Ursus

I'd say it should have stuck to its original 6 members and integrated into a full fledged federation before it started adding new members. Now that is it seemingly expanding all the way to the Urals without fixing some if its internal problems, I doubt it it will ever be a true Union.

It is an enjoyable read, Pentagathus.

Yes. What Cato said.

FWIW, Cato, I always thought Stoicism was the Buddhism of the West.

Off topic but possibly of interest: The Greeks were also known to sacrifice puppies to the goddess Hekate

I bought a used copy from amazom.com.

Folks, The topic here is about the Principate versus the Dominate. American politics really don't apply here. I must say I'm starting to become a tad annoyed that whenever we have a discussion on Roman government, it's not long before contemporay American politics is brought into the picture. I echo Germanicus' sentiment to take contemporary politics to the Afterhours lounge

Any of you fine Equestrians want to review your Saturnalia presents for us, feel free.

Democracy? We can't be talking of ancient Rome then can we...! Quite right. We're talking about oligarchic republicanism (Republic) versus moderated autocracy (Principate) versus Oriental Despotism (Dominate). Let's leave Democracy to the Athenians.

Probably because the empire was more accomodating of provincials (or at least the elites) than the Republic had been. Possibly the infamy of Republican tax farmers was another factor.

Germanicus does have a point. Regardless of what one thinks of Buddhism, it is heavy on so-called altruism and was around 500 years before Christianity.

Sadly I have no idea who that is. I was thinking more along the lines of Baxter the MeowMix kitten dialing up a phone to pester his owner for some more MeowMix.

They're evolving before our very eyes. If they develop opposable thumbs, we're in trouble.

Principate.

You may wish to find a copy of _The Roman Empire_ by Peter Garnsey and Richard Saller. 2/3 of it is dedicated to an economic analysis.

Except, perhaps, that the world would not be subjected to the sexual ethics of Hebrew tribal law.

I just happened to find that link randomly. I wouldn't know where else to look, sorry. We could have discused this back in April when I first posted it.

Hmmm. This thread probably should be filed under the military folder. [moved]

Batman is a wuss. He never kills his enemies. He just locks them up in Arkham Asylum, where they seemingly escape every week. I suppose the same can be said of most comic book heroes. They always do the "noble" thing, which is usually the stupid thing of showing mercy to their enemies and playing by other people's rules.

Your wish is my command. *bows* Your friendly neighborhood Praetor

From what I've read of the Celtic aristocracy, ostentation and conspicuous consumption were pretty much their defining traits in terms of social status. But of course it just wasn't for show; they redistributed some of the wealth to their retainers, who were then indebted to the aristocrats. The Romans had similar practices. Conservatives in the early-mid Republic may have found ostentation to be degrading, but the noveau rich of the empire held no such qualms. They took the client-patron basis of Roman society to its logical conclusions. Should we malign the availability of goods and services, which some people pejoratively term

Please don't type in all caps again.

Why am I not surprised that 4 out of 5 of the top selling books for the year are military oriented.

I believe the reviewer was engaging in a fine example of dry British wit. I was in stitches. Anyway... Anyone who wants a proper look at Roman sexuality can read _Roman Sex_ by John R. Clarke. I reviewed this book a while ago. It's a fascinating and visually powerful look at Roman sexual mores and practices in the early empire. Probably the biggest difference between the ancient world and the modern is how we interpret human sexuality.

I always liked ancient history, ever since grade school. But then I was a geek an Honors Student all through school and had many diverse and enthusiastic interests. It's only been in the last few years of my post-college life that I've settled down and focused on ancient history. I fell in with a crowd that takes pre-Christian religious systems a tad more seriously than most people, and study is a big part of that. As to how I found UNRV, I don't remember the specifics. I was searching for something on the internet and came here. I always liked most of the people, but back in the day this place wasn't quite as active or as grand. In fact most of the threads seemed to be of the now banned "Roman Legion vs XYZ" variety. I'm glad I stuck with it to see it blossom into the diverse place that it came to be.