Roman soldier's life unfurls: Princeton grad helps bring ancient writings to light

The Cincinnati Enquirer ^ | Monday, January 26, 2004 | Sue Kiesewetter

[nickcarraway]

SHARONVILLE - Nearly 2000 years ago a young Roman soldier wrote home, asking his father's permission to marry his girlfriend.

In another letter, he asks for boots and socks to keep his feet warm during a cold winter. And he tells how he must violently put down those who revolt and riot in Alexandria.

All this - and more - about life for Tiberianus, who lived in Roman Egypt, is being advanced through the work of a Princeton High School graduate now attending the University of Michigan.

Last fall, Robert Stephan (Class of 2001) found some papyri - ancient writings on papyrus, made from the reed plant - stored but forgotten in the university's vault. The papyri had been collected during UM excavations at Karanius, southwest of Egypt's Nile River delta, in the 1920s and '30s.

Unbeknown to today's scholars, 15 papyri collected from the original excavation had been catalogued by the university but never examined or translated. The works may never have been discovered had Stephan not begun an independent study project last fall.

Many archaeologistscall his discovery a breakthrough.

"The significance of this is that the world (did not) know that these existed,'' said Arthur Verhoogt, a UM assistant professor of papyrology and Greek. "It's an important contribution to our understanding of the Roman Empire at large.''

Stephan is spending much of his free time working with professors to translate the papyri and put the writings in context with other archaeological findings. His work will be published next year in Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists. Stephan also is putting together an exhibit of papyri and artifacts from Karanius for the university's museum in October.

"This is a revision of what we know,'' said Traianos Gagos, president of the American Society of Papyrologists.

"This collection of fragments is hard to read - private letters are the hardest to translate because there's not much background. The approach Rob has taken is broader. He's bringing the archaeologist into it - the way it should be studied.''

The work, Stephan said, is fascinating and unusual for an undergraduate to be doing.

"I'm trying to find out what life was like for the average Joe of this society," Stephan said. "I want to find the guy's social status and what his life was like.''

[SoCal Pubbie]

This BCE, CE crapola is the most rediculous PC thing to come along in a long while. It's obvious they're using the birth of Christ as the marker, yet it's like calling the Christmas break the "Winter Holiday". It's just trying to ignore the elephant in the room.

[Pharmboy]

No--I was not familiar with that--I learn the bestest thing on FR!

[archy]

No--I was not familiar with that--I learn the bestest thing on FR!

Similarly, though far less officially, the Chinese 120-round magazine for the m16 rifle, is known in some circles as the *CXX* drum....

[JerseyHighlander]

You stole my tagline....

A grunt's life has changed little in two millenium...

[archy]

Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse.

Prospice tibi; ut Gallia, tu quoque in tres partes dividaris.

[KellyAdmirer]

The Vikings attacked Paris with over 1,000 ships

They did the same thing to Constantinople. The boys didn't mess around in the old days!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Captain Kimbo and your Viking, eerily beautiful tribute. She was special.

"arch" is listed under "rogue" in my Oxford Dictionary. *g*

[mtbopfuyn]

Yep, grown and out on his own yet still needs parents to send him stuff. Bet he doesn't come home until his socks need mama to wash them while he and his friends go cruising in his daddy's chariot.

[archy]

Captain Kimbo and your Viking, eerily beautiful tribute. She was special. "arch" is listed under "rogue" in my Oxford Dictionary. *g*

Ah, not a Viking, but a Valkyrie, one of those who come to the fallen heroes and fly them to Valhalla's Great Hall of Heroes.

Such a flight would of course be nothing terribly new or special for CPT Hampton, of course. Perhaps, as her legend fades and her time with the others comes to an end, she'll be reassigned to such duties herself. Or maybe she'll be one of the Eight Hundred greatest of all time, who'll fight the final fight together: Ragnarok.

The Aesir family of Gods were the chief gods of Norse Mythology...Odin, king of the gods. His two black ravens, Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory), flew forth daily to gather tidings of events all over the world. As god of war, Odin held court in Valhalla, where all brave warriors went after death in battle. His greatest treasures were his eight-footed steed, Sleipner, his spear, Gungnir, and his ring, Draupner. Odin was also the god of wisdom, poetry, and magic, and he sacrificed an eye for the privilege of drinking from Mimir, the fountain of wisdom. Odin's three wives were earth goddesses, and his eldest son was Thor, the god of Thunder. Odin was worshipped under different names, throughout northern Europe. The Germans called him Wotan, and the English Woden. Thor, the god of thunder, eldest son of Odin and Jord, the earth goddess. Thor was the strongest of the Aesir, whom he helped protect from their enemies, the giants. Thunder was believed to be the sound of his rolling chariot. Also, thursday is named for Thor (Thor's day). Named after the Germanic word for thunder, Thor wielded a hammer, called Mjollnir, which represented a powerful thunderbolt. If thrown, the hammer would return to him like a boomerang.

The Valkyries, were warrior maidens who attended Odin, ruler of the gods. The Valkyries rode through the air in brilliant armor, directed battles, distributed death lots among the warriors, and conducted the souls of slain heroes to Valhalla, the great hall of Odin. Their leader was Brunhild. Freya or Freyja, goddess of love, fertility, and beauty, sometimes identified as the goddess of battle and death. Her father was Njord, a fertility god. Blond, blue-eyed, and beautiful, Freya traveled on a golden-bristled boar or in a chariot drawn by cats. She resided in the celestial realm of Folkvang, where it was her privilege to receive half of all the warriors slain in battle; the god Odin received the other half at Valhalla. In Germany, Freya was sometimes identified with Frigg, the wife of Odin. Friday originates from Frigga's day.

[RightOnline]

"He should be happy they didn't name him 'Biggus Dickus'"

Maybe.............but he would have been very popular.

[wideminded]

The Smithsonian Magazine had an article about 10-15 years ago about how letters from the same period are sometimes found, perfectly preserved, in the sands of the Sahara. One letter they quoted was from a young man attending college who was writing home to his parents to send him some of his possessions. Even though it was written 2000 years ago, the attitude expressed was not different from modern teenagers.

[nickcarraway]

Even though it was written 2000 years ago, the attitude expressed was not different from modern teenagers.

And people wonder why Rome fell!

[richardtavor]

c.e. (common era) and a.d. (anno domini) are the same. Archeologists changed the term to c.e. to reflect both the Jewish and Christian time reference. Since Judaism does not use a Gregorian calendar, it is easier to use the term common era, as it is reflected in both Lunar calendars and Gregorian Calendars. The reference to "the Year of our Lord" is somewhat in question, because the exact time reference is unknown with the Gregorian calendar (the actual birth could have been as early as 4 BC or as late as 3 AD (The Gregorian calendar is inaccurate and must be adjusted (why we have leap years, etc.)) To find out more why this is common, refer to:

Author: Kraft Robert
Title: GLOSSARY OF TERMS RELATED TO JUDAISM
Subject: DICTIONARIES & ENCYCLOPEDIAS (503)

... reciter and chanter/singer of liturgical materials in the synagogue; also used similarly in Christian contexts (choir leader, etc.). Compare hazzan (Islam). CE or ce: "common era"; an attempt to use a neutral term for the period traditionally labeled "AD" ( anno domini or "year of the Lord") by Christians. Thus 1992 CE is identical to AD 1992.

[American_Centurion]

The only thing about soldiering that has changed throughout the millenia is the equipment we carry.

[Cowboy Bob]

Princeton High School graduate...

I still remember when Princeton was a University! Boy, I must be getting old! ;^)

[Redleg Duke]

I wanna see their cav unit!

[archy]

I still remember when Princeton was a University! Boy, I must be getting old! ;^)

Shucks, I remember Princeton [Indiana] as the home of the Southern Railroad's shops and Roundhouse. The scrap pile there was the grandest playground a kid could ask for; amothing other things, the Southern RRs famous Engine #97, fabled in poem and song, was retired and scrapped out there.

[archy]

I wanna see their cav unit!

What do you figure those fellas are, motor-rifles? [Well, motor-pilum....]

[AnAmericanMother]

O.K., if he's a Centurion of IX Hispana, he's got his stick, but his helmet's on sideways!

I though Marcus Aurelius disbanded them anyhow. Maybe this was why.

:-D

[Rebelbase]

That photo reminds me of an old episode of Time Tunnel. The crusty old Sargent got transported back to a Roman battle and was using his Tommy Gun against the Legions.