I just added this nicely toned republican denarius (Lucius Caesius, 112-111 BC.) to the gallery. 112 was the year the war with Jugurtha started. Click on the thumbnail to check it out.
Monthly Archive for April, 2008
An ancient Greek tomb thought to have held the body of Alexander the Great’s father is actually that of Alexander’s half brother, researchers say. This may mean that some of the artifacts found in the tomb—including a helmet, shield, and silver “crown”—originally belonged to Alexander the Great himself. Alexander’s half brother is thought to have claimed these royal trappings after Alexander’s death.
A rare bust of Lucius Verus, co-emperor of Marcus Aurelius, has been recovered by Italian police. >>Link
Here is the translation from Latin to English of Cornelii Nepotis Timoleon that I promised the other day.
This coin has my favorite portrayal of Zeus — Zeus “Eleutherios” or Zeus “the Liberator.” It was minted in Syracuse, Sicily between 344 and 336 BC., during the time of Timoleon. It is worn and pitted, but it has a nice glossy green patina and most of the details are visible. It is 26mm and roughly 20 grams, a nice hefty coin.
I would love to have an EF sample of this coin as it is one of my all-time favorites. If you click here, you can see what an EF version of this coin looks like. Note the price on the right of the page. 
Though much, much nicer than my coin, mine was about one thirtieth the price so I’m pretty happy with it.
I am working on a translation of Cornelius Nepos’ short biography of Timoleon, so I will refrain from writing about him in this post. The translation should be up on this site in 2-3 days so check back soon.
Click on the thumbnail for a larger image and attribution.
A couple of interesting stories I came across.
Archaeologists from the University of Vienna have found a gold amulet inscribed in Hebrew in Austria dated to the third century A.D. It is the earliest known evidence of Jews in Austria.
Gold Scroll Discovered: Earliest Evidence Of Jewish Inhabitants In Austria
A huge statue of Egypt’s Queen Tiye has been found.
