Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day

As much as I love big, thick history books bursting with facts and details, it's always good to return to the basics. Which is why I enjoy Phillip Matyszak's "Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day".

Divided into IX sections, the book teaches history through the guise of a travel log. You'll read about the best way to get to Athens(thus learning about ancient roadways and destinations), where to stay (which discusses dwellings and lifestyles), what to do (a good way of introducing readers to ancient entertainment like the symposium), who to meet (which features men like Pericles and Thucydides) and what to buy (which covers everything from the local monetary system to what items can be found in the Agora). There are even maps of the city, pictures of famous people and sightseeing recommendations.

I really enjoy Matyszak approach. Instead of weighing you down with a myriad of facts all at once, he takes his cue from modern travel books and presents information in bite-size pieces. He also includes amusing stories to make sure the reader is engaged. The book is a bit stiff in price (it's nearly $20) but the upside is that it's easy to navigate and provides a few fun gems that can be mined from its pages. Here are a few fun facts right from the source:

1) The word economy comes from the word oikos nomos or "the organization of the household"

2)The famous Academy was originally a hero shrine

3) In prehistoric times the Piraeus was an island


If you are looking for a fun way to be introduced to or get re-acquainted with Ancient Athens, I highly recommend this book.

SF Writer's Conference

FYI, I'll be attending the San Francisco Writers Conference February 12 - 14, 2010. I would love to meet and greet some of my favorite writers/bloggers. Anyone else going? If you want to go, sign up here: SFWC.

Memorable quotes from around the office.

In order to work where I do (IGN), you must be somewhat crazy. Whether you say crazy things, participate in crazy hijinks, or play crazy games, non compos mentis is a requirement here. Which might explain why I have nearly 10 sticky notes worth of memorable (see off-color) quotes from IGN and Rotten Tomatoes co-workers stuck to my computer. I thought some of these were quite poignant, actually, as well as amusing. I also thought that some of my blog readers would appreciate these. Here are my top 5 so far:

5) "A friend is just a stranger you haven't fought yet."
4)"Whatever didn't kill me...didn't finish the job."
3) "You can't blame the devil when dumb people die."
2) "There is no narrative arc in stripping."
1) "Dude! Who just teabagged me!?"

Honorable mentions include "hope bothers me", and "D-bags have s*** for brains."

Model Pics!

After weeks of waiting I finally received some of my modeling pics back. As I explained in a previous post, I wanted to celebrate my 30th birthday by doing something fun. That something was to look like a Cover Girl. I admit it has nothing to do with Ancient Greece, but at least it's fun to share. Enjoy!

A Short Book Report: Lords of the Sea

It's amazing how sometimes when we really need something it just suddenly appears.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to come across a new book on the Athenian navy. I say lucky because I've been in the process of editing my novel and needed more detail and insight into this very subject. And that is exactly what I got with John R. Hale's Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy.



Hale breaks the book down into five sections: Freedom, Democracy, Empire, Catastrophe, and Rebirth. Part one focuses on the founding of the Athenian navy through the workings of (who else!) Themistocles. Hale goes into detail about how the navy was built (literally--there is some great detail to be found here), how naval tactics changed during the late Archaic period and thus made it possible for the Greeks to achieve victory over the Persian fleet, and how acquiring a navy laid the foundations for Athens' future empire.

The second part of the book (Democracy) explores Athens' Golden Age. It was at this time that the Athenian navy was at the peak of its power, bringing wealth, culture and knowledge from abroad into the city. There are some fun details here, but things really get interesting in the section called "Empire", which deals with both Athens' struggle to maintain control over its neighbors and its war(s) with Sparta. The conflict is not an easy thing to break down considering how LONG it lasted (over 30 years). Still, Hale manages to successfully convey how rapidly naval tactics and technology changed and how that affected the outcome of the conflict.

The last two sections deal with the Athenian navy's fall after being defeated by Sparta, it's brief comeback and eventual capitulation to Macedonia. It charts the events from 397 BCE to 324 BCE and covers everything from the Second Maritime League to the last battle at Amorgos. Hale does a good job summarizing the events without getting too convoluted but still feeding us relevant and interesting nuggets of information. Most readers will probably feel satisfied with his explanations.

In short, I really enjoyed this book and feel that it's an asset to anyone who is writing about or even interested in Hellenic history between the late Archaic age and the start of Alexander's great empire. It's well-paced, well-written and well-researched. And well...I like that!

Just A Quick Check-In

I'm a bit stuck right now in the editing process so there hasn't been a whole lot to report. You see, I'm really struggling with the pacing of my novel and on top of that discovering errors that need to be corrected along the way. It's frustrating having to rewrite entire chapters because you realize that the scenario is jarringly inaccurate.

For example, originally I had Themistocles attend the Eleusinian Mysteries at the age of 11, but it turns that only adults were initiated. I also have to rewrite (or at least reconsider) the whole story about Harmodius and Aristogeiton. Ancient authors can't seem to agree on exactly what led to the murder of Hipparchus (the brother of Athens' tyrant Hippias), and although I tend to side with one version, I can't dismiss other authors out of hand.

At any rate my goal this holiday weekend is to get at least the first few chapters of my novel polished up and ready for an agent to look at. It will take hours of dicipline and concentration but I know I can do this. I just need my motivation back. And with the exciting announcement that Scott Oden is working on a novel in the same time period, I'd better bring my AAA game!!!

*Fun fact: If you type 21 letters of Themistocles into Google, yours truly is the top link!!

I just flew in from LA, and boy are my arms tired!

If it seems like it's been all quiet on the western front, it's because I've been in L.A. all week for my 30th birthday. I wanted to celebrate this milestone by doing something really cool and fun, and what better way to feel thirty, flirty and thriving than to do a photo shoot with make-up artist to the stars Alexis Vogel?

My L.A. adventure got off to a rocky start when I got to the airport and was told that I had scheduled my flight for the next day (I decided to stay in L.A. for an extra day at the last minute but forgot to update my flight plans). Luckily the nice ladies at the ticket counter helped me get on a noon flight and I was able to get to Los Angeles with no problem. After I arrived in SoCal however I learned that the hotel I was staying at had NO air conditioning and NO room service. Worse, the room was small and the furniture ugly; not fit for a photo shoot at all. So, after a guilt-tinged and exhausting conversation with the manager I cancelled my reservation and walked my bags down the street to the uber-posh Fairmont hotel. This was not only a better place to shoot pictures but I was MUCH happier (yay for room service!)

While waiting for my room I celebrated my new environment by drinking a rum & Coke and watching koi and turtles splash around a waterfall-laced pond in the hotel's outside cafe. I then called the shoot's photographer Isaiah to thank him for helping me find a room at the Fairmont at the last possible minute. Once my room was ready I dropped my things off and wandered down to the beach to watch the sunset. After that I had dinner, ate gummy bears in the bath and fell asleep watching Entertainment Tonight and Family Guy.

Me chilling on my balcony at the Fairmont.

At around noon the next day Alexis, Isaiah and their assistant Brie came up to my room and set up camp. Camp gear included lights, camera, make-up and accessories. Figuring they would shoot me in whatever clothes I had with me I only brought one suitcase of outfits and shoes. Unfortunately that's not how it works. There was much clucking of tongue over not bringing enough clothes and jewelry and a LOT of grumbling over not having my eyebrows properly done and having too blunt of a hair cut(I rock the Egyptian look with straight bangs and long, straight hair). I admit the complaints weren't making me very happy, especially since they was repeated over and over (and over) again, but I at least got some suggestions on what kind of hair and look I should get ( indeed I will have my hair done in layers and let my bangs grow out as suggested).

On the positive side, I was told I was better looking in my natural state than some stars (a wonderful plus), I had good skin, good cheekbones and good teeth--I was even asked if they were really my teeth or caps! I've NEVER had anyone ask me that so I was flattered.

After two hours of hair and make-up I then did a lot of countoured poses (like you see in high-fashion ads) and learned that being a model--even for a day--is not easy. People are tugging at your clothes, making you hold uncomfortable poses for a long time and trying to get you to turn your face in every direction. The hard work was worth it however as the pictures are fantastic (I swear I look like I could be in a Dolce & Gabbana ad in some of these pics!)

At one point we stopped for lunch, and I learned how to eat food without ruining my make-up (a good thing to know). What I wasn't prepared for however was being stuck with both the food and the valet bill for their car(supposedly this was in the "cheat sheet" they sent me but I informed them it wasn't in MINE--and I didn't expect to pay for it either as it was VERY expensive). Obviously there was an assumption I would know the rules. I didn't, but I do now.

At any rate, the shoot went very well. We even did an extra set of photos since it was moving along at such a smooth pace and I have to say the pictures are amazing. Alexis did an wonderful job with my make-up and hair, and Isaiah took great pictures and was fun to work with. Brie was helpful and gave me a sample of lip gloss to help with touch-ups after eating (another lesson learned: just because I'm getting a make-over doesn't mean NOT to bring my own make-up).

All-in-all a fun and memorable birthday, albeit somewhat of a roller coaster ride. I can't wait to get my DVD with the photos on it so I can show them to you.

Oh, and yes. I am still working on my Themistocles novel. Being away for a week has allowed me to look at the story with fresh eyes and editing is going really well. Can't wait to start looking for an agent and hopefully putting up some tidbits for everyone to read. :D