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    Did you know that Romans believed that goats breathed through their ears? Well, that is just the sort of priceless information you can find locked away in A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities. This is a book that takes a lighthearted romp through Roman history to collect some of the more obscure but colorful bits of information...

     

    ...read the full review of A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities by J.C. McKeown

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    Roman Festivals

    By Guest, in News,

    These were festivals where religious officials employed by the State conducted public rites. Citizens were required to suspend business on such dates, but they were not required to attend religious ceremonies (many did so, however, as sacrificial meat was often given in such festivals). Because the ancient Romans did not observe a "weekend" as moderns do, these festivals would have constituted the days of rest for the populace...
     
    List of Roman Festivals of the Republican Era
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    Review: The Sirens of Surrentum

    By Guest, in News,

    Inspiring kids to read these days is no mean feat in the wake of crumbling educational systems. One is considered lucky if one's child buys into the global media hype of Harry Potter. Even luckier, supposedly, are those who start studying Elvish at the behest of Tolkien. I am not myself a parent, but I wonder offhand if there is something better to inspire children than overblown fantasy epics. Were I to have kids, I'd want to teach them something more valuable. I'd want them to learn history, to taste of the knowledge and glory of our illustrious cultural forebears. In so many words I'd want to groom them for Romanophilia. Thanks to Caroline Lawrence and her Roman Mysteries series, we now have something to educate the next generation of UNRV members...
     
    Read the full review of The Sirens of Surrentum by Caroline Lawrence.
     
    Also be sure to read this engaging interview with Ms. Lawrence on this most recent book, her "Roman Mysteries" series and more... Caroline Lawrence Interview
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    Attila the Hun is a household name- a byword for barbarism and violence ?but to most of us the man himself, his world and his place in history have remained elusive. So reads the blurb on the back of John Man?s book on Attila the Hun. Yet does the book actually give us a greater idea of the personality and life of the infamous barbarian warlord?
     
    At first glance it might seem not, but as the book develops Man creates a brilliant picture of Attila and his Huns, as well as their Roman victims. We are treated to a brief overview of the political situation facing the Western Roman Empire during the early fifth century, before the author quickly turns his attention to other topics...
     
    Read the full review of Attila the Hun: A Barbarian King and the Fall of Rome Man
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    Review: Working IX to V

    By Guest, in News,

    "Working IX to V" is a survey of a variety of professions in the ancient Greco-Roman world. The work is divided into ten topical chapters, with each chapter containing around fifteen or so professions consonant with the topic. The descriptions of the various professions provide a brief overview, each ranging from one to three pages in length. In the margins on the book are various illustrations of caricatures of the professions under study or the symbols they used to identify themselves, usually punctuated by tongue-in-check quotes meant to be humorous...
     
    Read "Ursus'" full review of Working IX to V by Vicki Leon.
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    Mediterranean Anarchy - Review

    By Guest, in News,

    "Political science is not the same as political commentary. The former is the objective and often dry analysis of social events as they relate to theoretical paradigms. The latter is the biased, unscientific and all too often overly emotional discourse of opinions. The former takes training and a keen mind, the latter can be offered (whether solicited or not) by any buffoon with an axe to grind. There have been innumerable political commentaries on Ancient Rome, but there have been far too few inquiries by trained political scientists into classical politics. Arthur M. Eckstein is a political science professor at the University of California at Berkeley and has written various articles and books on Roman imperialism. In his latest work, he applies modern international relation theory to Roman history. In so doing he does a great service to both classical studies and modern political theory."...
     
    Read UNRV moderator "Ursus" full review of Mediterranean Anarchy by Arthur M. Eckstein
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    Caracalla

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    The historical narrative continues with part one of Caracalla's biography:
     
    "Lucius Septimius Bassianus was the elder of two sons of the emperor Septimius Severus. His cognomen Bassianus stems from his maternal grandfather, Gaius Julius Bassianus who was a priest of Heliogabalus, the patron god of Emesa, Syria. He was born in April AD 188, in the city of Lugdunum (Lyon, France) while his father (Severus) was governor of Gaul during the reign of Commodus. When his father won the civil war following the assassination of Commodus (c. 193), Bassianus was declared Caesar (heir) and renamed Marcus Aurelius Antoninus in order to establish the Severan reign as legitimate heirs to the popular and adoptive Antonine dynasty. The name Caracalla emerged from the style of cloak that he wore and later made popular throughout the empire. While it distinguishes his identity in a historical context, much like the name Caligula as a substitute for the third princeps Gaius, it should be considered little more than a nickname as it was not used in any official capacity..."
     
    Continue reading Caracalla
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    HBO Rome Season 2 Review

    By Guest, in News,

    "Bad sex, it is said, is still pretty good, insofar as it is preferable to no sex at all. Unfortunately one cannot say the same thing about bad history. One spends too long in anticipation and preparation; the actual event proceeds rather clumsily; and when the climax (such as it is) finally arrives, one gets the sense it was hardly worth it. I do not mean to suggest that I am UNRV's resident expert on bad sex, but after watching the 2nd season of "Rome" I know a thing or two about bad history. The problem with "Rome" is precisely that its sex is better than its history and left me feeling like a dirty whore for watching it."...
     
    Read "Ursus'" full review of HBO Rome Season 2
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    ""Like no other visual form, humor allows us to to know the lives of Ancient Romans - and to enter into their thoughts and feelings." So intones John R. Clarke, the author whose brilliant studies of Roman visual artifacts led to thoroughly enjoyable works on Roman life and Roman sex. When the author graciously offered me a free copy of this latest work on Roman humor, I consented to read and review it for UNRV. I initially was a bit concerned that a study focusing solely on humor might not fully sustain my interest. As it turns out, my fears were unfounded. Looking at Laughter is a somewhat more complicated piece than Clarke's other works, but equally as elucidating of Roman cultural values."...
     
    Read the full review of Looking at Laughter by John R. Clarke.
     
    Also be sure to read this insightful and informative author interview
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    Rome: Engineering an Empire

    By Guest, in News,

    Ursus' review of the History Channel DVD:
     
    "Some have said Rome's greatness was achieved by the spade as much as by the sword. Certainly the empire would have lacked much of its grandeur without its famed engineering feats. The History Channel produced one of its better outings in this DVD which explores Rome's architectural triumphs from the early Republic to the reign of Caracalla. A copy of the DVD is also included with every "Caesar IV" game, the latest in the series of Ancient Roman city building simulations. I was struck by how much the DVD seemed to be an audio-visual parallel to the Nigel's Rodgers "Roman Architecture" as the two productions cover much the same ground. For those too lazy to read Rodger's great book, the History Channel's DVD is an educational and enjoyable exposition"...
     
    Read the full review of Rome: Engineering an Empire
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