spittle
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I'v never looked at it like that. I concede the statement is highly disputable. haha.
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Gaius Octavius to Gaius OctaviANus. what is the relevance of the added 'an'? I also seem to remember that Sejanus had the 'an' added?
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There also seems to be an attitude of 'if in doubt blame/credit G J Caesar'. Example (from documentary that accompanies Gladiator on DVD) "Many experts dispute whether Julius Caesar actually flooded the Colloseum to create naval battles..." He certainly was a great man if he managed to organise games in a structure that wasn't built during his lifetime.
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Would a son inherit all the names of his father? Of did the agnomina only apply to the person who earned the title (Africanus/'Germanicus) Why did the Emperor Claudius not take the agnomina Britanicus? Why use it on his son?
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I have just watched the ANCIENT ROME series again (still God-awful but we Romanophiles are hardly spoilt for choice). At the beginning of the Fall of Rome episode the narration states that Alaric and the Goths had no choice but to leave their original homeland on the north coast of the Black Sea. But there is no clue given as to why they had to leave. Anyone care to fill in a few gaps?
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Which Roman Films/TV series would you Recommend?
spittle replied to DecimusCaesar's topic in Colosseum
I enjoyed I, Claudius immensely, too, and have probably watched it now more than a dozen times through. But last year I was introduced to The Caesars, a black & white production that pre-dated I, Claudius, and I found it absolutely outstanding. Tiberius isn't quite the monster in The Caesars as he winds up becoming in I, Claudius and, interestingly, the same actor who plays Tiberius' sidekick astrologer appears in the same role in both productions. The Caligula of The Caesars is a truly frightening, calculating piece of work. (I'm sorry, but John Hurt's Caligula in I, Claudius just seemed nuts, to me.) Freddie Jones, although perhaps not as endearing as Derek Jacobi in his I, Claudius role, nevertheless made a brilliant Claudius in The Caesars. The Caesars definitely gets my recommendation. -- Nephele THE CAESARS!!! fantastic! When I first put it on the grainy black and white film and wobbly sets made me think I'd wasted my cash. 30 minutes later I WAS HOOKED! Tiberius (acted by Andre Morrell) is so full of shade and depth....breathtaking. Several of the I, Claudius actors are in it. Have a go at spotting them. I would love to see a modern remake of The Caesars with better sets, costumes and in colour/dolby sound but I very much doubt the original could be bettered in regard to the story and acting. A MUST OWN DVD -
i know this subject as been discussed before but I am still unsure of why some had two names and others three. At first I understood the third name to be a patrician 'label' but then I read that VIPSANIA (as in Marcus Vipsania Agrippa) was an ultra-plebian tribe. So why the third name? Also very occasionally I read about Patricians with only two names, such as Marcus Antonius. So what gives? Any imbecile level explanation, or directions to one, would be greatly appreciated.
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Flavia Gemina. I'm no expert on the wild west. I am a fan of the show DEADWOOD and quite well read on the history of drug use. Its prohibition often portrayed as being a moral issue that mankind as fought for ever but its a very modern attitude. NB on the old world smoking. According to the Wikipedia article 'SMOKING' which is, coincidentally, todays article, 'Cannabis as been smoked in India for over 4000 years'.
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I agree that HBO use values from our age to depict drug use in the ancient world. they do the same in DEADWOOD where a corrupt doctor sells opiates to addicts 'under the table'. In the reality of the time (1870s) an opium addict would not even have to see a doctor. The narcotics were sold openly, and legally, over the counter at grocery stores! If the pipe did not reach Europe, Asia or Africa until after Columbus it means that Hashish is a modern thing. I had an idea (unfoundered) of hashish making being an age old art.
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After watching last nights episode of ROME (episode 9 of series 2) and witnessing half the cast indulging in hookah pipes and bongs and little brass ganja pipes I can contain myself no longer and must explain that the Romans, or any Old World culture never actually smoked opium. According to 'OPIUM: A HISTORY' by Martin Booth, "...the exclusivity of opium, which was eaten, meant very few people were addicted. However, this was to change when a particularly unique new vice, originating in the New World, was introduced to China by European sailors. It was smoking" Although this paragraph is not specifically about the Romans it does explain that smoking substances was an idea that did not exist. "Thus was born one one of the most evil cultural exchanges in history - opium from the middle east met the native American Indian pipe". "For the Romans , the poppy was a powerful symbol of sleep and death. Somnus, the god of sleep is often portrayed as a small boy carrying a bunch of poppies and an opium horn, the vessel in which the juice was collected by farmers..." Could this opium horn be the cause of the misunderstanding? Is it being mistaken for some kind of pipe? I am hoping that someone will contradict my post and point to evidense of Old World cultures smoking cannabis or something. It seems improbable to me that hashish was not smoked before Tobacco made its way to Europe and Asia.
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"The streets of america are full of men having fag sex". a quote to explain why thou shalt not commit adultery relates to gays. these people must spend far more time considering 'deviant' sex than the most active homosexual anywhere!
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"Party Politics"? Isn't that a misnomer? I was under the impression that there were no political parties. Just individuals who entered into temporary alliances for personal gain.
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I 'v had a bootleg copy of the film for a while and can confirm the burkha clad 'grenade' throwers. Its a fantasy film, which I normally hate (bodybuilders in stainless steel underware, etc) but I enjoyed this.
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hahahahahahahah Thats brill! "Brush your teeth" ??? Madness
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I spent 3 years in the wild west (Benwell) so I'll understand your Cushty Barrie Chava talk.
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I read a theory that Euskera (the Basque isolate language) was the last remaining Neanderthal language. I'm doubtful about that but I know its a big mystery.
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Burning off ones own hand. Archbishop Cranmer (an early English protestant) was sentenced to be burned at the stake, by Bloody Mary in the counter-reformation, so he recanted (which usually got the sentence dropped or, at least, commuted but he was still executed in this manner). So when the fire was lit he beld the hand that has signed the document in the flames, before it reached the rest of him, to demonstrate the insincerity of his renatment. So maybe, on rare occasions, people could burn off their hands on determination alone?
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Blood eagle not Black Angel. this was done by the vikings on some poor soul. My biggest fear would be premature burial.
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They still have a rack in the Tower of London. I'm 99% sure it was the only one that ever existed in England and was only used on rare occasions, usually relating to treason or heresy trials. A more common English (and later American) torture was used only against accused persons who refused to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. A piece of wood similar to a door was placed over their prostrate body and rock after rock was heaped on until the accused entered a plea (or was crushed).
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English and Irish might be related
spittle replied to Kosmo's topic in Archaeological News: The World
The theory that Anglo-Saxons invaded in large numbers and wiped out the Celts of England is now questioned due to DNA evidence not supporting the theory and a lack of archeological evidence (such as mass graves of the celtic dead). The most recent theory is that an Anglo-Saxon cultural elite introduced new values into the Celtic communities and changed the Celts lifestyles, rather than replaced the actual population. This theory can be heard on a BBC Radio history programme that is available on the net. -
I remember first reading of the Sack of Washington in 1812 and thinking what a tumultuous year that must have been for virtually every race from Russia to USA. So its not a 'forgotten war'. However, I was surprised to read of it as I had believed that hostilities between Britain and America had ended with the Revolutionary War, many years before. So, not forgotten but not considered as important as other conflicts for some reason.
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In 1531 the English Parliament passed a law that anyone found guilty of poisoning would be boiled alive. Although it was a very rare sentence a few actually suffered this excruciating end to their lives. I have mentioned before the potential Roman punishment of having ones nose cut off, then being sowed into a sack with a wild animal and thrown off a rock. This was a punishment for bribing (or attempting to bribe0 a government official. Trying to avoid the most well known and barbaric punishments such as being burned at the stake or hanged, drawn and quartered, can you think of any methods of execution that seem particularly uncivilised to our modern ways of thinking?
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I recently read AUGUSTUS: GODFATHER OF EUROPE by Richard Holland. I would put Octavians success down to pure dumb luck and being surrounded by talent (Agrippa, Meceanas and Livia to name a few).
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i CANNOT REMEMBER THE FILM BUT ITS THE PART WHERE ABOUT 25 MEN ALL TAKE TURNS SHOUTING 'NO, I AM SPARTACUS!'. I seem to remember it was BEN HUR.
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I think your missing the point, Mosquito. At the time Caesar had his face put on coins it was totally symbolic of everything the Romans had been fighting for centuries. The coins in question were actually called 'the coins that killed Caesar'. George Bush isint good example. But wasnt Goerge Washington offered another presidency which he refused? All the kings and qeens in Europe are on the coins of states in which they reign. The point is that Caesar wanted to be a monarch so step by step he was trying to become a one. And his descendant did it. Actually Augustus did more, he became a God - following the policy of his grand uncle. It was against mos maiorum but few decades after Caesar, Agustus did the same and achieved even more. In the same state where were the same customs, just a little bit later. FOR ABOVE REPLY