How nutritious was the diet of ancient Egyptians?
While beer (see my blog of July 5, 2016), bread, and porridge, all made from emmer (now known as farro, a highly nutritious grain) were...
Why did the Egyptians sip their beer through a straw?
The ancient Egyptian beer, known as henket, was the most significant component of the diet of ancient Egyptians. Consumed by both adults...
A WINE FOR POETS AND SENATORS
Gershon ben Israel, a wine merchant Miriam first meets in The Deadliest Hate, is a dealer in Falernian wine, the wine that Julius Caesar...
Where is Alexander’s tomb?
In Miriam’s time, during the first century CE, Alexander the Great’s mausoleum was located in the center of Alexandria, at the junction...
THE EUROPEAN ORIGIN OF TOPIARY
Topiary is the art of shaping live perennial trees and shrubs into clearly defined shapes. Topiary was introduced into Roman gardens at...
Miriam looks for Judah in the Peristyle Courtyard
Inside the peristyle courtyard, scores of Nubian houseboys waved palm fronds to augment the sea breeze and chase away the flies. Along...
The Last Drops of Blood
In Chapter 19 of The Deadliest Hate, a palace servant leads Miriam into a bustling anteroom where murals of the Battle of Actium decorate...
Miriam arrives at the palace
My tutor had taught me all about Caesarea’s two-tiered palace. Herod the Great built the Lower Palace on a promontory jutting into the...
Miriam needs more than a bath
In preparation for her first Shabbat in Caesarea and a visit to Judah’s brother’s home, Miriam goes with Phoebe to a balnea, a small,...