Roger Pearse

Thanks for the stuff on Zonaras and Tsetzes -- interesting. (I was familiar with Bill Thayer's version of Cassius Dio, and the epitomes of it on Zonaras and Xiphilinus). Tsetzes sounds very renaissance, doesn't he?

But (if you don't mind me pestering you) where did you get the information that Zonaras and Tsetzes wrote about this Roman custom? (Since I don't imagine, unless you are very different to most of is, that you have memorised these writers and just pulled it from your memory).

Likewise for the information about chess, which is most interesting.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

yummyfur

That is an apt description, and one I always insist to my friends is a better description for myself, when they call me a fount of useless information. My favorite response, was when someone was talking about the band the Pogues and what their name really meant, a friend said "Don't say anything more or Pat will get out his Gaelic dictionary", which they knew I had because I had taken it to a beach excursion one day for some light reading.

Sorry, I meant that I got it from my Loeb editions of Cassius Dio, but a newer edition.
The older online edition seems to have it in Book 6, I thought it didn't have it at first glance.
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/...us_Dio/6*.html

That is a bit of unverified chess geek trivia

Roger Pearse

Thanks. Ah, well, if it's unverified, do treat it with caution. It probably wouldn't withstand investigation (that from experience, from investigating other stories about Nicaea, Mithras, etc).

All the best,

Roger Pearse

sorompio

It is difficult to measure the impact of rearview mirrors and traffic signals in Ancient literature...