Egypt led in healing services
In the ancient world, Egyptians were the recognized leaders in the healing arts. … Read the post Egypt led in healing services
antiquity
Napoleon and the wisdom of ancient Egypt
The wisdom of ancient Egypt is poignantly encapsulated in a list of canal workers in Tebtynis in 193 A.D. … Read the post Napoleon and the wisdom of ancient Egypt
ritual services in Roman Egypt: the so-called Greek Magical Papyri
Ritual texts written in Demotic, Greek, and Coptic in Roman Egypt document ancient Egyptian temple culture participating in Greco-Roman symbolic markets. … Read the post ritual services in Roman Egypt: the so-called Greek Magical Papyri
cursing in ancient and modern competition
Cursing competitors was a dimension of interpersonal competition in the ancient world. Cursing today tends to be merely expressive. … Read the post cursing in ancient and modern competition
John Lydus on a revolution in formal authority
Systematic decision-making requires supporting information technology. In sixth-century Byzantium, the judicial bureaucrat John Lydus complained that the new, leading financial bureaucrat: did not give the business that was being transacted to the proper overseers of the regions, called tractatores, namely, “regional governors,” or to accountants, to be filled in conformably to the established custom in … Continue reading John Lydus on a revolution in formal authority
Joannes Lydus on media costs in late antiquity
Joannes Lyddus, a sixth-century Byzantine bureaucrat, grumpled about the declining quality of writing material available to bureaucrats in Byzantium. … Read the post Joannes Lydus on media costs in late antiquity
ancient Roman pantomime: Bathyllus, Pylades, and other celebrities
Among ancient Roman mass media, pantomime had an attention share probably only slightly smaller than chariot racing and gladiator fights. Ancient Roman pantomimes presented emotionally fraught mythic episodes through the bodily movement of a mute, solo dancer. Pantomime rapidly gained attention beginning about 23 BGC under the reign of Augustus. Two pantomime dancers — Bathyllus … Continue reading ancient Roman pantomime: Bathyllus, Pylades, and other celebrities
eternal bureaucratese: the long history bureaucratic writing
Bureaucratic documents commonly use abstract, vague, repetitive, prolix, passive language that also assuring and obsequious. That’s bureaucratese. … Read the post eternal bureaucratese: the long history bureaucratic writing
mass media in ancient Rome
In ancient Rome, many adults watched chariot races, gladiator contests, staged animal hunts, and pantomime shows. They constituted Roman mass media. … Read the post mass media in ancient Rome
bundling verbal work in ancient Rome
In ancient Rome, elite men competed intensely in verbal arts. They evaluated each other at the fine granularity of phrases and specific word choices. [1] Epigrams, compact verbal expressions, were highly valued. In these circumstances, a Roman orator c. 100 GC described his business strategy for a speech that he hoped to sell widely: I … Continue reading bundling verbal work in ancient Rome