Nephele

Damn... If only ONE of Capua's Favorite Married Couple were to survive, I would've preferred it to have been John Hannah's character. -- Nephele

No, everyone in this particular thread is talking about the 2004 miniseries with the Croatian actor playing Spartacus that is still alive. -- Nephele

I'm currently watching this 2004 television miniseries on DVD. There was one scene in particular in this miniseries that I absolutely don't remember reading in the original Howard Fast novel, and I also don't remember reading about in any Roman history accounts. So I thought I'd ask for the expertise of my Roman history friends here to either verify or debunk this. (UNRV is the Snopes.com of Roman history, if you ask me. ) The scene in question involves a point where the Roman Senate feels it is necessary to "send a message" to the slave army that's running rampant in the countryside. And what they do is this: They pick 200 slaves at random from households in the city of Rome, and then burn them alive in what I presume was the city's forum. Did the Romans actually resort to this extreme and (by Roman thinking, I should imagine) wastefully expensive measure in an attempt to frighten Spartacus & Co. into capitulating? Note: I dug up this old topic, because I see that Decimus Caesar here made a comment about the mass immolation scene, and the overall consensus seems to be that this series was pretty lame. So can we dismiss this mass immolation scene as something that historically "never happened"? Or, was never likely to have happened? -- Nephele

I'm late to my own party! Thanks, everyone! I can't believe I'm already 5 years old! -- Nephele

Sounds like the sort of lurid and apocryphal tales that continually circulate on the Web. Wikipedia's Discussion page had this to say on that quote: Source. -- Nephele

Birthday hails to you, GoC! -- Nephele

Belated birthday hails to you, o bearish one! Sorry I missed the party! -- Nephele

Skywatcher, you are a member of the Paterclii, a Roman family whose sole claim to fame may be that a certain Paterclius was mentioned in an epigram of the poet Martialis (Book XII, Epigram LXXVII) as being the owner of some public latrines. Your cognomen of "Tyrrhenus" was bestowed upon you because of your family's ancient Etruscan connections (Tyrrhenus in Etruscan legend having been one of the founders of the Etruscan Federation of Twelve Cities). Your praenomen is "Gaius," traditionally abbreviated with the letter "C." Your full Roman name is: C. Paterclius Tyrrhenus = PrptcyhHnecaErkeltir (swapping the letters ehkp for usus) ********************************************** Wicked Tiff and Noricum, I was bit rusty the other night while doing your names, and didn't do a straight swap of letters (as in a proper blanagram). So I'm doing your names again. WickedTiff, you are a member of the Strabonii, a modest Roman family that includes in its ancestry a physician of some note. You originally came to this family as a slave, and they named you "Elethyia" (after the goddess of childbirth, because you were especially helpful to the mistress of the house when she gave birth to the master's heir). Because of your loyal service, you were granted your freedom. As was customary, you retained your slave name as your cognomen, and adopted the family name as your own. Your Roman name is: Strabonia Elethyia = Tafahlerntysbhfei (swapping the letters bfh for aio) ****************************************** Noricum, you are a member of the Staberii, your father being Lucius Staberius, a known friend of Pompey who was put in charge of the Greek city of Apollonia. Your parents named you "Regiola," because of your imperious nature even as an infant. You are the family's "little queen." Your full Roman name is: Staberia Regiola = Goaarrbtilberes (swapping the letters br for ia) -- Nephele

Sorry I got behind on these! WickedTiff, you are a member of the Trebii, a Roman family that included one of Caesar's officers in Gaul (M. Trebius Gallus), as well as a consul under the emperor Hadrianus (Trebius Sergianus). Your parents named you "Festina" because you were a quick child, always scurrying about. Your full Roman name is: Trebia Festina = Tafahlerntysbhfei (changing the y to an i, and removing the letters f,h,h,l) ****************************************** Noricum, you are a member of the Sertorii, a Roman family which included the military leader Quintus Sertorius. Your parents gave you the additional name of "Belgia" because your father (also a military leader), was an admirer of the ancient leader of the Gaulish army, Belgius, who defeated the Macedonians (in 280 BCE). Your full Roman name is: Sertoria Belgia = Goaarrbtilberes (adding an i, and removing the letters b,r) -- Nephele

Birthday hails, Virgil! -- Nephele

Glad you had a good one, GPM! Belated birthday hails to you! -- Nephele

Birthday hails to you, Bryaxis! Hope you had a great day! -- Nephele

Birthday hails to you, MPC! -- Nephele

Birthday hails to you, Viggen! May you have the best of days! -- Nephele

R. Walsh, you are a member of the Orchii, a plebeian gens which traces its lineage from that notable Gaius Orchius who not only distinguished himself as a tribune of the plebs in the third year after the consulship of Cato in 181 BCE, but who was also infamous for authoring a law which limited the number of guests to be present at entertainments. Macrobius tells us in his work, Saturnalia, that, when attempts were made to repeal this unpopular law, Cato defended it. Your cognoman is "Adrianus," as your family came from the town of Hadria in Picenum. Your praenomen is "Lucius," customarily abbreviated as "L." Your full Roman name is: L. Orchius Adrianus = ridashowanjrlchh -hhjw +iuus *************************************************************** Waterdragon, you are a member of the Salonii, a family of humble origins yet nevertheless proud of the fact that they are descended from Marcus Salonius, who was the father of the second wife of Cato the Censor. You happen to be the younger of two daughters in your family, and so your parents call you "Secunda," as is customary. (Your elder sister is called "Prima.") Your full Roman name is: Salonia Secunda = scoalusjneanmd -jm +ia -- Nephele

athene, you are a member of the Taurentii, a gens whose name is believed by some to have been derived from the Latin word taurus (indicating the strength of a bull), and by others as having been derived from the gens name of the plebeian Terentii. You entered the family as a Greek slave, and eventually was granted your freedom. As was customary, you took the gens name for your own, and your Greek name of "Chrysonoe" (meaning "golden mind"). Your full Roman freedwoman name is: Taurentia Chrysonoe = reoctuny ohnraemmst -mm +ia -- Nephele

Geek Amicus, you are a member of the Cominia gens, a plebeian gens that distinguished itself through members who served as tribune of the plebs and military tribune, as well as two brothers (Publius and Lucius) who were described by Cicero as having been men of character and eloquence. You were not born into this family, however, having entered it first as a Greek slave who was eventually granted her freedom. As was customary, upon obtaining your freedom you also took on the name of the family (Cominia). Your original Greek name of "Moera" (meaning "portion," as in the portion of life allotted to us all by the Fates) thereby became your cognomen. Your full Roman freedwoman name now is: Cominia Moera = mameonrciiok -k +a -- Nephele

"Marinius" is a gens name based on the cognomen "Marinus." If any Marinii existed at all, they probably would have been a rare family. "Interemnia" is an actual cognomen attested to by Iiro Kajanto in his work The Latin Cognomina. It indicated a person associated in some way with the town of Interemnia in Picenum. There was also the cognomen "Interamna," which was associated with the towns of Interamna in Latium and Umbria. Glad you enjoyed! -- Nephele

Macerinus, you are a member of the Marinii, a family that took their nomen from the cognomen of "Marinus" (meaning "of the sea"), as generations of sons distinguished themselves in the Roman navy. Your cognomen of "Interemnia" was taken from the name of the town in Picenum, as your particular branch of the Marinii hailed from that area. Your praenomen is "Servius," traditionally abbreviated as "Ser." Your full Roman name is: Ser. Marinius Interemnia = mersjninareriwseimtan -jw +iu -- Nephele

Birthday hails to you, LW! -- Nephele

Birthday hails to you, Klingan! Glad you had a great day, and cheers on highly celebratory upcoming weekend! -- Nephele

Birthday hails to you, DC! -- Nephele

Two TV series I highly recommend: The Caesars (1 season, 1968) The Roman Mysteries (2 seasons, 2007-2008) -- Nephele

Crispina, my fellow Falco admirer, I'm afraid I have to disagree with you. I really didn't see much more gore and sex than the original series had, although I will admit that the pacing of this first episode was perhaps a bit too fast. But I think that was probably due to the writer trying to establish the storyline quickly. I can see potential for a better fleshing out (pun unintended) of the storyline in subsequent episodes. I was pleased to see just about all of the regulars from the original series back again. All in all, I think this new series got off to a good start! -- Nephele

Birthday hails to you, Neil! -- Nephele