Otto III:

(980 -1002)  king of Germany 983–1002 and Holy Roman Emperor 996–1002; dreamed of recreating glory and power of the Roman Empire in a universal Christian state governed from Rome, the pope would be subordinate to the emperor in religious & secular affairs.  From 998 Rome was his official residence & administrative centre.  Instituting elaborate Byzantine court ceremonies and reviving ancient Roman customs, he assumed the titles “the servant of Jesus Christ,” “the servant of the apostles,” and “emperor of the world”.

 

Palladio:

(1508-1580) Italian architect active in the Republic of Venice; influenced by Roman & Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius; considered to be one of the most influential individuals in the history of architecture, valued for centuries as the quintessence of High Renaissance calm and harmony.  Designed many palaces, villas, and churches; his reputation was founded on his skill as a designer of villas. The palladian villas are located mainly in the province of Vicenza (the Venetian Republic); his architectural treatise, The Four Books of Architecture, gained wide recognition.

 

Pompeii:

ancient Roman city near Naples; along with Herculaneum and many villas in the area, it was destroyed and buried under 4 - 6 meters of volcanic ash & pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, AD 79.  The objects that lay beneath the city have been preserved for more than a millennium because of the lack of air & moisture. The artifacts provide an detailed insight into the life of a city during the Pax Romana.

 

temples of Paestum and Segesta:

Temple of Hera II (Paestum, Campania, Italy) Greek temple of Doric order, 6 x 14 columns, built 460–450 BC; columns have 24 rather than typical 20 flutes & are wider with smaller intervals between columns;  temple is aligned with a double peaked mountain considered to be sacred by the Greeks.

 

Greek Doric temple (just outside ancient city of Segesta) built  420's BC by Athenian architect; 6 x 14 columns on a base measuring 21 x 56 meters, has a platform 3 steps high; temple unfinished.

 

Aristophanes:

(446-386 BC) comic playwright of Athens, known as the Father of Comedy, wrote genre of drama known as Old Comedy; credited with recreating the life of ancient Athens more convincingly than any other author. His powers of ridicule were feared & acknowledged by influential contemporaries; Plato singled out his' play The Clouds as slander that contributed to the trial and subsequent condemnation of Socrates.

 

Juvenal:

(1st century AD) Roman poet, the author of collection of satirical poems known as the Satires, vital source for the study of ancient Rome from a number of perspectives although probably not strictly factual.  He claims to write about the entire gamut of human experience since the dawn of history.  At first glance the Satires could be read as a critique of pagan Rome which may have ensured their survival in Christian monastic libraries. 

 

Petronius:

(27- 66 AD) Roman courtier during the reign of Nero; was the emperor's fashion adviser ("judge of elegance"); became a member of the senatorial class devoted to life of pleasure.  Author of the Satyricon, a satirical novel written during Nero’s reign (54-68 AD).  Its message is not moral, not intended to produce reform, but written to entertain; a valuable tool to comprehend the customs & ways of life of 1st Century Rome. 

 

Phrynes:

(born 371 BC) a Greek courtesan (hetaira), tried for impiety; famous for her beauty, during festivals she would let down her hair and step naked into the sea; this inspired the painter Apelles to create his famous picture of Aphrodite (Rising from the Sea); Praxiteles, was her lover & used her for the statue of the Aphrodite of Knidos, the first female nude; he may have also produced two more statues of her, one in the temple of Thespiae and another in the temple of Delphi.

  

phallus worship:

Sexuality in ancient Rome was characterized as "phallocentric"; the phallic deity Mutunus Tutunus promoted marital sex.  The cult of Father Liber, who presided over the citizen's entry into political & sexual manhood, involved a phallus; a sacred phallus was among objects considered vital to the security of the Roman state (kept by the Vestal Virgins).  The symbol was ubiquitous in ancient Rome, notably as phallic charms.  At Pompeii were found bronze wind chimes that featured the phallus, to ward off the evil eye and other malevolent influences.  

 

Byzantine circus:

Chariot racing continued in the Byzantine Empire even after fall of the city Rome, although they did not keep as many records & statistics as the Romans; in place of the detailed inscriptions of Roman racing statistics, several short epigrams in verse were composed celebrating some of the more famous Charioteers.  In ancient Rome, chariot races commonly took place in a circus; the first & main center was the Circus Maximus, with a length of 650 meters & width of 125 meters, seating 250,000 people; rebuilt by Julius Caesar around 50 BC.

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