Primus Pilus

Just imagine if Michael Jackson did that. Do people (and I use the term loosely) still allow their children to be near him?

Hey don't you like being my cousin... really I'm not so bad.

My favorite quote from all the stories... Now the question is... were all the rocks individually shaped like little boats, or were they arranged in a boat shape pattern. Maybe they discovered that there were actually many smaller satellite boats to accomodate the predators?

Two new subfora have been added to the available discussion categories. Under the Colosseum forum which includes "entertainment" as it relates to the Roman world, we have added the Libri sub forum to encompass the discussion of books. As our review section continues to grow, we have further plans related to our book section but this category will suffice to help organize for the time being. Under the Hora Postilla Thermae (After Hours Baths) forum we have added a new Arena subforum to allow for previously discourage discussion... the details of which can be seen here.

The UNRV forum attracts all sorts of people... some who prefer detailed scholarly discussion, some who prefer a more light-hearted approach, those who enjoy a hypothetical debate, and some who have their own particular agenda or an axe to grind, etc. Because we have attempted to keep the forum as a whole at a certain level of discussion quality, many topics have been routinely closed and sent to "Tartarus" in the past. This particular forum (Arena) will allow some of these discussions to proceed, sequestered in their own private arena where participants can come and go without being subjected to the contents unless they so desire. We hope this will allow the site to appeal to a wider audience, thereby growing the community, while still limiting such arguments as "Caesar vs. Alexander" to one small area, and not irritating those who do not particularly care for it. As for rules... general site rules such as maintaining a semblence of civility and courtesy still apply. It will be moderated and random mayhem will not be allowed. Otherwise the name of the forum speaks for itself... so have at it. Typically, threads that devolve into subjective opinion or argument in other parts of the forum will be moved here (though some may still end up in Tartarus). Additionally, topics can be started by anyone, but they will not become active until a moderator has a chance to approve it, which will be completely at the discretion of the moderators.

Austrian Rap thieves! hahhahaha

You folks really ought to consider putting an end to this Eurovision thing before it really hurts someone.

BINGO!!!! Bingo, bingo, bingo!!!!! Yes, quite interesting. The tone of Nero's biographic information is decidely negative from the start... much more akin to Domitian it would seem. I'm forced to wonder how much the ancient sources attributed power to the likes of Agrippina and Poppaea simply to discredit Nero. (ie how could a man of the 1st century allow any woman to control him, blah blah...) However there are other powerful and influential women throughout the Julio-Claudian and "Adoptive" (2nd Century AD) eras without the negative connotation that may have been associated with the female influence. Indeed... is it odd that perhaps only one of Rome's greatest emperors, Antoninus Pius, seemingly shared this trait. Though Suetonius tells us that Nero did celebrate an enormous and strange triumph based on his olympic victories in Greece. Perhaps this was in part in regards to the settlement with Parthia over Armenia or even the defeat of Boudicca and was twisted to ignore the military aspects of such simply to discredit Nero in the historical record. Though as there is no evidence of such, we are left to wonder I suppose. And as both military events occured several years prior, this may lend credence to the notion that Nero really did enter Rome in a trimphal procession of minstrels, actors and athletes. Just more rambling thought.

The following quotes are from a private message conversation between Frankq and myself concerning Nero... I think we were both just thinking out loud, so some additional input may help to round out a picture of the most beloved 5th princeps. From Frankq: Despite the revised look on many Romans, Nero is not coming out in a good light. And I

We are still in the very slow process of developing a book site project that should help organize, present, etc all of our related book efforts. However a subforum strictly for book may serve the purpose for now

As a community grows it is always a wise move to add a pair of diligent eyes to keep watch, even if this is the sort of discussion group that only occassionally needs much oversight. With Germanicus on temporary hiatus due to some summer obligations, we decided to add another Legatus to the staff. Due to his exemplary interaction on this forum, his frequent presence and his general level headed approach, we decided that Pertinax would be a perfect fit to help guide the discussion of ancient history. Thanks Pertinax for your participation and I hope that the barbarians don't storm the gates before you have a chance to learn the tools of the trade

I'm partial to III Augusta not only because it was one of the original Augustan legions but because it was stationed in one place (Africa) for the better part of 5 centuries. Its amazing when you consider that a single unit manned the same forts and guarded the same territories for such an incredibly long period of time. I suppose any survivors of the Vandal invasion must have blended in with the local population. I think that intrigues me the most... perhaps they actually went into the service of Gaiseric (Caesar King) and remnants/descendents of those original legionaries possibly helped sack Rome itself in 455.

You may also be thinking of the Spatha which was a longer cavalry sword. As an aside, in doing some research on Commodus its interesting that he allowed the legions of northern Germania to wield axes in battle. (I believe it was in the JRS... an article by Speidel or perhaps Hekster's "Commodus An Emperor at the Crossroads" since I can't locate it again).

I'm still waiting to hear that evidence of its existence on the Danube with Marcus Aurelius has been found. At any rate, the passing of Legio VIIII with hardly a whisper is a bit strange. Considering the nature of the Roman psyche its lack of mention certainly lends itself to a less than stellar final performance in the face of an enemy rather than a revolt or some grand final battle in which it performed admirably. Anyway more on Legion IX including more speculation... http://www.roman-britain.org/military/leg9hispana.htm

The history's of several legions are fairly well recorded. Jona Lendering provides an excellent overview and starting point. livius.org Legions

Maybe they will find a pair or remains of some now extinct animals that weren't very fortuitously positioned next to the lions.

Maybe its a pyramid.

Agreed, in my opinion and in this case at least, some of the oddities must be explained by some long lost strange occurrences. What I suppose is rather odd is that this particular priesthood was so incredibly laden with taboos. Perhaps the earliest Romans were a bit practical in the development of their religion and heaped everything onto this one position in order to limit the inconveniences to other priests.

LOL indeed. Which has led to much speculation that Caesar manipulated his own dismissal from office, but that of course stems from the benefits of looking at a subject in retrospect. Personally, I think it was the priesthood (and the very likely intervention by the college of pontiffs and vestals) that helped save his life.

Unfortunately the ancient don't make much mention of the entire affair. Suetonius suggests simply that Sulla punished Caesar by taking away his priesthood, but offers no real details.

Ahh yes, I twisted your statement there... apologies. Was too hard to resist. Now for a bit of a tangent. Has there been a study of ancient horse populations? Obviously, the horse as a work animal and as a mode of transportation held immense value, but do we have any details on availability. Additionally, in the earliest times, we know that the Roman equites were granted allotment to purchase horses (equus publicus) presumably from the monarchy and later from the state itself. There were of course individuals who owned horses as well as those who owned stables etc., but did some horses remain as a portion of the ager publicus for any particular length of time. Livy goes into the politics of the Equestrian status of course, but I'm not able to recall any economic specifics.

I'm afraid I don't understand the question. Are you speaking of the equestrian class surpassing the traditional patrician senatorial class in administrative appointments in the mid to later empire?

We actually discussed it a little bit a while back Hannibal movies I think the general consensus was something to the effect of dread. However, I liked him in the Riddick movies and I hope he at least tries to do justice to the historical aspects of the film.

Here's a couple... books Considering the terrific length of what we consider to be "Roman History" you might be better off being a bit more specific in your subject matter. Its hard to get a good overview in a single volume.