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How influential were the PISO family? I don'y know whether its just coincidence but last weeks BBC docudrama on NERO had a PISO leading an attempted coup and being killed for his troubles. The Caesars DVD (I have just bought) had a PISO being made governor of Armenia to help the Emperor Tiberius outmanouever GERMANICUS. He was consequently 'thrown to the wolves' by TIBERIUS. And the GOLDWORTHY book on Caesar (I'm just now reading)has a PISO who was given a Spanish command (65BC)and murdered by his own men! If they are the same lineage they must have been an unlucky lot! This subject is really starting to suck me in. Its fascinating!

Ursus (or anyone else this applies to). Have you read Richard Holland's 'Augustus: Godfather of Europe'..? If you could suggest a biog on Augustus, maybe compare Holland and Everitt's works, I'd be most appreciative.

I know that the first Emperor, Augustus, was the great nethew of G J Caesar. Tiberius was the son of Augustus' wife, Livia. Caligula was the son of Agrippina, the grand-daughter of Augustus. Claudius was the uncle of Caligula. Can someone please spare a little time to list and explain the blood relationships of the descendants of Julius/Augustus. Last weeks BBC show stated that NERO was the last of the dynasty. Did they move on to another hereditary system or change more profoundly?

My mistake. It is RICHARD Holland who wrote Augustus:Godfather of Europe. I'v just read Rubicon by Tom Holland and it lead me to this assumption. Does anyone know if they are related?

Your correct but Its to do with the second series. Vorenus took an oath 'to the death' to Antony whereas Pullo is close to Octavian. This sets the scene for a dynamic 'loyalty v friendship' story line.

Ludovicus. He doesn't mention tobacco he says 'smoke there smoke' and, as you'll see in later episodes, is actually refering to opium.

According to Amazon the hardback was released on 31st May 2004 (They sell it for

I believe its the Gracchi next week. I'll be watching because its still better than soaps or gameshows and, as with the Nero episode, I know nothing of this era so will be wonderfully unaware of the mistakes. Ignorance is bliss!

I have just recieved this from Play.com (

I'm planning on reading Grants biography of Caesar straight after Goldworthy's. To look for any disagreements and cement the known facts more permanently. I will accept your superior knowledge and pledge to at least attempt some of the contemporary literature(maybe ancient would be a more accurate discription). If you suggest Suetonius then thats who I'll begin with. You never know...I might surprise myself?

The modern historian is Mary Beard who, according to forum members with far more knowledge than myself (I'm only a few books into the subject) is a serious academic with an excellent reputation. Last week someone speculated that she'd probably been over-ruled by a producer or someone involved more with the 'creative process'. These people obviously don't let the facts get in the way of a good story or, more accurately, let the facts get in the way of turning an excellent story into a mediocre cliche!

Oh Dear! I gave last weeks Nero the benefit of the doubt and tried to justify some of its more blatant mistakes (Phil25, Augusta and others demonlished my excuses with their far more precise criticism's). This week I am worried that Nero was shown first because it was by far the best! Pertwee's one dimensional Caesar was painful to watch. He reminded me of Dr.Evil from the Austin Powers films (they were both intent on world domination for the sheer joy of wickedness. Or so it would seem from this programme)"First Gaul, then Rome. Now the WORLD!!! (demonic laughter)" Eastenders Trevor is the only actor I have ever witnessed playing this caring, sharing version of Mark Antony. How he's been maligned over the centuries! Such a nice man should never have been portrayed as the bloodthirsty, uncouth and vulgar bully that EVERYONE else have claimed him to be. According to the show-"Caesar put down the mutiny in the ninth legion by reinstating the punishment of decimation for the first time in decades...." Wasn't that Crassus during the Spartacus unpleasantness? Wasn't Caesar actually more unique in the levels of clemency he demonstrated rather than his cruelty? DID CAESAR EVER USE DECIMATION ON ANYONE?Friend or foe? 50 minutes was never going to suffice to explain events of such complexity so a certain amount of over-simplifying was to be expected but the total lack of shades of grey made tonights viewing paqinful to watch. NEXT WEEK: Benny from Crossroads plays Tiberius Gracchus. "They killed my brother two days before he retired from the A.R.P.D. (Ancient Roman Police Department) and I'm gonna take my revenge...."

I'm new to this era and have so far read only a handfull of books concerning the Romans. Although I accept that the most informative titles are the college textbook type (such as Routledge History of the Ancient World series) I much prefer the 'lighter' reading of authors such as Tom Holland and Adrian Goldworthy. I'm not going to give a limit on the number of books/authors a person can mention but I do suggest a short list and every entry to be accompanied with a reason for its inclusion. Although I am probably the least qualified person on this forum to do so, I will include my short list to, hopefully, get the ball rolling. 1. RUBICON, Tom Holland. I defy anyone to repeat the old cliche that 'history is boring' after reading this. A real page turner. 2. THE BEGINNINGS OF ROME, T.J.Cornell. Serious and weighty. An academic attempt to shine a light on Romes oldest times. 3. CAESAR, Goldworthy. Examining one of histories true giants. Revealing his personality and character without being bogged down in the minutae of custom and jargon.

I'm about 100pages into this book and its highly readable, informative and enjoyable. FC hit the nail on the head with his review. I have put the more academic T.J.Cornell 'Early History...' and Gary Forsythe 'Critical Early History...' to one side whilst I return to the 'lighter' titles such as this. Tom Holland's RUBICON was of the same stock and I intend to read his book 'AUGUSTUS' as well as giving the much mentioned Michael Grant a chance to please.

They were the only 2 'ordinary' soldiers thar Caesar mentioned. All the other folk he wrote of were powerful or influential.

From the point of view of the novice, myself (I know little about the ancients and notjhing about Nero) the programme could not have been better. I have already ordered '69AD The Year of Four Emperors' to read into the aftermath of this period and would appreciate suggestions for actually understanding the the early empire upto, and including, Nero. The castration scene was deeply disturbing and if the actual proceedure was incorrect it still demonstrated the horror of this lunatics absolute power. An acceptable use of poetic license in my opinion. And then to directly go to the campaign of 'assisted suicides' showed the fear that all Romans must have felt during this short period of her history. I imagine there are very many people who have woken this morning with an intention to find out more about this man and these times and that is due to the power of last nights programme. My one criticism is that far too much was crammed into one fifty minute show. It should have been a minimum of three and a full series dedicated just to the events examined in that onre programme would not have been inappropriate.

Back to the parrots. I have spotted a Yellow Headed Amazon and a Blue & Gold Macaw (both South American) and, in a later episode, one of the white cockatoo's that are considered pests in their native Australia. Why the programme makers didn't use any of the many species of bird from Africa or Asia must have been an oversight but hundreds, maybe thousands, of people worked on the set and someone must have noticed this mistake long before the show was completed.

I bought the DVD of this last week. Its a Ch4 production and its (50 minutes each) episodes are: The Battle of Megiddo (against the Prince of Kadesh 1600BC) Tomb Robbers (1100BC) Murder in the Temple (600BC) The Twins (150BC) I also bought BBC's EGYPT:Rediscovering a Lost World. This has 6 hour long episodes. 2 concerning King Tut, 2 about Belzoni (What a bloke he must have been!) and the final 2 tell the story of the race to translate the Rossetta stone. (The French actually won the English in that one!). I would heartily reccommend both of these titles for anyone with an interest in the ancient world. Especially people like me who have little time to read and must quench thier thirst for knowledge somehow. Enjoyable, informative and a great way to get kids (or maybe even wives) introduced to history.

A brand new, 6 part series for British television viewers starts Thurs 21st on BBC1. Episode 1 is dedicated to Nero. In later episodes Sean Pertwee (son of Wurzel Gummidge) plays Gaius Julius Caesar and David Threllwell portrays Constantine the Great. From the tiny excerpts I have seen it all looks like the BBC at its best and I look forward to discussing them on a weekly basis with the more educated forum members. A date for DVD release has already been set and it is available to pre-order on Amazon or Play.com.

Did Constantine live up to the title of 'the Great'? Alfred the Great was only given the honorific centuries after his death. Was Constantine known as GREAT to his contemporaries or was it a later addition. I seem to recall he had a connection to York. Was he made Emperor whilst in York?? Whats the link? If any...

Were any other Caesars known as The Great or was that just Constantine? was Constantine born in Yorkshire (kije myself?).

According to Tom Holland (Rubicon) there was a yearly event in Rome where they remembered the 390BC Gallic Sacking by crucifying dogs (punishment for not barking a warning) whilst Geese sat on velvet cushions as the guests of honour to watch (reward for making loud geese noises to warn the citizens). Are there any primary sources that actually discuss this annual event? Does this sound like something the Romans would have done?

Actually, Virgil61, I have just won the Forsythe book in 'the September Book Bonanza' on this very site! Its my intention to review them both. so comparisons are certain.

I'm over the moon! Things like this don't happen to me. I never win anything? Thanks for this chance. I'll post a review of both Cornells's 'The Beginnings of Rome' (The first chapter has been excellent) and Forsythe's 'Critical History of Early Rome'. They both claim to cover the same ground (prehistory to the first Punic war) so comparisons are inevitable.

I have rewatched the scene (episode 6 - EGERIA) with subtitles and the exact dialogue is: "He works with a whore and a dwarf at his side! Even Cinncinatus, Marius or the Gracchi would not demean themselves so." To which Titus Pullo replies 'Who?'. I wondered if it had something to do with Sulla and CINNA because I could find no mention of Cinncinatus in Rubicon or on Googal (I'd spelt it Cincinnatis, which may account for my lack of success). ALSO Vorenus doesn't know who Cato is, they just share similar, conservative views Antony calls him "A stonewall Catonian" and "Deep 13th". Octavian calls him "A strict Catonian". To which Vorenus replies "If he has similar views then perhaps I am".