Ancient Rome Refocused

Sex and the SIngle Roman (Episode 48, S7)

Explicit Material
Rob interviews Vicki about her book:  THE JOY OF SEXTUS. 
Subjects Discussed: 
How did the ancients see sexuality?  
The Sacred Band of Thebes.
The meaning of the phallic symbol.
Lesbians and Homosexuality.
Interesting women of that period.

Bonus 1 for Episode 48

This is Bonus 1, for Episode 48.  I strongly suggest you listen to this.  Vicky Leon makes the strongest argument that social media existed in the Ancient World.  The comparisons are riveting. 
 

Bonus 2 for Episode 48

This is Bonus 2, for Episode 48.  Vicky Leon discusses her book WORKING IX to V.   Watching sword and sandal movies you might think there were just slaves, soldiers and Christians in the ancient world.    The fact is…people had to make living.  What would you do to survive in the Ancient World?  What skills could you bring to the BCE?    

INCEPTIO - Women Take Over (Epi47, S7)

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Rob Cain interviewes Alison Morton, author of the thriller and the altenative history book INCEPTIO.  Synopsis: Imagine a Christian Emperor forcing  pagans to convert, and those that refuse decide to migrate to a new homeland in Europe.  Now in the 21st Century a NEW ROME, a ROMA NOVA has come into being.  Roma Nova is now an advanced techological society ruled by women and a force once called the Praetorian Guard has grown into a modern SAS.  Why read alternative history?   It is nothing short of "what might have been" and clarifies if events are as inevitable as we might think. 
Alison Morton, an army veteran, and educated in history, uses her imagination to take us down "the path less taken" in several exciting adventure stories.  Her books includes: Inceptio, Carina, Perfiditas, Successio, Aurelia, and many others. 
Interested in how the world of Roma Nova began?  Check out the thrillers Julia Prima and Exsilium.  
The podcast begins with Matthew Leigh Embleton returning to present Absinthe Part 2.  He provides us additional information on this early medicine of antiquity, and how it has turned into a green spirit drink ordered by hipsters and poets.  Yes, Hemingway drank it and even writer and playwright Oscar Wilde.  
Rob Cain encourages listeners to try the drink, and email their experiences and observations to the show.  Email:  rob@ancientromerefocused.org
Matthew Leigh Embleton is a writer, composer and muscian out of the UK.  Check out his website at: http://www.matthewleighembleton.co.uk/
 
 

Medicine in the Ancient World (Epi46, S7)

Got something to share on the Ancient World?  Call the comment line at: 1-508-864-6722.
Rob Cain interviews Helen King on Medicine in the Ancient World.  
Helen King is a British classical scholar and advocate for the medical humanities. She is Professor Emerita of Classical Studies at the Open University. She was previously Professor of the History of Classical Medicine and Head of the Department of Classics at the University of Reading.  Rob calls her at home to talk about medicine in the ancient world, what makes a good legio medicus, and the women physicians of the Ancient World.  
Also on the show is Matthew Lee Embleton, he joins us to talk about the strange ancient medicine Absinthe.  It is now a popular drink nicknamed, "The Green Fairy".  
He provides us with another hip pocket lecture on the subject of Absinthe.   This drink is a anise-flavored spirit, reminding some of licorice.   It is colored 'green' with a very high alcohol content.  Historical literature calls it the 'green fairy'.   If  you desire to read more on 'the green fairy' check out Embleton's book"  A Brief History of Absinthe:  History, Medicine, Art, Poetry and Ritual on this definite 'bohemian' drink consumed by the likes of  Hemingway, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Lewis Carroll of Alice in Wonderland fame.    
In the ancient book De Rerum Natura , Lucretius writes about the drink containing wormwood and was given as a medicine to children with the glass dipped in honey to make it palatable for the young. 
Coming to the U.S. in January 2025.
Journey into the complex medical and religious history of women's bodies from classical Greece to the modern day
'Illuminating, thoughtful and scholarly' FINANCIAL TIMES
'Mind-blowing, fascinating stuff' BBC WOMAN'S HOUR
'Delightful, timely and critical' Cat Bohannon, author of Eve
'With unrivaled expertise and a wealth of classical and contemporary detail, the author weaves historical knowledge of medicine, anatomy, literature, art and religion into a narrative that surprises, informs, excites and frequently amuses' Adrian Thatcher, author of Vile Bodies
Throughout history, religious scholars, medical men and - occasionally - women themselves, have moulded thought on what 'makes' a woman. She has been called the weaker sex, the fairer sex, the purer sex, among many other monikers. Often, she has been defined simply as 'Not A Man'.
Today, we are more aware than ever of the complex relationship between our bodies and our identities. But contrary to what some may believe, what makes a woman is a question that has always been open-ended.
Immaculate Forms examines all the ways in which medicine and religion have played a gatekeeping role over women's organs. It explores how the womb was seen as both the most miraculous organ in the body and as a sewer; uncovers breasts' legacies as maternal or sexual organs - or both; probes the mystery of the disappearing hymen, and asks, did the clitoris need to be discovered at all?
 
 

Emperor Trajan WANTS YOU!

Bonus 2 (Episode 44, S7)

Dr. Gregory Aldrete provides his take on "Why the Classics Matter". 
 
CHECK OUT THE BLOG AT: https://ancientromerefocused.org/

Bonus1 (Episode 44, Season 7)

The observations of Alicia Aldrete in recreating the cloth armor of the ancients. 
 
CHECK OUT THE BLOG AT: https://ancientromerefocused.org/

How I Got to Shoot an Arrow at a Student and Write a Book About it. (Epi 44, S7)

Got something to share on the Ancient World?  Call the comment line at: 1-508-864-6722.
Got something to share on the Ancient World?  Call the comment line at: 1-508-864-6722.
 
An interview with Dr. Gregory Aldrete on how the Ancients created 'cloth' armor as protection against arrows.  
2:30 - 8:15
Contributor Matthew Leigh Embleton gives us his hip-pocket lecture on the God Mithras. 
8:15 - 21:30 
Rob Cain provides a personal essay on DRAGON SKIN. 
21:30 - 39:45
Rob Cain interviews Dr. Gregory Aldrete, professor Emeritus, University of Wisonsin - Green Bay, on his six year journey in developing the cloth armor worn by Alexander the Great.   
CHECK OUT THE BLOG AT: https://ancientromerefocused.org/
 

Take the Menorah ( Episode 43, Season 7)

Got something to share on the Ancient World?  Call the comment line at: 1-508-864-6722.
Rob Cain interviews Steven Fine, historian of Judaism in the Greco-Roman World.   Dr. Fine is professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University in New York, director of the Arch of Titus Digital Restoration project and of the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies.  Visit Professor Fine's webpage: http://yeshiva.academia.edu/StevenFine/About 
Included on the show is a discussion of Josephus the historian, Masada, the Arch of Titus Digital Restoration project, and myths and stories of the location of the Menorah looted by the Romans.  
Matthew Leigh Embleton continues his lecture Series on Opium in the Ancient world. 
http://www.matthewleighembleton.co.uk/
Jon White, from the UK, provides us a dramatic narration of the opening of the 70s novel The Antagonists / Masada. 
CHECK OUT THE BLOG AT: https://ancientromerefocused.org/