An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek ἐπίγραμμα. This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia.
The Satires are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal written between the end of the first and the early second centuries A.D.
In Greek mythology, Pelops was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region. He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus.
Arria was a woman in ancient Rome. Her husband, Caecina Paetus, was ordered by the emperor Claudius to commit suicide for his part in a rebellion but was not capable of forcing himself to do so. Arria wrenched the dagger from him and stabbed herself, then returned it to her husband, telling him that it didn't hurt. Her story was recorded in the letters of Pliny the Younger, who obtained his information from Arria's granddaughter, Fannia.
Marcus Valerius Martialis was a Roman poet born in Hispania best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. In these poems he satirises city life and the scandalous activities of his acquaintances, and romanticises his provincial upbringing. He wrote a total of 1,561 epigrams, of which 1,235 are in elegiac couplets.
Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through 19 December. By the 1st century B.C., the celebration had been extended through 23 December, for a total of seven days of festivities. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves as it was seen as a time of liberty for both slaves and freedmen alike. A common custom was the election of a "King of the Saturnalia", who gave orders to people, which were followed and presided over the merrymaking. The gifts exchanged were usually gag gifts or small figurines made of wax or pottery known as sigillaria. The poet Catullus called it "the best of days".
Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from a very early time. With the institution of formal races and permanent racetracks, chariot racing was adopted by many Greek states and their religious festivals. Horses and chariots were very costly. Their ownership was a preserve of the wealthiest aristocrats, whose reputations and status benefitted from offering such extravagant, exciting displays. Their successes could be further broadcast and celebrated through commissioned odes and other poetry.
The Charioteer of Delphi, also known as Heniokhos, is a statue surviving from Ancient Greece, and an example of ancient bronze sculpture. The life-size (1.8m) statue of a chariot driver was found in 1896 at the Sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. It is now in the Delphi Archaeological Museum.
Cynisca was a wealthy Spartan princess. She is famous for being the first woman to win at the Olympic Games; her horse teams competed in the sport of chariot racing, driven by male charioteers. Cynisca first entered the Olympics in 396 BC, where she won first prize competing with a team of horses she had trained herself. In 392 BC, Cynisca entered her horses in the Olympics for a second time and was awarded another victory in the same event.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace, published by Harper and Brothers on November 12, 1880, and considered "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century". It became a best-selling American novel, surpassing Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) in sales. The book also inspired other novels with biblical settings and was adapted for the stage and motion picture productions.
The Ludi Romani was a religious festival in ancient Rome held annually, starting in 366 BC, from September 12 to September 14. In the last 1st century BC, an extra day was added in honor of the deified Julius Caesar on 4 September and extended to September 19. The festival first introduced drama to Rome based on Greek drama.
Circus Maximus is a chariot racing board game that was originally published by Battleline Publications in 1979, but is better known for the 1980 Avalon Hill edition. The game has become very popular at gaming conventions in an oversized form, with 10-foot (3.0 m)-long boards and baseball-sized chariots.
Gaius Appuleius Diocles was a Roman charioteer. His existence and career are attested by two highly detailed contemporary inscriptions, used by modern historians to help reconstruct the likely conduct and techniques of chariot racing. He has been described in some modern sources as the highest-paid athlete of all time.
Latin obscenity is the profane, indecent, or impolite vocabulary of Latin, and its uses. Words deemed obscene were described as obsc(a)ena, or improba. Documented obscenities occurred rarely in classical Latin literature, limited to certain types of writing such as epigrams, but they are commonly used in the graffiti written on the walls of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Among the documents of interest in this area is a letter written by Cicero in 45 BC to a friend called Paetus, in which he alludes to a number of obscene words without actually naming them.
Porphyrius the Charioteer, also named Porphyrius Calliopas was a celebrity Byzantine-Roman charioteer in the late 5th and early 6th century AD, during what the classicist Alan Cameron has described as the "golden age" of Byzantium's hippodrome, and of the Byzantine charioteer.
The inaugural games were held, on the orders of the Roman Emperor Titus, to celebrate the completion in AD 80 of the Colosseum, then known as the Flavian Amphitheatre.
Uttara, also rendered Uttara Kumara is a prince of the Matsya Kingdom featured in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is the eldest son of King Virata and his wife Sudeshna, at whose court the Pandavas spend their one year of anonymity during their exile. His sister Uttarā marries Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna.
Twenty-nine epigrams are attributed to Plato, mostly in the Greek Anthology. These are short poems suitable for dedicatory purposes written in the form of elegiac couplets. Their authenticity is disputed.
The statues of Cynisca were two ancient Greek statues which commemorated Cynisca of Sparta’s Olympic victory in chariot racing at the 396 B.C. and 392 B.C. Olympic Games. Cynisca was the first woman to win at the Olympic Games. According to Pausanias of the 2nd century A.D., two statues were erected to commemorate her victory.
Those About to Die is an epic historical drama television series developed by Robert Rodat and directed by Roland Emmerich and Marco Kreuzpaintner. The Daniel P. Mannix book-adapted-into-TV series premiered on July 18, 2024, on Peacock with all 10 episodes, and internationally on Amazon Prime Video on July 19, 2024. The series title references the Latin gladiatorial greeting made to the Emperor at the games "Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant ".
