Calliope articles from September 2005

Calliope archives from September 2005

It is difficult to retain what you may have learned unless you should practice it.(MUSINGS)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... FOR THE PEOPLE OF HERCULANEUM, THE EVENTS OF AUGUST A.D. 79 WERE DISASTROUS. A powerful volcanic eruption had buried their town, and there was no way to dig through the debris that imprisoned it. Only centuries later, following the find of a...

Vesuvius eruptus!
September 1, 2005... Today, Mount Vesuvius measures about 30 miles at its base, with gentle slopes rising to a height of 4,200 feet. At the peak, it has a small crater, which developed as a result of eruptions that have occurred during modern times. A larger...

Meet the people of Herculaneum.
September 1, 2005... The people of Herculaneum were Romans, and it is from the ruins of places like Herculaneum that we have learned much about how the Romans lived. Most houses--from the fine mansions on the seashore to the townhouses in the city--were the homes...

What's what in Herculaneum?(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... In the first century A.D., Herculaneum, named after the Greek hero Herakles (known to the Romans as Hercules), was a small town in the Roman Empire. Located on the Bay of Naples, on the southwest coast of Italy, it lay just south of modern-day...

Performance canceled!
September 1, 2005... Theatrical performances were an important part of the cultural life of Herculaneum. In fact, a rehearsal for a play was in progress in the theater when Mount Vesuvius erupted. The theater at Herculaneum was similar to those in many Roman towns....

Togas and tunics.(clothing of roman men)
September 1, 2005... The wool toga was a distinctive Roman outer garment, worn only by men who were citizens of Rome. Each weighed several pounds and required frequent cleaning. Chalk was often rubbed over a toga to make it whiter. A broad purple stripe marked a...

Who's who among the gods?(ACTIVITY)
September 1, 2005... Life in ancient Greece and Italy revolved around religion and the worship of many gods and goddesses. The Greeks believed in a large family of deities who lived atop Mount Olympus, the highest mountain on mainland Greece. The Etruscans (see...

If rooms could talk.
September 1, 2005... In our homes, we decorate the walls with framed paintings, photographs, textiles, bookshelves, and knickknacks. We ornament our wood and the floors with carpets and patterned rugs. In antiquity, the rooms of a Roman house were decorated as...

Worshiping the Gods at home.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... At the front door of the House of An altar for the family gods, called a lararium, was a common feature in Roman houses. Bronze statuettes of major gods, as well as of local divinities, were placed in a small, house-shape niche that served as a...

A garden on the wall.
September 1, 2005... The Romans decorated the walls of their homes with paintings done in a technique known as fresco. Painting in fresco is a permanent way of creating an image. Unlike watercolor on paper or oil on canvas, fresco involves painting with mineral...

Fresco finish.(ACTIVITY)
September 1, 2005... When a fresco is damaged, a conservator has to act as an artist to figure out the details in the missing section. Now, it's your turn to try your skill at this work: Check out the images an illustrator has reproduced below. Each has a missing...

Rebuilding the past.(FROM PAST TO PRESENT)
September 1, 2005... When J. Paul Getty needed more space for his art collection, he decided to build a new museum in the form of an ancient Roman villa. His choice for the design was the largest and most opulent private villa known: the Villa dei Papiri at...

J. Paul Getty and his Villa.
September 1, 2005... One of the richest men of the 20th century was J. Paul Getty (1892-1976). A hugely successful oilman, he made his first million dollars at age 23. He kept works of art in his various homes, including the Spanish-style "Ranch House" in Malibu....

Excavating the Villa dei Papiri.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... In 1750, the ancient Villa dei Papiri was rediscovered by chance when workers digging a well hit the colored marble floor of one of its rooms. Searching for more marble, they dug tunnels through layers of hardened mud and lava. The project was...

Lustrous gardens.
September 1, 2005... Most of what we know about Roman gardens comes from archaeological excavations, surviving ancient texts, and wall paintings. The study of plant roots uncovered in gardens buried by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius has also yielded much...

Garden sculpture.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The gardens in well-to-do Roman households often had statues of deities and prominent statesmen, portraits of philosophers, and copies of statues by the master sculptors. These bronze and marble statues were meant to provide enjoyment and to...

Statue situation.(ACTIVITY)
September 1, 2005... The sculptors of the statues of the five maidens below fashioned them to adorn the pool area, each making the best use of the reflections, in an inner peristyle garden. Time, however, was not kind to them, and archaeologists found each a...

What's in a name.(FUN WITH WORDS)
September 1, 2005... Much like people today, Roman citizens often had three names. Instead of a first, middle, and last name, men were given what were called a praenomen, a nomen, and a cognomen. Roman men might also earn an agnomen, an honorific title that...

The sculptor's skills.
September 1, 2005... Sculptures of various sizes, from small statuettes in the house to life-size statues in the gardens, decorated Roman villas. Statues also adorned public buildings and temples. The Romans appreciated figures, images, and motifs that the Greeks...

Take a closer look.
September 1, 2005... The Romans loved storytelling. Artists and sculptors often included mythical people and scenes into their work--sometimes in the most unexpected places. One such place was a sarcophagus, a large, lidded stone coffin. The reliefs on the one...

Surrounded by sculpture.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Sculpted images could be found almost everywhere in ancient Rome. Depending on their purpose, sculptures were set up in both public and private locations: Forum: The Roman forum was a central city square where male citizens assembled ...

Ask Calliope.
September 1, 2005... ? who was Confucius? --Brenda, 13, Web post ! Confucius is China's best-known philosopher. Born about 551 B.C., he was the first person in Chinese history to devote his entire life to teaching. He is said to have had more than 3,000...

Off the shelf.
September 1, 2005... The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome by Chris Scarre (Penguin, 1995, www.penguinputnam.com) traces the history of ancient Rome, from the Republic through to the fall of the Empire, using maps and illustrations. Roman Art: Romulus...

On the net.(http://carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/ROME/homepg.html)(www.brookes.ac.uk/geology/8361/2000/angela/home.htm)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Geared toward students, this Web site on Ancient Rome features such topics as people, mythology, daily life, death and burial, writing, and archaeology: http://carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/ROME/homepg.html Designed to take you on a virtual...

Presenting a collection.
September 1, 2005... Plans for reinstalling the permanent collection of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan art at the Getty Villa began in 1996. The pieces had previously been on view only on the J. Paul Getty Museum's main floor but now the collection would occupy both...

Glossary of ancient cultures at the getty villa.(Brief Article)(Glossary)
September 1, 2005... THE GREEKS Although divided into distinctive city-states, the Greeks defined themselves by their common language, culture, and religion. In addition to settling mainland Greece and the Aegean islands, they also established colonies around...

Who's who behind the scenes?
September 1, 2005... When you walk into the Getty Villa, you are immediately transported to another world--one that invites you to enter an ancient Roman villa with its columns and statues, gardens and water fountains, and brightly painted ceilings and walls. What...

The Villa dei Papiri reimagined at the Getty Villa.(Roman country house recreated)
September 1, 2005... TEMPLE OF HERAKLES The elaborate floor in the Temple of Herakles is a replica of a floor from the Villa dei Papiri. It is composed of alternating triangles of Numidian yellow and africano or dark gray Lucullan marble. ATRIUM The...

Inside a Roman villa.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... ATRIUM 1 In a Roman household, the atrium (plural: atria) served as the public part of the house where business was conducted and visitors received. An opening in the roof, known as the comppluvium, admitted light and air as well as...