Select shots from the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Besides all my language-teaching & metal studies books that are kept at my office on campus, I’ve kept the majority of my books at home, starting with my collection of books on Julian, with separate bookcases for primary literature in Greek & Latin.

6th annual Erich S. Gruen Prize for best graduate student paper on multiculturalism in the ancient Mediterranean world. Deadline for submissions: September 30. Spread the word! Or, better: throw your hat in the ring!

The digital version of God, Slavery, and Early Christianity is officially out! If you're interested in ancient Mediterranean slavery's effects on Christian thought and practice, this is for you. www.cambridge.org/core/books/g...

One year later, and I'm still particularly proud of this one. Was a lot of work to make three separate dishes but it paid off. 🇦🇹

Cover art just dropped for the forthcoming Novembers Doom album. Love how they used the Dying Gaul to represent Theseus and flipped the script on the Minotaur myth #JusticeForAsterion

I failed. I taught a whole weekly unit on Mesopotamia and METAL, and didn't once bring up Ea-Nasir. Shame on me.

We need to be very clear about this. Rising Christian nationalism is a threat to us all. humanists.uk/2025/09/17/r...

Author copies have arrived from @oxfordacademic.bsky.social ! At long last, I’ve achieved my dream of placing my own book in my library of books on Julian. I recorded an unboxing video so you can share the experience.

Author copies have arrived from @oxfordacademic.bsky.social ! At long last, I’ve achieved my dream of placing my own book in my library of books on Julian. I recorded an unboxing video so you can share the experience.

I honestly had not the faintest idea the metal genre had such wealth for classics and ancient mythology studies until I started following Dr. Swist.

Today’s Metal & Premodernity class examined the widespread reception of ancient Mesopotamian mythology by way of 20th-century occultism, the demonology of LaVeyan Satanism, & the supernatural horror of H.P. Lovecraft, especially as it was all synthesized in the Necronomicon.

Country #74 of my Cooking Round the World challenge is HONDURAS 🇭🇳 Baleadas are grilled flour tortillas (that I attempted to make from scratch) filled with refried beans, avocado, queso fresco & crema fresca. Served with Chismol: salsa of onions, garlic, peppers, & cilantro with cumin & lime juice.

Student asked "can metal be sad & emotional?" so I'm putting on some My Dying Bride & passing around a box of tissues.

Country #74 of my Cooking Round the World challenge is HONDURAS 🇭🇳 Baleadas are grilled flour tortillas (that I attempted to make from scratch) filled with refried beans, avocado, queso fresco & crema fresca. Served with Chismol: salsa of onions, garlic, peppers, & cilantro with cumin & lime juice.

βάλλ᾽ ἐς κόρακας ὦ Γαβριήλ

The Galileans are on the @michiganstateu.bsky.social campus again today spewing their hate speech against queer people. This isn't a difference of opinion, this is creating an unsafe environment in which people will end up dead. Intolerance should not be tolerated.

Print publication day is next week, Friday 26 September! There will be a VIRTUAL BOOK LAUNCH that day from 3:30-5:30pm Eastern US time via Zoom. The event will recognize everyone who helped make the project a success, & other insider info on the book. All are welcome. Just DM me for the Zoom link!

Lookit this sweet present from @metalclassicist.bsky.social that was in my mailbox this morning! "Don't touch me" 🐑🔪

Introducing the imperfect tense in Latin 1 today, which means I’ll start making sheep noises on a regular basis.

Attend: Like the Dawn of Creation: Byzantine Fragments in the Queer Imagination, lecture by Roland Betancourt, Princeton University, October 2, 2025, 4:30–6:00 pm maryjahariscenter.org/blog/like-th...

Also ironic that the first thing out of my mouth when I walk into every class is "salvēte, Spartiātae!"

Excellent opportunity here (both the Institute specifically and time in Budapest more generally)!

Good morning from Aphrodisias!

On Let's Talk with Anna Glowinski from 10.00CET, @simonelliott20.bsky.social on 'The African Emperor: The Life of Septimius Severus', and Evan Morris @sirromnave.bsky.social with 'The Tiger's Revenge: The story of a largely unknown and most daring raid of World War Two'

“We only have a few minutes left so please keep your questions brief.” “Thank you for your talk, before I ask my convoluted question and get to the point, please allow me to tell you my name, title, position, rank and academic biography…”

My friend Katrina Jade and I are doing some podcasts about our love for Virgil's Aeneid, this one starts with the Latin word LUMEN. You can listen to it here or on Spotify if you so desire: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

✨NEW ARTICLE ✨ Ever wondered what happened to Eleusis, town of mystery and mysteries? Neil Middleton has had a look at the town today, and the art its history has inspired. www.workingclassicists.com/zine/eleusis...

Today's Metal & Premodernity class dove into Mesopotamia via the Israeli-Palestinian band Melechesh & their combo of ancient & modern Near-Eastern elements, including their music video in the Basilica Cistern! Then we discussed the Enuma Elish & Atrahasis, & how bands like Abysmal Lord adapt Tiamat.

requiescas in pace, Tomas Lindberg (MCMLXXII - MMXXV) 🇸🇪

I always thought the Basilica Cistern in Constantinople/Istanbul would be a perfect venue for a metal concert.

Assyriologists etc: can you help me identify the artifact used in on the left in this album cover? Thanks!

That’s apparently Bulgarian for “You're such a jerk, you're no good for anything.”

I still can't believe I opened "Persian Fire" and he starts the book with "Western civilisation would have perished if the Greeks lost." Comparing it to 9/11 to get his East/West divide point across.

Personally, I would have yelled out - Отрепка такава, не ставаш за нищо. All his work is thinly veiled conservative apologia for Christianity or Western imperialism.

Duke UP has put the Introduction to my book online! See here: bit.ly/42yhObv

This week’s unit in my metal class is Mesopotamian mythology so naturally I’m having them read portions of the Satanic Bible & Necronomicon and listen to Morbid Angel.

While I was in the middle of England this summer I met up with George & recorded an episode of the ADHD BCE podcast, where I discuss how studying the emperor Julian resonates with my own experiences living with ADHD, whether or not Julian can be retroactively diagnosed as such.

Selling my ticket to Beherit in Chicago next weekend. I'll part with it for $40. DM me.

This was a LOT of fun to record. Huge thanks to Paul Bavill for such a great chat about everything that grinds my gladiatorial gears!

Well, that decides it. I was seriously thinking of applying for the open position in Medieval History at UT-Knoxville. Not now. I won't give any time, energy, or support to an institution that sides WITH fascists, racists, and promoters of murder, & AGAINST free speech. Shame on you, UT.

The look I give my Latin students when they complain about the existence of 1st-declension nouns that are masculine.

🎧 New episode alert! Join us as we uncover the truth about gladiators with historian @belovedofoizys.bsky.social . Discover the myths, realities, and cultural significance of these ancient warriors. #HistoryRage #Gladiators Listen now 🎧 pod.fo/e/32a91d#HistoryRage#Gladiators#History #Podcast

Good thread here 👇👇👇

Crazy how much folks see Julian as some radical reactionary whose pagan restoration was doomed to fail. That's retrospective Christian propaganda at work. Empire was still majority-pagan & his policies were popular. He just happened to die prematurely & be succeeded by Christian. That's it.

That’s Senator Dodge Challenger to you.