Caesar’s Comet, the Julian Star, and the Invention of Augustus
Octavian is credited with turning a comet seen in 44 b.c.e.  into a symbol of Julius Caesar’s divinity and using it to advance his own political aims. Yet historical evidence argues against this account. Moreover, representations of the sidus Iulium (Julian star) on coins and in poetry adopt diverse and autonomous perspectives on the princeps. The idea that Augustus circulated the sidus as part of an image campaign seems instead to originate with Ovid, whose deification narrative at Metamorphoses 15.745–851 retrojected the princeps ’s mature power onto his early career and fueled the belief that Augustus gained and maintained power through propaganda.
Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum
MR. GRUEBER is to be warmly congratulated on the completion of a most laborious task. The first foundations of this great work were laid as long ago as 1859 by the late Count de Salis, undoubtedly one of the most gifted numismatists whom the nineteenth century produced. To those whose fortune it has been to follow in his footsteps, his flair for mints and dates has sometimes seemed almost ' uncanny.' Death overtook him after ten years of unremitting toil in the Medal Room of the British Museum, the vvhole of the Roman coins in which he had volunteered to arrange, himself supplying gaps with the liberal hand of a veritable Maecenas. When he died, his considered opinions were found to be fully expressed by the order in which the coins were placed, with mint-names and dates attached. This was the heritage on which Mr. Grueber entered. Unfortunately, however, de Salis had left no clue to the processes by which he reached his conclusions. As far as possible, the problems had all to be solved over again. That his classification has been practically maintained as he left it, is, in Mr. Grueber's words, ' not only a lasting monument of his extensive and intimate knowledge of history and numismatics, but also an enduring witness of his surprising acumen in matters of style and fabric, which, in classifying a series of coins like that of Rome, are of so great importance when historical evidence fails.' In type and format this Catalogue follows the model, not of the wellknown Greek series, but of Wroth's Byzantine volumes. The page is of satisfactory size, and the main type is clear and legible. The small pica employed for the footnotes is, however, a little trying, particularly when it comes in large masses; it would have been well to break the line by employing double columns. The collotype plates may be pronounced adequate, although they lack the brilliancy that characterises the best work of the kind. Thus much for the manner of production. The method of arrangement is as follows: A general introduction of 125 pages gives a connected sketch of the history of the subject from the earliest times down to the very threshold of the imperial age. Special sections deal with such themes as ' Moneyers and their Functions,'' Names of Moneyers,' ' The Types,' ' Finds of Coins,' and so on, the whole written with lucidity and a due respect for detail. The point of view may fairly be described as, in substance, identical with that of Mommsen, although Mr. Grueber never hesitates to take an independent line where fresh evidence has seemed to him to justify it.
Protective effect of ginsenoside Re on acute gastric mucosal lesion induced by compound 48/80
The protective effect of ginsenoside Re, isolated from ginseng berry, against acute gastric mucosal lesions was examined in rats with a single intraperitoneal injection of compound 48/80 (C48/80). Ginsenoside Re (20 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg) was orally administered 0.5 h prior to C48/80 treatment. Ginsenoside Re dose-dependently prevented gastric mucosal lesion development 3 h after C48/80 treatment. Increases in the activities of myeloperoxidase (MPO; an index of neutrophil infiltration) and xanthine oxidase (XO) and the content of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS; an index of lipid peroxidation) and decreases in the contents of hexosamine (a marker of gastric mucus) and adherent mucus, which occurred in gastric mucosal tissues after C48/80 treatment, were significantly attenuated by ginsenoside Re. The elevation of Bax expression and the decrease in Bcl2 expression after C48/80 treatment were also attenuated by ginsenoside Re. Ginsenoside Re significantly attenuated all these changes 3 h after C48/80 treatment. These results indicate that orally administered ginsenoside Re protects against C48/80-induced acute gastric mucosal lesions in rats, possibly through its stimulatory action on gastric mucus synthesis and secretion, its inhibitory action on neutrophil infiltration, and enhanced lipid peroxidation in the gastric mucosal tissue.