Primus Pilus

co-co-co-rrect (with a bit of drool to really make the point)

And keep in mind, the Romans didnt destroy the Phoenician race in north africa, they just razed the city. Also, the Roman objective was to take slaves more often than commit genocide. Only in cases of extreme resistance (ie Caesar's conquest of Gaul) did the Romans exterminate entire towns. Its hard to blame the resistance, slavery or death being the options, but death wasn't the Romans first choice. Even so, the goal was not genocide as we know it today... extermination of a race... but simply the end of resistance to Roman authority. While the result may be the same, the intention presents a fairly important difference.

Nope, its fairly removed actually, but still related from a technical standpoint.

Suetonius, Vitellius Book 3 Spintria essentially means male prostitute. Certainly not a kind thing for Suetonius to suggest about an emperor Next question: Indicate the blood relationship of the emperor Claudius to Julius Caesar.

I would absolutely, without question, go to the games. While, yes, there were executions and death, the vast majority of gladiatoral combat did not end in death.

No he was of a relatively minor family and was virtually unknown prior to his emergence as Caesar's heir. Without the events of Caesar's life, my guess is Octavian never would've even been a player of any note at all on the world stage.

Was reminded of this subject while perusing Vegetius on another matter. From Vegetius, De Re Militari Book I.. The mark itself has been considered to be a branded iron or some other permanent possibility (perhaps tattoo). It was not removable. The chance of the mark being SPQR seems completely implausible to me though.. The Legions of the imperial age swore an oath the Emperor. Marking them in some way as property of the Senate and people of Rome just doesnt make sense.

I will be posting pictures of the prizes with a bit more detail before the contest is judged so winners can make a better choice

My own theory is that the Jews were a known and understood entity well before Rome had conquered the east. Because they were a pre-existing difference to the standard Roman cultural equation, they were allowed to remain in some part undisturbed. Some Emperors and/or Prefects understood that it was better to allow religious 'freedom' than deal with wide-spread revolt. Others, however, could not have cared less what the Jews thought. But these seem to be the exception from the norm. The Christians, by contrast were a new and disturbing counter-culture in the Roman view. They had no 'tradition' that the Roman authority could easily identify with and respect as having a cultural history. Therefore, they dismissed it as nonsense, as is perfectly natural. Don't we do the same thing today? A new cult will develop... I can't remember the name off-hand, but a recent example is the people who believed they were going to taken by a space-ship to be saved or something of that nature... and we as a society will generally dismiss it as 'crazyness'. True enough, but I also believe that most of the Christian persecutions were political in nature and/or embellished. (Refer to the post by Ursus above for a concise view). Domitian for example is often classified as a 'Persecutor'. Domitian killed anyone and everyone without discrimination and certainly didn't target Christians exclusively. To me, his motives were purely political and not religious. Nero's example, as I alluded to in my earlier post, were completely political. The strangeness of the religion provided a convenient excuse, but he didn't target Christians because he hated them, he was trying to save his own skin.

Hidden in a sprawling tomb behind a pair of ancient statues in the capital of ancient Egypt, a team of Australian archaeologists has found one of the best-preserved mummies. The green eyes stare out unblinkingly from the beaded mask. The woman's dark eyebrows and terracotta face look as fresh as they ever did. Yet the figure covered in turquoise beads and swaddled in black linen, nestling in a wooden sarcophagus, is believed to be 2,500 years old... Full article @ The Independent

I never bothered to answer the original post... well because you said you'd never come back, lol. The 'god list' is a very short description of the gods by design. The intention has always been to add to it, but its just one of many things on the 'to do list'.

As I recall there is no surviving record of the sacramentum, even including Vegetius.

Hi Bluestreak, welcome. 1. The actual government at the time of Vesuvius was Imperial. Titus was sole emperor, having just succeeded his father Vespasian by a few months before the eruption. 2. Here is one sampling... from Suetonius: Divus Titus, c. 110 C.E. "In these many great calamities he (Titus) showed not merely the concern of an emperor, but even a father's surpassing love, now offering consolation in edicts, and now lending aid so far as his means allowed. He chose commissioners by lot from among the ex-consuls for the relief of Campania; and the property of those who lost their lives by Vesuvius and had no heirs left alive he applied to the rebuilding of the buried cities." and another From Cassius Dio Book 66 chapter 24 Titus accordingly sent two ex-consuls to the Campanians to supervise the restoration of the region, and bestowed upon the inhabitants not only general gifts of money, but also the property of such as had lost their lives and left no heirs. As for himself, he accepted nothing from any private citizen or city or king, although many kept offering and promising him large sums; but he restored all the damaged regions from funds already on hand.

The Jews, in some fashion, were 'persecuted' in the same way, at least at times. It really depends on one's perspective. There is one definitive answer for why the Christians faced some persecution however. They refused to honor the Roman imperial cult and other religious traditions. There are other 'motivations' of course. Nero's first recorded persectution was not a religious attack at all, but an attempt at creating a scapegoat for the fires that scourged Rome. Certainly Christians perished, and were targeted because of their subversive counter-culture behavior, but they were not persecuted simply because of their religion.

I certainly can't speak for Europeans and individual nations, as its a decidedly different environment than that of the States, but here people use the freedom granted to them in subversive ways, fully aware of the price that was paid to achieve it. People preach the downfall of our society, hatred of our government, society and our military, all while living in the confines of opportunity, freedom and relative safety that those very things provide. Majority rule is quickly devolving into minority rule and the inevitable self implosion that can only result from lack of cultural and ideological leadership. Standing on a moral high ground and hoping our 'societal enemies' come to understand the democratic and western way of life will only continue to lead to our collapse. War and violence may or may not help change the face of the earth for the good, but I very much believe that 'standing pat' will only lead to one possible outcome.

The case can certainly be made that the Senate really only governed as an independent body for a very short time. Despite Tribunician power however, the Senate was still the pivotal focal point of Roman government. Even if sometimes playing second string to demigogue tribunes or even individual maverick politicians, the Senate was always viewed as the ultimate Roman authority. Even so, without the Tribunes and 'Populares' Senators, the Senate could not represent the position of the masses effectively. The 'checks and balances' of the middle Republic government was possibly the most efficient and fair form in Roman history. Personal power and ego always played a part, but it didn't start to tear apart the system until after the mass expansion and slave influx of the Punic Wars and other eastern conquests.

One of Germany's most acclaimed archaeological finds - a 3,600-year-old disc depicting the stars and the planets - is at the centre of a dispute following claims that it is a modern forgery. According to Germany's museum establishment, the Sky Disc of Nebra is the oldest depiction of the heavens discovered and offers an insight into the Bronze Age mind. But the authenticity of the disc has been challenged by one of the country's leading archaeologists, Peter Schauer of Regensburg University. He told a court in Halle that the artefact was nothing more than an amateurish forgery.... Full Article @ The Guardian

Greece was not an over abundant source for recruiting in the legion. Surrounding territories in the Balkans was. Illyria, for example, was a major supplier of soldiers. Some define the 'Hellenized' world as Greece, when it was really separate provinces and people, even if they were of similar stocks.

Yes, its a veiled attempt at saying, what did Rome/Caesar do for western civilization. Perfectly legitimate question. The 'what if' direction sends it off in a tangent though. Oh well, better to discuss historical repurcussions in some manner than not at all

Indeed, there is no 'right and wrong' answer to this. Its a poor method of education.

No offense taken or meant either way, lol, just important that people understand who this guy is.

Rome wouldn't have continued on its path towards western world dominance without Caesar, and most especially his heir Augustus. Without their individual leadership, Rome would've eventually split off into various factions and petty kingdoms, in my opinion, of course.

He's not a native American, he's just a jackass who deserves nothing more than the contempt of his country. As someone who advocates the death of America and its people, he should willingly offer himself up as the first sacrifice. After all he is an American who lives and works here, even accepts a paycheck from a government funded institution. Everyone's a hypocrite. (Except me of course =P)

Ever tried metal detecting? As I understand its a fairly massive hobby in the UK?

Just a reminder... less than 10 days left.