Primus Pilus

I loved Gladiator, despite several... well... many... er, a veritable shitload of inaccuracies. Despite finding myself cringing and shaking my head far too often at those issues, I absolutely loved the film. The spectacle was worth it. (I admire another film in the same sort of way... a lesser known classic, "The Fall of the Roman Empire" set in the same time setting and equally fraught with error and spectacle) The Patriot was an absolute sham from beginning to end. It's depiction of just about everything regarding colonial America, the British Empire and the Revolution made me ill. Although, I must admit that I found one scene to be of interest--when Mel went ape-shit and was maniacally butchering redcoats in the forest, it was pretty hard not to be riveted.

I prefer Tacitus from a historical perspective... I get the impression (and one can only get an impression when attempting to analyze the motives of the ancients) that he was more genuine when it came to the reporting of events. However, from a pure enjoyment factor, it's hard to argue with Suetonius. As an aside... I tend to lean towards Cassius Dio and Appian as my personal favorites.

Based on a private discussion... I'd like to nominate the "Legions" books by Stephen Dando-Collins. While they now seem to be classified in the historical fiction genre, there has been much confusion over the authenticity and intent of his books. Frankly I have no clue what he intended, but in my personal opinion they are too laced with conjecture (and outright error) to be considered scholarly non-fiction. Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome Nero's Killing Machine : The True Story of Rome's Remarkable 14th Legion Cleopatra's Kidnappers : How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar Mark Antony's Heroes: How the Third Gallica Legion Saved an Apostle and Created an Emperor

Presumably no footnotes?

Busy... always busy.

Your welcome Guy... it's a subject I'm fairly fond of myself... having a VERY small personal collection of Roman coins. I'm always fascinated by the idea of where, when , who, etc. of each individual piece of metal.

I believe J wasn't formally introduced as a standard letter until the middle ages and wasn't really an ancient letter at all, but I don't have source material at the moment, I'm afraid. Perhaps docoflove could help.

There will probably be scantily clad and impressively endowed (both real and/or "enhanced") women throughout, in addition to well defined men... so depending on one's definition of entertainment, there will be some who will be pleased. Unfortunately, the show will likely be a sounding board for how horrible the Romans were and how great Spartacus and his dream of freedom for everyone was (despite the obvious un-truths about either side of that statement)

There are exceptions to every "rule" in history and in general life, however, patricians were largely land owners and farmers (meaning that they maintained agricultural estates rather than did the farming themselves) or involved in various government capacities (as well as religion, ie priesthoods). It was unseemly for patricians to be involved in standard trade class professions. The exceptions can come into play in the cases of fallen families and similar where necessity outweighed social acceptance, especially as the Republic aged and evolved into Empire. The later the era, the more likely that patricians could be seen in any number of professions once considered taboo.

I posted in the other "news" thread as well, but if there is a place to find a reputable dealer (either in a local shop or online) it's vcoins.com. Klingan... coins range in price based on rarity, subject matter, quality, metal type, etc. A Brutus Eid Mar Aureus (gold) commemorating the death of Caesar could cost you a cool $250,000. some gold coin rough values A nice silver denarius of a popular emperor (like Trajan for instance) might be had in the $100 range. An increasingly common Constantinian era bronze (unfortunately because of massive Balkan state site looting) are literally becoming a dime a dozen and can be found for a few dollars. Unfortunately, the massive influx of these coins into the market is not only ruining the collectible market for people who truly care and want to preserve their own piece of history, but the sites they are being dug up from are being destroyed. We may never know the historical value of the sites in which they are being found or what other pieces of history might be lost.

I've largely stopped my own collecting of most ancient coins based on fears of archaeological site looting and contamination. However, there are many coins that have been in collectible circulation for many years. Try www.vcoins.com for a collection of many dealers. There is likely to be one with a brick and mortar shop somewhere near you for a more personal approach.

I'm always just a bit surprised when I hear guys like Springsteen have global popularity. Not because his music doesn't have appeal, but simply because it's so Americana. Cool though. Hope your sister had fun.

I'm actually surprised Augustus isn't on the list. He may not have been flamboyant or necessarily wasteful as regards excessive expenditures., but he spent fortunes on various reforms and various building projects. Of course, the list lacks clarity as to how these things were determined anyway.

Indeed, oligarchy is too often defined negatively without understanding the nature of the ruling class throughout history and into the modern day. Modern "democracies" while certainly allowing for more opportunity and reducing the birthright entitlement may very well be defined as oligarchies by future civilizations. The bigger issue is that the oligarchy is often discredited as corrupt, patently unfair, or evil; thus leading to the conclusion that the alternative (usually tyrannical dictatorship/monarchy) is justifiable.

Congrats WW! Don't forget all of us little people on your rise...

Ahh yes, and in a couple of years people will be surprised by all the plastic bottles, cans, food wrappings, soiled diapers and any other form of human refuse that people will leave all over this "new" park. It happens here as well... there was a nice little nature walk tucked away really where only the local residents knew of it and could enjoy it. Someone decided that that just wasn't good enough, cut away many of the trees, added a few truck loads of sand for the new "beach" volleyball court, put in a giant kids jungle gym complete with that recycled tire rubber ground mat, a fresh layer of asphalt for the new basketball court (I mean who really doesn't want to hear the incessant sound of a basketball bouncing on hard pavement when trying to enjoy nature), a giant pavilion, and an obscene bridge over the "wetlands" so people won't have to get their feet wet on the new playground, er I mean nature walk.

Unfortunately, that workout is actually counter-acted by alcohol consumption

I eat like a pig. If I didn't work out on a semi-regular basis I would be enormous.

A truly fascinating article. He does seem to be heavily focused on South American antiquities though (surely his personal area of expertise), and while he does mention other artifacts, I wonder if the same sort of results are occurring in other archaeological theaters or areas of study (ie numismatics).

Indeed, but I really liked the modern and less hokey spin in 28 Days Later.

Everyone knows that Austrians are terrorists. Well at least everyone in Kaleeforneeya does. (Yet another veiled anti-government comment, brought to you free of charge)

Was it hard for you to get the attention of the right "higher-level" editors? Again, this is just an impression, so take with the proverbial grain of salt... but I believe the history section of wiki is heavily moderated and my actions (logging in and deleting my content) brought it quickly to the attention of those with a keen interest. Beyond that, I admit to being completely clueless on the operational mechanism of the site.

Everything I that I had personally pointed out at that time, yes. I think if you get the attention of the right "higher-level" editors, then challenges to either accuracy or plagiarism resolve more quickly. I have no way to verify that, but it was my impression.

A couple of years ago, I found that wikipedia had plagiarized almost my entire narrative. Other wiki-thieves, rather than chastise those who republished that work, started to pick apart in the comments and discussion section, both grammatical and factual. Normally, I don't mind when someone challenges what I've written, but to re-publish it as their own while then re-purposing it to fit their own views made my blood boil. In any case, I joined up and immediately starting deleting everything. Others reverted the work back to pre-delete. It was actually Bill Thayer from Lacus Curtius who ultimately fixed it. I believe there are still several altered works, but it's definately hard to prove. Copyscape is helpful... http://www.copyscape.com/ (PS this has nothing to do with any inaccuracy other than my own really, but just thought I'd share =P)

I know I have a general interest in the history of the Roman Republic right now; not sure what specifically as of yet. I figure the book on Caesar I bought will help me better understand the end of the republic. As good a starting point as any... just enjoy the pursuit.