Ursus

When you're an Aztec warrior, what do you want after a hard day of fighting and human sacrifices in the Mexican sun? Chocolate Beer, of course! http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment...not_wusses.html

I am not familiar with the phrase in reference to classical paganism. In classical paganism one really doesn't give "praise" to deities so much as votive offerings and sacrifices. I assume the phrase is a Christian/Catholic invention

That Romanization book seems very interesting ....

I'm inclined to think myth has some very distant roots in history - look at Troy and The Iliad, for instance. But the idea of sacred twins runs throughout Indo-European mythology, as does the myth that the world (or, in this case, a city) began with the murder/sacrifice of a divine being. So I think you have a very ancient proto-Indo-European myth that has been recontextualized by the various IE cultures as they separated and matured.

I occasionally contribute to a Greek Pagan organization. When I wrote the Dionysus article for UNRV, I contacted the organization head to see if he could use it for his website. It just so happened he was editing an anthology of essays for Dionysus. He had the anthology published on some self-publishing site or another, and Amazon picked it up from there. I'm only one of 20+ essays - but still, it's a start.

http://www.pontefractandcastlefordexpress....cuts.3741786.jp

Wall Street goes Communist. I knew it!

True, but many great European states with pretensions to imperial grandeur called themselves "Roman" - the Medieval confederation of Germanic princes, Tsarist Russia, even the Third Reich. As to the larger question, I think you have to look at a big picture. What we call Ancient Greek civilization is usually divided into phases: Minoan-Myceaenean, Dark Ages, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine. There is some continuity between the phases: you can look at the religion of classical Greece and see some of its genesis in Minoan civilization, but there is also a great deal of change. Likewise, that which we call today call Byzantium is ultimately descended from the Roman Dominate - but when the Byzantine rulers declared themselves unabashed monarchs and replaced Latin with Greek as the government language, I think the break was made.

Tiberius probably had recent history in mind. Pompeius Magnus's son had given Augustus a major headache. And Caesar's famous clemency did not profit him on the Ides of March.

As an addendum, Professor Clarke and his publisher graciously offered me another title of his to read and review. I am eager to do so, though with professional and personal schedules about to become busy I can't give a definite timeframe on when it will be completed.

It does seem interesting. I'll have to see if PBS offers a DVD of the program for sale.

I don't believe under the Republic proper there were such instances (but Augustus famously had Caesarion murdered). I believe Tiberius was simply scared to death of the Sejanus conspiracy and wanted to ensure there were no offspring left to avenge their father. During the incidents, Tiberius was hiding on Capri, ready to flee to Asia if things got dicey. That gives you a look into his mindset - he was taking no chances whatsoever.

For what it may be worth to you, Maty stated in his interview that while he sees the late Republic as highly dysfunctional, he does excoriate the Caesars for opting for dictatorship over reform.

1) I don't even bother reading threads if they don't interest me. The legion folder in particular usually fails to arouse my attention - just not my cup of tea 2) Someone could say something with which I disagree or which is even factually incorrect. But being a busy mod I may not have the time or inclination to respond right away, or ever. 3) Some threads are best left untouched due to the "emotional" nature of the subject. After 3 years on UNRV I've lost any inclination to jump into a " fall of the Republic" thread as I feel the arguments have been hashed out ad infinitum.

This post originated in the Augustus thread on the imperial folder. I'd prefer that thread remain about Augustus rather than the Fall of the Republic, so I have moved that post here where anyone so inclined can participate.

The Empire, or at least the early empire, was very much a partnership between the Rome and the local elites. The local elites were in fact expected to Romanize, but this wasn't as severe as the phrase "riding roughshod over native cultures" implies. "Romanization" still allowed a considerable lattitude for local cultures. The only people who really lost were the Druids (because they refused to Romanize) and the Jews (and them only after an overly zealous revolt - until then leaders like Caesar and Claudius had treated them quite kindly). I don't see Rome as becoming tyrannical until the later empire, especially with Theodosius enforcing a newly crafted state religion on everyone at the dire expense of native religions. And that newly crafted, rather intolerant state religion was one of the hallmarks of this new era. Given further still that the Medieval Western European states were taken over by Germanic overlords, who were hardly therefore a "native" aristocracy. And given that literacy and classical learning did not flourish much outside monastic institutions, I really don't see how anyone can praise the Middle Ages as a fountainhead of creativity and "native" cultural evolution.

Michael Larvey is the name of the photographer.

That is the book, Decimus. I think UK amazon simply listed the wrong author. I actually am going to e-mail Clarke about this, as he may wish to be informed. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

Well .... I've already done the review, it's sitting dead last in queu. But it's probably the most perfunctory review I ever wrote, I just really couldn't play with it. Perhaps you can write a better review than I did. There's always room for two reviews. I'll private message you what I wrote.

Sons of Caesar by Phillip Matyszak Phillip Matyszak offers a fresh look at Rome's first imperial family, from Julius Caesar to Nero. Matyszak is willing to step outside the biases of the primary sources and offer a slight revision of certain figures such as Caligula. Written in clear prose, with elucidating charts of the convoluted dynastic family tree, and plenty of quotes from the primary sources. Roman Empire by Colin Wells Wells offers a general study of the empire from Augustus to Caracalla. He alternates between the happenings of the imperial court at Rome and wider socio-economic developments in the provinces. Wells illustrates that the early empire was very much a partnership between the imperial center and the local elites. Informative and easy to understand. Augustan Culture by Karl Galinsky If you can get through the at times long-winded academic prose, you will be well rewarded. Galinsky is one of the world's foremost experts on the Augustan age. He views Augustus through the terms of a greater Mediterranean social and cultural evolution. An informative survey of politics, culture, and the interplay between them. Roman Life by John R. Clarke Clarke offers a brilliant and entertaining study of Roman daily life. Focusing on art and archaeology, the mentality and experiences of various sectors of Roman society come to life through exquisite photographs and illustrations. A joy to read. The Golden Ass by Apuleius To round out our survey we need some literature. "The Golden Ass" has the disctinction of being the only complete novel from Rome to survive, but it is hard to think of a more worthy tome to leave to posterity. Both profoundly spiritual and humorously bawdy, this tale is one of the greater works of Greco-Roman mythology. (Many would probably expect me to recommend Virgil's "Aeneid" , but "The Golden Ass" is a the better read of the two. Besides, Galinsky touches on the "Aeneid" in his book).

"Does the world need yet another book on the Caesars and the fall of the Republic? Well, yes, actually, as long as it is written with the clarity and probing analysis of Phillip "Maty" Matyszak. In The Sons of Caesar, the good Cambridge doctor of history offers a penetrating study of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the convoluted and dysfunctional family that presided over Rome's transition from Republic to Empire"... Continue reading the review: Sons of Caesar. For further insights, read the Interview with the Author Highly recommended for anyone interested in the early empire.

I was admiring the lady along with you, CS. Neph and I have been friends and colleagues for a while now, and her contributions are rightly and universally praised. And if you explore other parts of the site you'll find many of our leading members have massive amounts of knowledge in other areas of Romanophilia, some of whom are distinguished scholars or authors in their own right. It's really an interesting mix of people we have here.

Augustus' family values legislation proved rather ineffective, and was also a bit hypocritical given the oversexed behavior of himself and his family.

True. I know in Ancient Athens, workers actually negotiated contracts with their employers specifiying which religious festivals they had off. Perhaps there was something like that in Rome.

The festivals listed above are from the Republican era calendar. All these were official holidays. Some of them had fallen into disuse because they were so old people had forgotten their meaning in contemporary society. Obviously the games established by Caesar and Sulla were recent additions in the late Republic. By the time of Aurelian there were 137 official holidays, meaning that not only did many on the list above survive into late imperial times, but new ones were added as well.