Ursus

Another thought ..... is there a way that people who don't post for over three months or so get automatically deleted from the registry? The forum says we have 740 members, but as we all know we have maybe 30 who ever post.

Book suggestions: The Roman Cult of Mithras by Manfred Clauss. Translated by Richard Gordon. Claus refrains from wild theorizing and sticks simply to presenting the archaeological evidence, scant though it is. He offers an excellent overview of the known facts of the cult and its history. Some of the sections, like a survey on the utensils used by Mithraic initiates, might be overkill for the general reader. But all in all this serves an excellent introduction to the cult of the Bull Slayer. The Origin of the Mithraic Mysteries by David Ulansey Ulansey is infamous for offering one of the most radical reinterpretations of Mithraism ever. In the author's view, the Roman Mithras has nothing to do with the ancient Iranian deity Mitra. Instead, the Mithraism of Roman understanding is a glorified astral cult celebrating the procession of equinoxes through the Zodiac. The problem with Ulansey is that he offers too much evidence to simply be laughed away. However his theory does hinge on many, many contrivances. Whether or not Ulansey is completely correct in his assertions, he offers solid evidence that astronomy was critical to the Mithraic cult. The Mysteries of Mithras by Franz Cumont. Written over a century ago, Cumont's research is woefully out of date. But everything stands in his shadow, with modern day scholars either seeking to refine his views or to negate them completely. Cumont sees Mithras as the Roman evolution of the ancient Persian deity. Regardless of how much Cumont erred in his assumptions, his enthusiasm and beauty in bringing Mithraism back into the Western world is as relevant today as it has always been.

If it weren't for Rome there wouldn't have been a Church in the first place. Christianity was spread in Roman roads in Roman towns, using Latin and Greek as common languages. It blended with Greek philosophy and Roman legalism. The Imperial Court in Constantine's New Rome then sponsored the codification and refinement of Christianity. Christianity wasn't a product of the fall of Rome. It was a product of Roman culture period. Although whether or not it was the best product of Greco-Roman culture depends on your personal proclivities.

Civil wars, economic decline, and barbarian immigrations ... all of which reinforce each other in a vicious cycle. I could also add a general statement: Imperial Overstretch. The costs of maintaining the empire began to outweigh the benefits, and only the richer and more defensible East survived intact. I think Imperial Overstretch is the grand cause of which the other three items I mentioned are manifest symptoms.

I was a student guest of a Moscow university for several weeks and greatly know the value of Russian hospitality. I was also a student of Russian language and literature for four years, and know something more about the culture than sleazy night clubs. I think a lot of people are misinterpreting my post. *shrugs* Sorry if it came off wrong.

I was just saying to myself the other day I need a new blog. I have one already which I use mostly for musings on Rome and paganism, but having one linked to UNRV would be cool.

No need to apologize, I did not see any offense from you. I apologize for not giving you a hearty welcome. I was just saying I think this thread I started drifted woefully off topic from my original premise. But it's all good, I'll make up for it in the future somehow.

We're trying to find those cultural characteristics that distinguish Romanatis, and thus separate Roman culture as a distinct phenomenon. Whether Romanatis (however one ultimately defines it) is desirable or not to the individual is of course highly subjective. I therefor don't think construing the endeavor in a tautological and antagonistic dichotomy was exactly the point of the thread. But the point of the thread seems to have been aborted from incipience, to be blunt, so I've pretty much given up.

Lighten up, Lacertus. I was being sarcastic. I studied Russian for four years - though I don't remember a bloody word of it. The only thing I remember is "golodnaya utka" or something, which I think means Hungry Duck. It was the name of a nightclub for western tourists. Anyway, I capped off the experience with a summer in your fair capital. I honestly love Russian culture and the city of Moscow in particular. More beautiful and deeper than anything we have here in the brain dead and spiritually bereft land of McDonalds and Microsoft. And Dostoevsky is still my favorite writer of all time. I'm truly envious of your culture's profound achievements. I am not, however, envious of your bad water system. So there.

I was in Moscow once as a college kid. Met a couple of those guys. They don't like Americans. But then, they don't seem to like much of anything except vodka. But the rest of the city was beautiful and cultured. Plenty of young, pretty girls looking for a Western sugar daddy. Just don't drink the water. The water there is bad. That's why they substitute vodka for water over there.

Remus, a Roman Myth Romulus, meaning "little Rome" is the eponymous ancestor of the Roman people. But who or what was his twin Remus? How did he come about and fit in the picture? The general gist of the story is that a female descendant of Aeneas copulates with the god Mars and twins are born as a result. Due to unfavorable political situations, the twins are sent away from home on a box that floats down the Tiber. The twins are rescued and nursed by a she-wolf, an animal sacred to Mars. The twins are then raised by a pastoral demi-god. When they mature they return home and reclaim their birthright by overthrowing a corrupt king.... ...read the full review of Remus : A Roman Myth by T. P. Wiseman

The Tarquinii were Etruscans and seem to have had their own city-state in Etruria. It was a Hellenized state famous for art and trade. It was allied with the Veii, and after the Romans defeated Veii, the city of Tarquinii eventually fell under the Roman shadow. Any surviving members of the Tarquinii clan would simply have been absorbed into the Empire as local leaders. Michael Grant has a whole section on the Tarquinii in _The Etruscans_.

it gets better and better around here. :-)

I'm interested. I think it's a great idea. Free books about Rome? Have I died and gone to heaven? But my plate is full right now with some of my own projects, so I currently defer to anyone who wants to go first.

I'm on the phone all day with angry idiots. Otherwise known as customer service. Looking for a new job as we speak. :-)

If it were just HBO I might be worried, but BBC is a partner and they's been known to do some quality work. American production values and British eloquence would be a marriage made in heaven. Since I don't get HBO I'm going to ignore any further discusssion of the topic until I can get my hands on some tapes of the miniseries.

I'm working my current job because I couldn't find anything else in my area I could tolerate. *shrugs*

Strange site. Looks like an Egyptian pagan from Italy commenting on Roman history, or something. But certainly enough pagan cult centers were destroyed that the info may be correct. Who knows.

I have never read them, but I have heard they concentrate almost exclusively on political and military affairs. If that's your thing, you'll probably like them. But if you, like me, want a more balanced cultural perspective, I hear you have to find another author.

Drama - Godfather I. Historical - Spartacus Fantasy - Conan the Barbarian Sci-Fi - The Original Star Wars Trilogy Shakespeare on Film: Henry V with Kenneth Branagh, or Julius Caesar with Marlon Brando War: The Longest Day Comedy: Young Frankenstein or Monty Python and the Holy Grail Foreign Film: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Best Action movie: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Best B Movie: Godzilla meets Bambi

If it comes down to Hillary versus [insert generic Evangelical Conservative Christian Rich White Male of Southern Origin] I think I'll scream.

It's probably a joke. I've seen this making the internet rounds.

[mod note: I thought this topic made more sense in the temple forum, so I moved it] PP did a bang-up job with the topic. Really, the "persecutions" are a tad bit overblown, as was martyrdom. Christianity won simply because it appealed to a large mass of people who were disaffected by a declining Roman society. I sometimes look at the rapidly growing New Age cults who appeal mostly to people who can't quite fit in with the modern mainstream West for whatever reason, and I can't help but wonder where they will be in 200 years, especially if the West starts to decline.

I'm not going to deny that the later empire slipped into Oriental style despotism, but I just think we need to be careful when comparing Rome to modern political systems. There is a different spirit at work.

Divine Augustus, Father of Our Fatherland, may your genius guide good men still today.