to know that, thanks to Ben's work, I don't have...
- Quick Blog Update
Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday and this morning - been a bit busy. I am going up to town today to meet a friend to combine two of my favourite subjects - archaeology chat and website-building chat. After that I thought I'd see what the queues...
Egypt
Photo for Today
As usual the photo chosen for the day whilst I'm in Wales inevitably comes from my laptop, on which I keep only a few holiday snaps of the Egyptian deserts and a few more of Italy. In case you are fed up with desert shots here, instead, is a photo from Rome of one of the Egyptian obelisks, easily distinguished from its eleven expatriate cousins by the fact that it stands on top of a rather overwrought elephant sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (which is worth appreciating in its own right). The friend with whom I was touring in Italy eventually cottoned on to the fact that we were navigating Rome via obelisks. Fortunately, as she can't read a map and I do all the navigating, it was quite late in the day when the penny dropped.
Located in the square outside the important basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva (built over the remains of a Roman temple to the goddess Isis) it was brought to Rome by the emperor Diocletian, from Sais. It is dedicated to the Pharaoh Apries (Wahibre Haaibre - 589 BC - 570 BC).
There's a list of the other obelisks in Rome on Wikipedia.
There's a list of the other obelisks in Rome on Wikipedia.
There are many more posts from last week to come, but my connection here in Wales keeps dropping out and I've lost all patience with it today.
- Book Review: Cleopatra - A Biography
npr With an exerpt from the book following the review. Cleopatra was a tragic temptress who left a string of broken hearts up and down the Nile -- or at least, that's what her enemies in Rome wanted you to think. Now, a new biography of the Egyptian...
- New Book: Obelisk: A History
PennState Live Brian A. Curran, associate professor of art history at Penn State, is a co-author of "Obelisk: A History," published in April 2009 by MIT Press. The illustrated book traces the fate and many meanings of obelisks -- giant standing stones...
- Exhibition: Examining The Relationship Between Egypt And Rome
ANSA A sweeping new exhibition in a legendary Rome venue explores the centuries-old love affair between the two ancient civilizations of Egypt and Rome. The exhibit at Castel Sant'Angelo, features a host of artefacts exploring the development of...
- Blog Update
Hello to everyone Thanks HUGELY to Ben Morales-Correa for doing such a fantastic job whilst I was soaking up the sun and sights in Italy. You would not believe how much it has lightened my load to know that, thanks to Ben's work, I don't have...
- Quick Blog Update
Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday and this morning - been a bit busy. I am going up to town today to meet a friend to combine two of my favourite subjects - archaeology chat and website-building chat. After that I thought I'd see what the queues...