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    Today Stephen Dando-Collins` long anticipated new novel The Great Fire of Rome: The Fall of the Emperor Nero and His City is finally available! To celebrate this day, we are giving away one copy!

     

    If you would like to win, just answer the following question; "How many pages does Stephen Dando-Collins new novel have?

    (Hint: You can find the answer here) a] 119 pages b] 288 pages c] 354 pages and send the correct answer to newsletter@unrv.com

     

    The winner will be chosen randomly from all correct replies, deadline is the 12th of September 2010

     

    Good Luck!

     

    Viggen

    Caligula by Sam Wilkinson

    By Viggen, in News,

    Crazy. Insane. Out of control. Egotistical. Blood-thirsty. Psychotic. This is just a sample of adjectives stereotypically ascribed to many of the Roman emperors, but were the emperors really as mad as common, popular belief teaches us they were? Were they honestly as looney, messed up and deranged as befitting a perfectly wild addition to a morbid rendition of “Alice in Wonderland”? Sam Wilkinson, professor of Classics at the University of London, in his 128 pages pamphlet “Caligula”, does his best to weed out fact from such superficial assumptions on everyone’s favourite nefarious megalomaniac, Gaius Caligula. This study is a fascinating counterbalance to the general biographies on Caligula that tend to simply present the ancient sources and not spend sufficient energies on testing the sources for accuracy over bias...
     
    ...read the full book review of Caligula by Sam Wilkinson
     
     
    Viggen
    Empire is Steven Saylor's highly anticipated follow up to his centuries-spanning historical fiction saga, "Roma". Both books trace the ancestral evolution of the Pinarii family as they bear witness to the foundation and growth of Rome and its Empire. Roma covered the earliest foundations of Rome through the civil wars, while "Empire" picks up at the end of the reign of Augustus in 14 A.D. through the reign of Hadrian in 141....
     
    ...read the full article of Empire: The Novel of Imperial Rome by Steven Saylor
     
     
    Viggen

    Forum Upgrade

    By Viggen, in News,

    We are in the process of upgrading our forum/bulletin board software to the most current version. Unfortunately, we have run into some technical difficulties and the installation has been severely delayed.
     
    We are hoping to resolve the situation soon.
     
    We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
    Viggen
    Whats your favourite book in August? Many books are on the table, from Citizens of Discord: Rome and Its Civil Wars , The Roman Empire: Roots Of Imperialism to Public Office in Early Rome: Ritual Procedure and Political Practice, Marcus Aurelius: A Life [Paperback] and many more, see the complete list including our bestselling books for July at our monthly discussion called New Roman History Books (August 2010)
     
     
     
     
    Viggen
    Philip Matyszak asks Adrienne Mayor some questions regarding her recent book "The Poison King"
     
    Adrienne Mayor is an independent folklorist/historian of science who investigates natural knowledge contained in pre-scientific myths and oral traditions. Adrienne Mayor is currently a visiting scholar in classics and history of science at Stanford University. She is the author of The First Fossil Hunters, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs and The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates.
     
    ...to the Interview with Adrienne Mayor
    Viggen
    The Poison King by Adrienne Mayor
    Book Review by Philip Matyszak
     
    Two thousand years after his death, Mithridates VI of Pontus continues to generate strong feelings, and this will certainly continue to be the case for readers of Adrienne Mayor's latest book. I have a feeling that readers on this forum will either love it or hate it, but rather as with Mithridates himself, it’s hard to be neutral. To make my own position clear, I'm a fan, both of this book and of the man himself. But with both I have reservations. With Mithridates, it is impossible to completely admire a man who cold-bloodedly arranged the execution of 80,000 men, women and children in a single day. With the book, the text contains invention and occasional misstatements which could easily give an unwary reader the wrong impression...
     
    ...read the full review of The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy
     
    p.s. Matyszak made an follow up interview with the author Adrienne Mayor, which we will post shortly...
    Viggen
    Two months ago the headline "Roman Gladiator Cemetary Discovered" created some buzz around the world, (here the link in case you missed it.) This news story sparked a fascinating forum discussion, it is one of the best examples of how to have an engaging, passionate discussion without turning it into a flame fest, bravo to all participants, and now enjoy the discussion of Roman gladiator cemetery discovered
    Viggen

    The Murder of Regilla

    By Viggen, in News,

    This book comes in a pleasant little format, some 170 pages (plus notes and annexes) which claims to tell us all that is known about the murder of Regilla, a noble lady of ancient Rome, and wife of Herodes Atticus. A tall order indeed but something which promiment scholar Ms Pomeroy would seem be able to accomplish, well versed as she is in the study of women in the ancient world. I speak of the study of women rather than gender studies because she did not devote all of her career to the study of the status of women in general and took a larger approach in her work that is apparent in this book: in addition to status she attempted to study the life of women through different the sources ranging from archaeology to literature, and from ethnological-like comparisons to epigraphy...
     
    ...read the full book review of The Murder of Regilla: A Case of Domestic Violence in Antiquity by Sarah B. Pomeroy
    Viggen

    Roman Gaul and Germany

    By Viggen, in News,

    English language scholarship tends to overlook Roman provinces - aside, of course, from Roman Britain. Anthony King attempts to partially correct that imbalance in Roman Gaul and Germany. Twenty years old and seemingly out of print, the book is worth an attempt to locate it from used vendors. It offers an interesting look into these two provinces, and perhaps a mixed review of Rome's efforts to civilize them.
     
    Dr. Anthony King has authored previous books on Roman history, archaeology, military, and religion. He served as senior lecturer in Roman history and archaeology at King Alfred's College, Winchester. King's entreating prose will prove endearing to most readers. His sources are thoughtfully notated in the end, and the book comes included with some choice photographs, illustrations and maps....
     
    ...read the full book review of Roman Gaul and Germany by Anthony King
     

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