Ursus

Very well, then. Hurray for the sun god! He is a fun god! Ra, Ra, Ra!

There was more than one cult in the Hellenistic-Roman realm that sought to deny the world and project human souls into the highest heaven via ascetic practices and esoteric rights. Admittedly Christianity had some unique properties via its pretensions to Judaic tribal law, but it was still a close cousin to these cults. Paganism was not a monolothic entity and had many strands. Christianity has something in common with some of the "fringe" mystical cults that became so popular in the later empire. Though when all is said and done I think the most direct Roman influence on Catholicism beside its organization is its legalistic mentality. Whatever else a Roman Catholic and a Roman Pagan may have in differences, they both go about their religions with a certain legalistic attitude which I feel is both derived from Roman culture.

I speak normal English and Bureaucratic English. The latter is almost a separate language from the former. I'm also told I speak the language of love. Cheers.

As a note to those who find little use for this forum, certainly we don't want it to be the focus of the site. However, I believe these discussions are useful to appreciate the broader cultural and political realities of the world that helped forge the Roman Empire. I am also hoping people with related interests - Hellenophiles, Etruscanophiles, Romano-Celts - will be drawn to the site, though admittedly we have not had much luck in this regard.

The later empire is not my forte, so I remained silent. I am however very impressed the Triumvirs could organize something like this. The next time, though, ladies and gentlemen, can we make sure we ask questions that are relevant to the expert's field of study? You'll notice the good doctor spent most of his time politely dismissing inquiries he could not really answer.

Interesting that emperor originally posted it in the religious forums. In some circles in which I have a toe, the Empire founded (mythologically) by Romulus ended culturally with the removal of the Altar of Victory from the Senate by the new religious regime. I'm not quite that maudlin. But certainly everything from Constantine to Theodosius and beyond signals a profound change. Roman in political terms, but perhaps not culturally.

And as per Tobias it has been moved to a more suitable forum.

I can't say Jawas ever gave me nightmares. Jar-Jar Binks gave me a nighmare. At long lost the world had confirmation that George Lucas was senile and divorced from all reality.

Ah, is that where gets his wealth of info? Interesting. Website aside, the magazine itself isn't very good, IMO. I wrote a rather lukewarm review of it for amazon.com. Anyone know of any good but affordable archaelogy magazines?

Look at all those slaves, ye gods. Maybe slavery should be reserved for the people on moderated status?

It's interesting to note there were those in Ancient Rome who regarded the Saturnalia festivals as a bunch of overly loud tomfoolery. Heh. I can't stand the Christmas season anymore. I walked into Wal-mart the day after Halloween, and was subjected to the "Alvin and the Chipmonks" version of Christmas Carols. Then there are the infernal Salvation Army people and other charities begging for handouts (do these people have real jobs?). Then there is the bad weather, the ubiquitous spread of flu and colds, the heavy traffic and deep lines at stores. "It's a Wonderful Life" plays everywhere on TV. Sappy Christmas songs on the radio. And worst of all is being expected to buy cards and gifts for people you don't give a damn about any other time of the year. This year I'm celebrating Festivus. I'm still working on my list of personal grievances to air.

Here are two Roman cultural values at odds. Pietas - piety, duty and respect to the social order, obeying one's elders and superiors. Auctoritas - the sense of one's standing in community, the glory and honor of one's position and the assumption it should increase with the right leverage. If these two cultural traits are not at odds then all well and good. If however there is a conflict which one takes precedence? People like Cicero - and apparently, Germanicus - felt that Piety to the social order outweighed one's ambitions to increase one's standing. People like my Icon took the opposite school of thought .... I think the deciding factor is really what is best for the empire. Would Germanicus have made a better emperor than Tiberius? Quite possibly! Had I been Germanicus that would have been enough consideration - that and personal Auctoritas, of course. The two would have dovetailed nicely. I'm sure such were the thoughts of Caesar too. The great thing about Roman values is that there is not necessarily a dichotomy between what is good for you and what is good for the culture as a whole.

Just ignore it. I went through the same thing. Be happy you've found a place like this where people share your interest.

I don't know of any formal historical methods. But a good practical start is getting a statue or image of the deity for one's home altar if you don't already. FWIW, I would say Hermes/Mercury is one of my main deities as well. He was thought to be a friend and close companion to mortals. But he's not really savior god in the technical sense of the term.

A good point as well, DanM. Interesting to think that North Africans were more Romanized than British or North Gallish. But I think the very lack of research on the subject discourages intelligent discussion. :-/

I would live under Augustus. I would just have to remember to keep my hands off his daughter.

Actually, I thought the icon was a Jawa when I first saw it.

I suppose the Catholic Church is the last concrete remains of the Empire. I would submit though that in the world of ideas and politics, the glory of Rome's universal empire never died. Regimes all the way from Charlemagne to the Czars to the Third Reich have had pretentions and concessions to Rome.

****** In regards to the other items ... How about this. We leave the current admin structure intact, though if PP wants to change the membership criteria for Patricians and book give-a-ways that's fine with me. Now we could have a separate board for Plebians and Equestrians to express their concerns. If they want to elect amongst themselves temporary "Tribunes" for the purposes of leading discussions and suggesting improvements, that's fine with me. You can even change the current "Consilium Comitia" forum to a Plebian Assembly forum, as the patricians and mods have their own forums where they discuss things anyway. Some people like Onasander and Flavius have already expressed interest in being elected Tribune. Again, if this is a temporay and informal title for the purposes of leading the site majority in discussions and improvements, then so be it. People can hold a title for a few months as long as they have done something to actually earn it. But let's not call them Consuls. Let's leave the current administration structure in place minus any change around the margins that PP wants to make. And for the love of the gods don't do anything that makes us look like Nova Roma. So would that be a reasonable compromise?

The Crisis of the Third Century, taken as a whole. The loss of faith in imperial unity as an aftermath started a devolution toward more local oriented economies and cultures. The foundations of the infernal Middle Ages were already being laid by the time the Germanic hordes finally severed the political unity of the West.

What good was an extra lictor anyway? Status. Everything in Roman society was about status, at least for the elites.

They're quite serious. In fact, their claims to being an autonomous government and nation may technically constitute secession. I'd really like to see what the Department of Justice and FBI have to think about it.

I'm calling off from work today due to about 10 inches of snow with wind. Fortunately I have enough overtime to make up for a day's lost wages. A 3 day weekend, yipee!! If I could find a sled to fit me I'd be out there right now for some winter fun.

Julius Caesar. "Caesar is watching you." Heheheh. The ever vigilant mod keeps track of who is naughty and who is nice. I could have been Santa Claus too, I suppose, but this is a Romanophile forum. Plus, I'm too cheap to give gifts even to the nice people. Anyway, Caesar and Augustus are my heroes for a long list of reasons. I probably have more in common with Augustus than Caesar, but I found this icon after five minutes of searching google, and I'm sticking with it. Previously I had used, for the longest time, avatars of temples, but It was time for a change.

A great point. I suggest one of the book give-a-ways in the near future focus on the Germans in the late Roman Empire. That way a Patrician can write an essay on the subject for the benefit of the site.