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Posts by Michael Freeman

Herodotus, reaching over the desk, grabbing his agent by the collar:

“I don’t care what the editors say—if my readers want to understand the Ionian Revolt, they NEED to know what the Oxyrhynchites think the different colors of snake poop mean.”

9 hours ago 1 0 0 0

Instead of formal respondents or panel chairs, we would have the all-important contributors who sit on a counter nearby and sip a glass of wine while they chat with us.

4 days ago 1 0 0 0

@egarcmol.bsky.social This might interest you in particular.

2 weeks ago 1 0 0 0
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Nostos a tabletop roleplaying game about sailing home and saying goodbye.

Please consider supporting fellow Classicist @ericabridgesphd.bsky.social who has designed a beautiful and compelling Classics-inspired TTRPG:

www.kickstarter.com/projects/hon...

We need more creativity and art in times like these.

2 weeks ago 4 1 1 0

I enjoyed having the chance to read the volume this summer! A number of the essays inspired me to rework sections of my own in-progress book.

4 months ago 0 0 0 0

Thank you!

4 months ago 1 0 0 0

The ink is officially dry and I am thrilled to announce that my book “Hands That Write: The Training and Lived Experiences of Ancient Mediterranean Scribes” is under contract with OUP! @oxfordunipress.bsky.social

Sincere thanks to the editors, readers and mentors who have supported this project.

4 months ago 19 4 1 0
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The ancient Egyptians maintained 12 months of exactly 30 days each by observing five intercalary days at the end of the year.

These days existed outside of the standard reckoning of time and were essentially back-to-back feasts, and I feel this just perfectly captures the vibe of Dec. 26th-31st.

4 months ago 2 0 0 0

That I’m not sure of! It’s not my field and I don’t know if anyone has made a comprehensive study of that question.

4 months ago 0 0 1 0

How do you know where I live??

4 months ago 0 0 0 0
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Pasts Imperfect 8.14.25 This week, Mellon Leadership Fellow and Nero scholar Lauren Donovan Ginsberg busts the myth of the useless humanist. Then, new ancient world scholarship, new journal issues for a global antiquity, upc...

Lauren Ginsberg provides a broader study of the available data on this question, if you’re interested: pasts-imperfect.ghost.io/pasts-imperf...

4 months ago 0 0 1 0
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It was an honor to have met this remarkable woman and to have hosted her as our annual orator years ago.

May Dr. Jane Goodall rest peacefully in the Earth she fought so tirelessly to protect.

6 months ago 2 0 0 0

Bare minimum for holding a conversation: Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray, South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio, Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television, North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe.

8 months ago 3 0 0 0

“This week, Mellon Leadership Fellow and Nero scholar Lauren Donovan Ginsberg busts the myth of the useless humanist; a falsehood often used to justify cuts to humanities departments and programs today.”

8 months ago 27 7 0 0

“I asked ChatGPT” yeah well I asked the beautifully coiffed snake god Glykon by submitting my query in writing to his prophet Alexander at the temple in Abonoteichos that has a back room nobody’s allowed to go into

8 months ago 198 49 3 1

Yeah, double edged sword for sure.

8 months ago 0 0 0 0
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A number of credit unions, grant programs (etc.) offer Zero-Down programs for buyers with decent credit scores. The buyer just has to be willing to accept a hike in rates, which could price them out of some houses. All bets are off in one is in California or a posh suburb, of course.

8 months ago 0 0 1 0

I’m really proud of my article, “The Body of the Scribe,” which will be appearing in CJ 120.4—give the issue a read!

11 months ago 4 0 0 0

I once ventured on to a former campus for a meeting while using the scooter and it was appalling how challenging it was to get from A to B.

One had to use such a roundabout route, far more planning and exertion, and often there was no truly accessible way to get to most major buildings.

1 year ago 1 0 1 0

Is a knee scooter an option? For around the house stuff especially I found that vastly preferable to a crutch.

1 year ago 1 0 1 0

You really got me for a minute.

1 year ago 0 0 0 0

I came to say the say thing! To me it also looks like “De profundis…” I can make out part of the illuminated D followed by an enlarged E and then p..f…is.

1 year ago 2 0 1 0
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The Vatican Digitizes a 1,600-Year-Old Illuminated Manuscript of the Aeneid It’s fair to say that every period which has celebrated the literature of antiquity has held epic Roman poet Virgil in extremely high regard, and that was never more the case than during the early Chr...

The Vatican Digitizes a 1,600-Year-Old Illuminated Manuscript of the Aeneid

1 year ago 238 69 1 11

Someone 4,000 years in the future: “Based on unopened letters addressed this early 21st century CE man, it seems he was part of an ancient ritual cult dedicated to “extending your home’s warranty.”

1 year ago 0 0 0 0

🚨Classics Job Opportunity Alert🚨

If anyone in my network is interested in teaching Latin in a K-12 setting and is open to relocation (to the American Southwest), I have eyes on a great opportunity for you.

DM me for details!

1 year ago 0 0 0 0
A book cover with an image of a statue in a thinking posture, with the title at top reading "Listening to the Philosophers: Notes on Notes" and author name "Raffaella Cribiore" underneath.

A book cover with an image of a statue in a thinking posture, with the title at top reading "Listening to the Philosophers: Notes on Notes" and author name "Raffaella Cribiore" underneath.

FYI #AncientBlueSky: An excellent BMCR review of Raffaella Cribiore's "Listening to the Philosophers" is here, describing it as "fearless, insightful, lucid, & thought-provoking." bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.03...

And, more at @cornellupress.bsky.social: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...

1 year ago 19 9 1 0
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Proofs day! #ancientsky

1 year ago 2 0 0 0

Update 2.0: Tomlin (2011, p.147-8) muses on alternatives to the reed pen, including metal pens and quills, but notes that no evidence for quills has been found at Vindolanda.

1 year ago 1 0 1 0

I do trust @annabwilli.bsky.social to be comprehensive on that point.

1 year ago 2 0 0 0

Update: While doing research for another project, I was reminded of an article by Tomlin where it is suggested that there might be some material evidence of quills at Vindolanda—I will take a look at this as soon as I can get ahold of it and get back with you.

1 year ago 1 0 2 0