CiceroD

The "Foxy" taste refers to the "Fox" grape like concord and niagara Americans would call it a "Grapy" taste since we're all given welch's grape juice as kids (made from concord grapes) Try nephele to imagine the taste of grape juice..........thats what it tastes like Europeans would probably call it a "weird" taste (I have some German relatives and thats what they say) But your never going to make "fine wine" from it. Thats why Concord is used primarily for Jelly and preserves as far as a book goes try From Vines to Wines by Jeff Cox

We havent tried that but I know someone who makes the best fruit wines I ever tasted I wonder,did they make cider? Its pity that the Romans didn't have any Labrusca grapes Like Concord. They probably could have planted vinyards on the sunny side of Hadrian's Wall!! People complain about the "foxy" taste but I enjoy it. Any I still think they would have prefered that to Celtic Beer!

But How did they seal amphorae? With pitch as you mentioned? or perhaps wax?

I think that the best line of the miniseries was in one of the next episodes. It was the scene where Tiberius was exiling Agrippina. Tiberius: My dear you look like a Greek Tragedy Agrippina: You look like a Roman Farce! or somthing to that effect makes me smile every time

Just a hunch but ... They would strive to keep it formal. That means the gens name Also might i remind everyone that there were relavively few praenomens around Yelling "Gaius!" or "Marcus!" would probably produce a similar effect to yelling "Soldier!"

My family are all winos. They buy juice from the local vinyard and we make it in the basement. So I have a little experience making wine. The rule of thumb Ive always heard is "Keep it away from the air." If this is not done or too much air is left on the fermenting wine, the whole batch can quickly turn to a nasty vinegar not worth keeping. Believe me pouring five galleons of the stuff down a drain is nauseating! Today we prevent this using "Airlocks" which seal off a carboy and allow CO2 to escape w/o letting in air How did the Romans keep the wine post fermenting vat? I assume wineskins. more importantly did they filter off the gross lees (seeds skins) et cetera?

Ive been trying to find information on Collegia and I'm somewhat confused by their portrayal in various media sources. In "Rome" TV series they are portrayed as district gangs that controlledeverything from prostitution to the grain dole. Lindsay Davis made them out to be an excuse to get together in a society w/o right of assembly. Therefore political meetings and dining might be the order of the day, while they claim that they were only collecting dues for the funeral club. The only reputable source that I have briefly says that they were serious trade organizations. Approved by the government to further the interest of their industry. Perhaps "collegia" was an umbrella term? What do you guys think?

What's this i hear about this dropax "made of various resinous waxes for the removal of hair" was ths used like waxing today with a cloth to rip away the hair? It would make sense that this would be quickest solution to the hair problem given the bad quality of Roman razors. Shaving might be quicker but you would have to come back to the tonsor (barber) every day. Wouldn't they? on a side note doesn't Caesar using tweezers just fit his personality soooo well? So dandyish that he wanted to get every single hair.

Thanks!

Does anyone else feel like they cant get their hands on quality Roman sources, or worse yet do not presently have much time to devote to reading? For me its that special time of year when all my schoolwork is due. O Happy Days! So after dusting off My ancestral copy of Gibbon and realising that I was sick of citing him, Ive decided to put it in front of the Forum. What is the best, most cost effective way of getting useful sources?

If you wanted to be technical the first "Barbarians" the Romans faced was in 390 BC the Gauls under Brennus Sacked early Rome. The subsequent destrucion of records makes the history before that point to the founding of Rome a bit fuzzy. Many also believe that defeat and a cultural fear of that happening again was what pushed the Romans toward their conquests. As far as Gladiator it has some of the Trappings of historical accuracy for instance Marcus Aurelius and Commodus were real emperors. And Commodus really did fight in the arena. However Maximus was entirely invented and Commodus if I remember correctly was stangled by a Greek wrestler at the behest of his wife.

modern guy Yeah here in the Year 2760 AUC parents have no control over whom their children marry, We generally marry for love, and fathers dont pay dowery for their daughters! Cicero ..................... And you wonder why over half your marriages end in Divorce?

Im going to have to find the source but one of my books maintains that an "Average family unit" would have their hands full with about 15 acres. Im guessing without slaves or farmhands. When I get home I can cite this

Did anyone see the Movie "The Englishman who went up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain"? In it the Narrator tells us that the Welsh have always maintained that the beautiful Cambrian Mountains kept them independent for so long. But in reality it was the weather Is there any truth to how rainy its supposed to be there? or just a storyline of a movie?

How many Iugera did a property have to be in order to be classified a Latifundium? Also Ive heard that the Romans had a primitive Crop rotation but what was it?

I know that Roman Law didn't recognise marriage between a Roman and a foreigner but where did the Child of a Patrician father and a Native Consort stand? Were Bastard sons still considered sons? (and therefore Citizens?) Of course this wasn't likely to come about since a Roman had all the slaves of his household. Still it must have happened at some point.

Its true that Legionaires had to buy their own armor before Marius and afterwards while they had "deductions" from pay for armor even a street kid Tiro would be fitted out well for the sake of the whole legion.

Didn't Gibbon call Boethius the last man that Cicero or Cato could've recognized as one of their countrymen?

With the small size of plumbatae, It seems that they wouldn't be able to de-shield opponents as with Pila I understand the advantage of more projectiles, but wouldn't a corps of bowmen be even more effective?

I have always loved The Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries. I absolutely love Ms. Davis's sense of humor. While it doesn't concern itself for being perfectly accurate (Her rendering of female name are historically atrocious!) It nonetheless makes up for it in making the streets of the Aventine feel contemporary and real. I find that the series tagline "Sam Spade in a Toga" to be remarkably accurate. On another note I think that Robert Harris's Pompeii has real potential as a movie what do you guys think?

Wow I turn my back for a day and we get to the Spanish American War (sigh) anyways wasn't the Campaign in the Phillipines the principal reason for our annexing Hawaii? It sure made the Missionaries happy, but we primarily wanted Pearl Harbor, right? Back to 1812 I would dispute that the British wouldve wanted to get back into the US (too much hassle) they were sick of war anyways remember that this comes at the end of a long, long, struggle with Napoleon. However I think that if the Battle of Lake Erie had gone differently the British wouldve absorbed the whole Great Lakes region.

I agree that WW1 was the best thing for American-British relations, but all the WWII films that have been made haven't hurt the US's relations with Germany have they?

We all know people who are history inept who wouldn't know the difference between Plutarch and Petrarch and frankly couldn't care. Imagine however a History major in an American College never hearing of the War of 1812! I beheld this bizarre spectacle today. Admittedly as a student of Modern History (An oxymoron in my opinion) it wasn't his field. His remark that "nothing" happened between the Revolution and Civil War shocked me. Although it was somewhat funny watching the boy's discomfiture as I asked if whether the sack of Washington was "nothing", His ignorance was also scary. I personally believe that this war does not deserve its obscurity. However, I do admit several of its aspects work against its remembrence. Its true that it was declared for other reasons than precipitated it. Its true that the big heroic (American) victory came after the treaty was signed, and its true that it wasn't really won (Many Canadians believe we didn't win the war, with some justification I might add) as much as the reasons for fighting just went away with Napoleon. Should there be an effort to revive the memory of this important episode of History? Or does this Rinky-Dink sideshow of the Napoleonic Wars deserve nothing more than two pages in an American history book? (Like I had)

well someone ought to have an opinion

I dont know about how the ancients sold honey But as a former beekeeper I know that before modern food laws honey was considered "safe" from adulturation. This was so, only if it was sealed in its original honeycomb. Therefore while sugar was pure sweetness (that wasn't sticky) I can imagine one was always running the risk that that the "expensive spice" was actually half sawdust or somthing.