The Augusta

OK - a quick update re accommodation. Four single rooms have been booked for the nights of 25th and 26th July at The Jesmond Hotel. So, having had confirmation from GPM, Pertinax and Caldrail (including myself as the other occupant), our rooms are now safe and booked. I am afraid that anyone else who wishes to come to the meet will have to sort out accommodation for themselves. Rooms are

And I agree wholeheartedly too. The Ptolemaic dynasty, which included the name Cleopatra for some of its important females was handed down by Ptolemy as the 'successor' to Alexander in that region of his empire. The names thus stressed the link back to Alexander of Macedon.

And at the risk of being inflammatory, I think those same people will be waiting an awfully long, long, long, long time for that physical evidence.

Having had a little thought about the amount of money the BBC poured into this venture, I think it may well be viewed more favourably at the BAFTAs because of that. As you say, the sets were out of this world, and many people seemed to be entertained. I am sure these latter two things, together with the enormous budget, have secured its nomination. And it is no doubt nominated for its run of BOTH series, rather than just the one. But as I say, it is up against some very stiff opposition. We shall have to see. April 20th everyone. I'm sure we in the UK will keep everyone posted as to 'Rome's' fate.

Excellent review from Ursus on Season 2. I have nothing to add to his erudition - beyond my horror that this debacle has actually been nominated for 'Best TV Series' at the BAFTAs. Although this is perhaps because it was conspicuously ignored the first time round. Still - as Ursus says in his review - it deserves some recognition for the sets and one or two first-rate performances. I doubt that it will beat 'Life on Mars' however - but we will see. There's also very stiff competition from Jimmy McGovern's 'The Street'. It's a good job it's in the 'Series' category rather than the 'Serial' because it wouldn't get near the superlative 'Cranford', which has recently totally restored my faith in the BBC. And interestingly enough, young Simon Woods turned up in that as a really lovely Dr. Harrison.

So would I, Neph! Of course, you are quite right. Kleopatra was a name - even Alexander the Great had a full sister called Kleopatra, the younger child of Philip and Olympias.

Here I am ladies! Yes - I enjoyed that old game - and if I remember correctly, Augustus Caesar got quite involved too. I'll dig out the old thread and think of some more trivia for you all.

I'm a bit confused here, Octavia. I have always heard Messalina herself (Sheila White) say this to her children. She says something along the lines of: 'Your father will forgive your mother when he reads this'. However, Ingsoc is quite right - Messalina is giving a letter to her two children, Brittanicus and Octavia, to take to their father in the palace.

Gladius - I hope the tone of my post didn't come across as too sharp - I didn't intend to 'have a go' - I was simply astounded to read that anyone could miss the subtleties and nuances that Austen uses to create truly wonderful characters. This is why actresses and actors through the years have given their eye-teeth to play Darcy or Elizabeth. But as you say, it's each to his/her own But see MPC's wonderful post above - he has said all that is in my mind and heart regarding Austen. IMHO she is one of the true greats of English literature, and all the more so because she was[/] writing about real people. Young girls caught up in the social mores and conventions of the time, yet longing to break free. It's wonderful stuff. And if Lizzie doesn't perhaps grab your eye, try Emma Woodhouse and her endearing, clumsy, well-meaning but busybody ways. Emma is a nightmare and a darling all rolled into one - as real people often are. Those examples you give from Dickens help to prove my point really. Look at some of those names: Gradgrind, Murdstone - allegorical, conjuring up exactly the kind of character they describe. Dickens was at pains to convey a message and his works are often didactic - hence he creates characters as vehicles for his social commentary. Because his characters are so richly drawn (perhaps a little overdrawn in certain cases) he is extremely easy to dramatise - but then, so is Austen. She does, however, write about the slightly gentler world of Georgian England, whereas Dickens writes against a backgroound of the growing socialist movement. But I'm glad you enjoyed the story of P&P. Again, it's just my opinion, but I think that P&P is one of the greatest love stories ever to be set down on paper.

I think mouths - or at least fingers, in this case - need to be washed out here! Austen is no good at characterisation? Oh, please.... I suppose this is why characters like Lizzie Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy leap off the page today as they did almost 200 years ago. And as for Mr. Collins? No characterisation? I'm sorry, but this post has left me completely speechless. As for the comparison with Dickens, his characters are more caricature than character - there is a subtle difference.

I just can't accept he's a Pisces. Anything less like a Pisces.... Have a great day, Cato. Cast off your ascetic weeds and revel in the death of The Venereal One.

Have a great day, PP. May your lady wait on you hand and foot. And belated felicitations to Vigs and Maladict too. I hope much wine was consumed.

The only sport I was ever any good at! I am shamefully unfit these days, however, but in my past I started out playing tennis for my school and then going on to club level. I was about to go for a trial to country level (Cheshire) in 1979, but this was halted (permanently as it turned out) by my move to London with my job at the time. I did briefly swim for my school too, but as I only ever won at backstroke, this was somewhat limiting! My gym teachers in junior school seemed to think I could play netball and put me in the school team - which I hated! I am not a team person at all. I do keep meaning to go back to the tennis, as I did really love it and had a more than decent topspin backhand!

Now this is fascinating and echoes something I brought up on another forum regarding modern funerals in England. The deceased is ALWAYS carried feet first into the church, feet first out of it... and laid feet first in the hearse. I have never received a satisfactory answer as to why this is - so I wonder if it is a tradition from our pagan/Roman past? The tradition is even present in the old saying (at least here in the North of England) of 'They'll have to carry me out feet first' - meaning that he would need to be dead before he would allow whatever... Can anyone come up with the reason for this?

One does have to be careful about names in novels - and we all fall foul of conventions. For instance, I usually stick to safe 'names from Greek mythology etc' for my slaves, but ever since I took the first tentative steps with my Livia, her personal slave was called 'Sabina'. She is an important character and a much-loved one, so although I did not want to change her name (it suits her, believe me), I did realise early on that - 'Wait a mo, you fool - Sabina is the feminine form of the gens Sabinus.' I got around this quite easily by having Sabina retain the name of her previous master Sabinus, and explaining quickly why that name was kept instead of any slave name she may have been given. But I felt I had to do this because Sabina as a female name would have been easily spotted by anyone who knew their Roman history as much or even more than I did. These things are very easy to overlook. Although Nephele and Doc will offer the best advice regarding naming patterns etc., all I will say is that before you even begin your story, make sure you have a thorough grounding in the history of your period. If not, you may find that your story will run into difficulties that you never even imagined. Names are just the start of it... As Nephele and Doc pointed out regarding your Arabic name 'Aisha' - I have a slave of Octavian's of Syrian origins. I have given him a Greek name, so it doesn't matter - but I had toyed with the idea of letting the reader know his real name before slavery. I abandoned this quite quickly when scouring the Internet for Syriac names because all the ones I found had Arab 7th century origins. This would not have been authentic for a 1st century BC slave. So, the best advice I can give is, don't make things even more difficult for yourself, and make sure you check every little thing, no matter how inconsequential it may seem at the time. Sixty percent of your readership might not know the difference - but that 40% who do - phew - they will seize on it.

Well, Sulla - Mary is well known for loving Alex warts and all, perhaps in a way that a modern reader would not countenance today, but if you take that on board, these are two of the greatest works of historical fiction ever produced. I will NEVER change my mind about that. I have lost count of the number of times I have read and re-read them, and I'm not even Alex's biggest fan - so that proves the power of the author. Her writing is simply superb. A favourite passage in FFH for me is the part where the child Alexander entertains those Persian delegates before Philip arrives on the scene. It is exquisitely written, and I wish I could quote the entire passage in full here, but that would be an indulgence. There is an awful lot of historical fiction produced today - thankfully, it is enjoying something of a revival - but 80% of it is dross and will be forgotten within ten years. Renault will endure, as she has endured since the 50s - and that says it all really. Scholarship and historical research may change - truly great writing will always have its place, however. Now read the third in the series 'Funeral Games' and enjoy the portraits she paints of Alex's idiot half brother Philip and his scheming but manipulated young wife Eurydike. You won't be disappointed.

You never spoke a truer word! Especially if this is anything like the UK TV version. I can remember watching that and thinking what a waste of the talents of the cast! Really superb actors, forced to work with what amounted to dross, really. But then, I am not a fan of Philippa Gregory's work. However, I do happen to know that the UK TV version had the actors improvise their own script from a framework of the novel. Does anyone know if that is true of the film?

Oh, men - you are sadly lacking some feminine input here Although I admire the acting of both Hinds and Stewart, if I were to put my hand on my heart, I would willingly go to see Patrick Stewart acting in a pathetic horror B-movie just as the man who speaks two lines and dies. The man oozes ..... well, he just oozes. And I could listen to his voice all night - even if he were reading the dictionary. But you see - Paddy is a northern lad - being born in Yorkshire (Spittle take note - lol) from whence all good things come. You can hear this in his vowels, no matter how much of a Shakespearean gloss adorns his speech. Sadly, I joke - for even if Patrick were cast in the movie of Rome, I doubt I would go to see it, having had a bellyful of the TV version. Which prompts me to ask - what new insight would the film version bring to events? For what it's worth - I am in the camp of Hinds admirers as far as portrayals of Caesar goes. I thought he had it spot on.

I expect that Romans with very small equipment drove very large chariots! But to be serious, I always thought that the 'penis envy' thing came in with Freud. It has always been my understanding that the Romans did not regard large members as aesthetically desirable. However, it's a shame we don't have any Roman women's views on this. We do have Livia's reaction to the naked men in the street, whom she likened to 'so many statues'. (Dio, 58 2.5) Perhaps she was disappointed....

There's a huge difference between Catherine Cookson and Simon Scarrow. Cookson's books are set firmly in their own time.

To get, from Nicomedes, STDs Good. Maybe Looking for a Bithynian to tease Trust you, MPC! I am beginning to think that you are unhealthily obsessed with our Caesar's proclivities It's as I always suspected - you're only jealous!

I care too much about our members on this Forum to subject them to pictures of my present 'home' town, Droylsden - although we do have a lovely Moravian settlement hidden away behind modern houses; it dates from the 18th century and is wonderful indeed, with cobbled streets - will find a photo... So, I am posting photos of my real home town - i.e. the town where I was born, and where I lived for the first 30 years of life (notwithstanding a short stay in London 1979/80). Here is Dukinfield, Cheshire. Cottages dating from the mid 18th century, known as 'Little Loxley' - and still there to this day. To own one costs a fortune! This statue stood at the entrance to Dukinfield Park for years, but was stolen at some stage, I believe. Photo dates from the 1950s. The Park was where I first learned to develop my tennis skills. (Oh, yes - I have a mean topspin backhand to this day!) Our main street through the town - King Street, a road that led from Hyde (the town before us) to Ashton-under-Lyne (the large market town beyond us). This photo is from the 1890s but there was still an odd tram in the earliest days of my childhood. They scared me to death! I have also found lots of engravings and paintings of old Dukinfield, but these don't really count as photos so I've refrained from posting them.

Delusions of grandeur huh? Could it be that you're a well grounded individual with a desire just to get things done and dispense with tomfoolery!! Well - I didn't like to boast, Publius....

I have been having a total break from all things intellectual and have not actually read any serious scholarly works recently about my beloved Rome. However, I continue to be enthralled by William Napier's Attila series. I am almost finished with the first book - that deals with Attila's childhood. I am a complete fan. William will stay on my bookshelves, and his portrait of Galla Placidia is exquisite. I can't wait for the final installment of this series and I shall no doubt shed a tear when the old Hun dies. He's full of flaws and charisma. He glitters....

We're getting quite used to these disasters in the UK. I was happily typing at my computer late on into the night when I thought that my clingy Persian was trying to get on my chair - buffetting it about etc. I then saw that she was happily asleep at my feet and said, 'Oh, it must be an earthquake'. Wouldn't you all love to be as tranquil as me? I am very accepting of everything Poseidon throws at me....