Primus Pilus

Now that you are a Doctor, I've been having this pain in my shoulder.... Seriously congratulations Doc! Though I really do have this consistent pain in my shoulder

The original work may be in the public domain, but any version reprinted and published at a later date may very well still be under copyright. Clearly Suetonius for instance is public domain, but if a new translation is prepared with a new preface, etc. publisher's expect that copyright to be protected. I'm not entirely sure, but that's one possible explanation.

"If you

Religion Early Church authors and religious related material, including various works of history, church doctrine, ethics, etc. [*]Tertullian Many early church works including, of course, Tertullian "Church Fathers" An extensive list of church related histories and later empire historians listed in chronological order... http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/index.htm Fragments from Victor of Capua, Aristides the Philosopher, Irenaeus, Hermias the Philosopher, Origen, Dionysius of Alexandria, Eusebius, Philostorgius, St. Ephraim the Syrian, Aphrahat, Chronography of 354, Eunomius of Cyzicus, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Ambrose of Milan, Pacian of Barcelona, Macarius Magnes, Asterius of Amasea, Chromatius of Aquileia, Epiphanius of Salamis, Optatus of Milevis, John Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Nestorius, Cyril of Alexandria, Palladius, Rabbula, Salvian, Sidonius Apollinaris, Eugippius, Dionysius the Areopagite, Joshua the Stylite, Jacob of Ser

Thanks for that L... Really helps puts things in perspective. The site seems so isolated.

Here's hoping that a small fortune in my tax dollars weren't spent on this absurd research that could've been easily answered by simply asking any man (except apparently Timothy Taylor at Bradford University).

He may have come down from the trees, but prehistoric man did not stop swinging. New research into Stone Age humans has argued that, far from having intercourse simply to reproduce, they had sex for fun. Practices ranging from bondage to group sex, transvestism and the use of sex toys were widespread in primitive societies as a way of building up cultural ties. According to the study, a 30,000-year-old statue of a naked woman -- the Venus of Willendorf -- and an equally ancient stone phallus found in a German cave, provide the earliest direct evidence that sex was about far more than babies... Fox

A chance discovery by archaeologists has brought to light a mosaic nearly 2,000 years old depicting what may have been a real-life version of the Roman combatant played by Russell Crowe in the film Gladiator. The mosaic was found as Italian researchers carried out work on the spectacular Villa dei Quintili, south of Rome and home to the sports-loving Emperor Commodus... The Telegraph

Bulgarian archaeologists have unearthed the remains of an early Roman town near the village of Gorsko Ablanovo, 30 kilometers south of Russe, Bulgaria's national television reported on Tuesday. Initial artefact finds include a bronze duck figurine of a previously unfamiliar design and a silver fibula, only the fifth documented find of its kind in Bulgaria... Novinite.com

No, you are quite right that the sources don't mention him receiving the TP.. and clearly Tiberius still maintained the authoritative edge (his displeasure with Germanicus' visit to Aegyptus as an example), but Germanicus was not a simple consular appointee either. Perhaps a better comparison would be Pompey's command of the east after the passage of the Lex Gabinia.

Germanicus? How was he excluded until his death in 19AD? Indeed, he was given an Agrippa-like Imperium in the east and was an instrumental member of the 'imperial family'. From Tacitus Annals Book 2; 43:

It's a simple, yet truly poignant assessment. The following is quite relative to current affairs I suppose.

The Last Roman: Romulus Augustulus and the Decline of the West - Adrian Murdoch.

He quelled a potential legionary revolt and led an effective punitive campaign. I'm not sure if anyone could've done been better, but I don't see any evidence to suggest that Germanicus was the wrong man.

I actually wrote a version of the Didius Julianus affair some time ago... I'll see if I can get Moon to publish it to add to the discussion here. Here it is... Didius Julianus

Keep in mind that the events related to Crassus Dives here are about 30, 31 BC when a portion of the Republican facade still existed. Edit: It was during Octavian's fourth consulship so it was more likely 30 or 29 rather than 31 or 30 BC. Seems minor, but there was a fairly significant event that occurred in 31 My source material by the way is Dio book 51, beginning with ch. 23 and a limited confirmation in Livy's Periochae. Presumably Dio was using Livy as a source. Additionally, to my knowledge, no primary source says that a triumph couldn't be awarded to a non imperial family member. The statement is purely my own conjecture based upon the lacking evidence to the contrary.

Excellent observation. Obviously the question here is then one of interpretation. However, the words decernenda curavit are fairly clear and aren't really that open to different interpretations. The notion that these honors were provided without the actual celebration makes perfect sense since none of the usual suspect writers mention a single one of these numerous parades in the historical record. Admittedly, such things would probably not merit extensive reporting, but one would think that there might be some mention. If anyone would, it likely would've been Livy, but unfortunately we are only left with the Periochae. I admit to a weakness regarding "the arts". Does Ovid or Virgil mention anything of this nature.

As Caldrail suggests though, In "Life of Augustus" Suetonius is quite clear with the description. It's clear that he makes the distinction and there seems to be no translation issue. In the original Latin Suetonius says iustos triumphos which can be translated as "just, justified, lawful, regular, etc."

Just doing a bit more reading... In Life of Tiberius, Suetonius says... Perhaps when Suetonius suggests that Augustus gave triumphs to 30 generals, perhaps he simply means the regalia and decoration, but not the full triumph?

Seutonius records that thirty generals were given full triumphs, and many more were awarded privileges associated with them. If those thrity were part of the royal family all well and good, but it doesn't seem likely does it? The trouble is Augustus was very keen on rebuilding the class system in roman society which is probably why you read that he he reserved things for his family. I actually think he was more wary than that. To have done so was risking a rebellion by commanders who couldn't achieve high honours. Triumphal restriction seems to have been a slow development, much like the Augustan consolidation of power. The farther into the principate we are, the less likely a non family member was to celebrate a triumph. For instance, Aelius Plautius (Claudius' conqueror of Britain) received an ovation and Agricola received triumphal decoration despite the strained relationship with Domitian, but it was not an actual triumph of course. In any case Suetonius doesn't report when these 30 triumphs occurred but the implication is throughout Augustus' entire reign. However, Suetonius' account is laced with short references to people who had held triumphs. It would seem that the restriction did not quite begin until after the transition to Tiberius. Or perhaps the Teutoburg disaster not only affected imperial policy but perhaps had a significant impact on how Augustus chose to reward his unrelated generals?

Excellent summation Augusta and your argument is perfectly reasonable. I have often wondered upon Agrippa's motivations. Considering our unfortunate deficiency in source material (in comparison the various actual emperors), Agrippa's role is often open to conjecture. For instance, as you address, was his refusal of personal reward an act of loyalty or truly just a play for winning favor and therefore feeding his own ambition? Regardless, it's quite clear that Agrippa never positioned himself as a serious rival to Octavian's supremacy when he very well could have. Of course he probably would've lacked the support of the aristocracy that remained, but such a condition had little impact on the political positioning of the last century or so. Frankly, considering the turmoil that Agrippa potentially could have caused, he deserves to be lauded for the stability he provided. Though, I do suppose that some would argue that a man in such a position could've potentially attempted a restoration of the Republic, but that would've been a simple pipe dream by this time. Agrippa was raised in the triumviral/dictatorial era. Augustus' slow accumulation of power probably seemed perfectly natural considering Agrippa's environment. -------- In any case and as an aside, I am often intrigued by Dio's use of the word monarchy in his narrative. Considering that his work came considerably later than Suetonius or Tacitus (who do not use it in relation to the principate as far as I can recall), it's interesting that either the perception has changed or that the writer now felt comfortable enough to call it for what it was without fear of retribution? It does leave me curious on the translation though. Does anyone have, and can they (or would they) identify the original Greek word or phrase that was translated into English "monarchy". (How I wish Dio had written in Latin, alas)

But then again... Middle East Conflict Intensifies As Blah Blah Blah, Etc. Etc.

A depiction of a goldfinch and luscious bunches of purple grapes painted 1,900 years ago for the home of a wealthy Roman have been discovered beneath an Italian restaurant in the City of London. Experts have hailed the high-quality paintings, found beneath Lime Street in what was the most prestigious area of Roman London, as a sensational find and the most significant for two decades... Times Online

There is a common perception that life in the once-thriving Roman city of Pompeii is well-known from the wealth of artefacts that have been uncovered since its accidental discovery in 1748, but this is far from the case, according to findings of University of Leicester archaeologist Dr Penelope M Allison. Until recently archaeologists working on Pompeian artefacts have tended to concentrate on examples of art, some of it erotic, from the town that was suddenly destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in August 79 AD. But Dr Allison

In the upper right portion of the screen there is a button called 'options' with drop down choices. Make sure the Display Mode is set to Standard. You are probably on 'outline'.