Gaius Paulinus Maximus

I came across a fantastic essay titled Violence and the Romans: The Arena Spectacles, it covers many of the theories discussed in this thread and many more. Here's a paragraph that I particularly liked In Pliny's panegyric to Trajan (Panegyric xxxi.1) in which he praised the emperor who first satisfied the practical needs of the citizens and the allies, and then gave them a public entertainment, nothing lax or dissolute to weaken and destroy the manly spirit of his subjects, but one to inspire them to face honourable wounds and look scornfully upon death, by demonstrating a love of glory and a desire for victory even in the persons of criminals and slaves.In other words, Pliny viewed the gladiatorial show as an educational experience of morality and virtue. The fact that the performers were outcasts strengthened this educational element by the implicit idea that if even such people could provide examples of bravery, determination to win glory and victory despite impending death, and even more so, contempt for death itself, then so could real men And another The spectacles also appealed to the crowd by their implicit sexual nature. The Romans appeared to be aware of this aspect of the spectacles by the fact that gladiators were classified with prostitutes in Roman legislation, and that literary texts associated the Latin word for the gladiator's trainer (lanistes) with that for a pimp (leno) [17]. Indeed, the sexuality associated with gladiators is portrayed by Prudentius in his description of the Vestal virgin at the games: What a spirit she has! She leaps up at each stroke, and every time that the victorious gladiator plunges his sword into his opponents neck, she calls him her sweetheart, and turning her thumb downwards this modest maiden orders the breast of the prone gladiator to be torn open so that no part of his soul should be hidden, while the secutor looms above him, panting as he presses in his weapon (ii.1095-1101) [18] Have a read of the full esssay. http://janusquirinus.org/essays/Arena.html

I am either a Wild Dog or a Bear personality. But I may also be a Wolf personality. After reading each one I think the one that 's closest to me is probably Wild Dog , the worrying thing is that other famous wild dogs are Martina Navratilova and Vladimir Lenin. I'm still unable to lick my own testicles but I'm working on it!

What are brackets?????????????

The Roman soldiers would have much preferred to be fighting barbarians in foreign wars than killing fellow Romans in the civil wars, many of the legionaries would have had friends and maybe even family in the opposing Roman army and although they would have fought to the death and killed fellow Romans for their general they would certainly have enjoyed fighting and killing barbarians a hell of a lot more.

Take a look at this course of lectures it might give you a few ideas. http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=340& Oh and good luck, let us know how you got on

The imperial cult was an important unifying factor in the vastly undergoverned Roman empire. It was mutually beneficial for both Rome and its subjects. Most importantly, it was a focal point for loyalty to Rome and the emperor. For the provincial elites it also provided new opportunities for social advancement. Yet, despite it political significance, the imperial cult should not be simply dismissed as a political tool. In polytheistic Greece, it also did religious significance, since success was treated as commensurate with divine favour and patronage. Take a look at this essay, it might give you a few pointers http://janusquirinus.org/essays/Cult.html Hope it helps.

All joking aside, what if they do prove it to be the actual coffin of THE Jesus Christ! What would the implications be??

I totally second everything you said in your blog about the legend that is John Terry, although I'm a BIG Leeds Utd fan and not much of a lover of Chelsea (sorry), I've got to take my hat of to JT, the man epitomizes everything that a footballer should be, he's 110% for 90mins, he wears his heart on his sleeve and like you say if the situation came about, he would lay down his life for club and country, with all the diving, screaming and play acting that goes on in todays game I'm just glad that JT's gonna be OK and be back to kick all those soft lads up in the air! . BTW..... Who the hell does Cesc Fabregas think he is????? The boy is 19 yrs old and struts around like he's a seasoned pro! Don't get me wrong, the kid is an exceptional talent and is going to be one of the best midfielders in the world, but right now he needs to stick to learning his trade, keep his mouth shut and show a little respect!

Well done Cecil , your consular position is throughly deserved, hope your year incharge is productive and fruitful! BTW... your new avatar / signature is top quality, just where does (the genius of the bytes) find them....And where can i get one???

I think my first introduction to Rome was probably watching Spartacus when I was a boy (normally at Christmas time), I remember being totally mesmerized by the whole film and from then on I've always had an healthy interest in all things Roman. I sort of drifted off it during my teens, obviously other things were grabbing my attention like girls :wub: football, partying :drunk: etc. But as I got older and realized that I wasn't going to be a professional footballer the interest came flooding back and now I'm hooked again and loving it!

I'm a fan of Suetonius mainly because his was the first work from the ancients that I read, he has a nice flowing easy to read style and his stories are very entertaining, it wouldn't be my first choice if I wanted to do some serious research because we all know that he liked to stretch the truth a bit but for pure entertainment value you can't go wrong.

I tend to agree with NN and MPC's comments, nobody can deny thast Caesar was a great general, politician, statesman and orator but there was also the other side to him, the ruthless, vicious, self obssessed side which certainly points to the personality disorder highlighted by NN, They do say that there's a fine line between genius and insanity, maybe Caesar was bordering on this? http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2007/02/int...nd_insanity.php

Have a great birthday LW :beer: Cheers!

In Adrian Goldsworthy's book "The Complete Roman Army" it states that the Roman soldier carried a form of identification with him at all times called a signaculum, it was made of lead and was kept in a small leather pouch. I suppose it was like an ancient form of the modern day dog tags worn by the soldiers of today. Does anyone have anymore info on these, any pictures or links that could shed a bit more light on the subject? Thanks

Who do you think is the best Roman historian? Which one is the most reliable or the most entertaining?

Found this http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/strate...strategikon.htm Hope it helps.

Wow, now that's impressive, he sounded like a great guy.

Happy birthday Honorius :beer: Have a good one!

Can you see your pad in the shot of Brooklyn foreground?

Roman funerals were typically held at night to prevent large public gatherings and discourage crowds and excessive mourning which, in the case of major political figures, could lead to serious unrest. Hired musicians led the parade, followed by mourners and relatives who often carried portrait sculptures or wax masks of other deceased family members. The procession would end outside of town (it was forbidden to bury anyone within the city limits) and a pyre, or cremation fire, was built. As the fire burned, a eulogy was given in honor of the deceased. After the pyre was extinguished, a family member (usually the deceased's mother or wife) would gather the ashes and place them in an urn. Many Romans belonged to funeral societies, called collegia, to ensure proper burial. They would pay monthly dues, which would be employed to cover the cost of funerals for members. Collegia members (provided they were in good standing) were guaranteed a spot in a columbarium. Columbaria were large underground vaults where peoples' cremated remains were placed within small wall niches, which were often marked by memorial plaques and portrait sculptures. Because the Romans believed that a proper burial was essential for passage to the afterlife, there was much concern on this score. Columbaria were an inexpensive way to guarantee this transition, and collegia allowed all classes of society to reach the underworld. Some emperors even provided funeral allowances to those so very poor they could not even afford to belong to a collegia. Take a look at this site about Roman funerals, it has pictures of artifacts retrived from a Roman Columbaria. http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/Exhibits/De...roup/index.html

Go on then Nephele hit me with it...........

Nice pics GO, is that you in the Coney Island picture (3/4 of the way down), the guy at the front with the tight swim shorts on??

Have a look at this site, it's a map of the empire and you get 26 questions asking you to pinpoint certain places throught-out the Roman world, there's two levels - easy or hard. http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/4998/rome.html It's a bit of fun but educational at the same time.

I've seen 'The Bunker' and Hopkins did a fantastic job of humanizing Hitler, I felt myself feeling really sorry for the man despite knowing of the atrocities he'd committed through-out the war. The last few hours in the bunker were quite harrowing, to see Hitler realize that all his dreams and his life were coming to an end, you couldn't help but pity the man. Highly recommended.

This is one of the best sites around on Roman Britain http://www.roman-britain.org/ Hope it helps.