guy

The list of Emperors declared damnatio memoriae by the senate is quite extensive: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_condemned_Roman_emperors That said, the fact that Eugenius was not condemned is significant. It might reflect some residual underlying support in the Roman Senate for the man (or at least the Pagan beliefs he seemed to have tolerated and even promoted). As mentioned, Theodosius was a rigid Christian doctrinaire and a ruthless authoritarian. There is no reason to believe he won't have had the Senate condemn Eugenius if he could. Thank you, again, guy also known as gaius

Thank you for your thoughtful response! I would be surprised if Eugenius had not have been confirmed (or at least received a strong approbation) by the Roman Senate, even if the confirmation were more symbolic than meaningful. Unfortunately, our sources for this period are either very murky or biased. A group of powerful Senators viewed Eugenius at least more tolerant of the Ancient Pagan religion, if not secretly supportive, than the Emperor Theodosius was. Thanks, again, guy also known as gaius

Right now I'm doing research on Flavius Eugenius (died AD 394). He was elevated to the purple by the Frankish general Arbogast. Although a nominal Christian, Eugenius was very sympathetic to the Pagans. In fact, he had support of most the senate, which was still predominately Pagan. Eugenius promoted some of the Pagan policies and supported Pagan temples. He and his general Arbogast lost, however, the forgotten but very important battle of Frigidus against the militantly Christian Theodosius. Both Eugenius and his general quickly lost their lives. He was the last emperor to support polytheism. Question: The Emperor Eugenius has been called a usurper. Did he ever get confirmed by the Senate? If he received support for the Senate, wasn't he then a legitimate emperor (and not a usurper)? Thank you for reading my post, guy also known as gaius

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I hadn't thought of that, but could be. Any thoughts where this site of Romanesque art is? guy also known as gaius P.S. I see you have Amsterdam listed as your home. Are you Dutch? Ik hou van Amsterdam.

Musa : From Concubine to Black Widow Queen Here's a fascinating coin I saw in a recent Heritage auction: http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=3026&lotNo=23254&lotIdNo=33083 On the reverse of the coin is Musa, the concubine given to King Phraates IV by Augustus as part of the peace treaty with the Parthians. Terms of the peace included the return of the Roman legionary standards lost to the Parthians by Crassus at Carrhae (in 53 BCE) and by Marc Antony's General Saxa (in 40 BCE). The concubine Musa was soon elevated to Phraates' queen. By 2 BCE she poisoned her husband the king and elevated their son Phraataces to succeed his father. Musa possibly married her son (according to Josephus), but she would have most probably exerted great influence over the Parthian court. The coin suggests that they she co-ruled with her son. In AD 4, however, Musa and her son were deposed and she fled to Syria. guy also known as gaius

If I could recommend an early (pre-Buckingham Nicks) Fleetwood Mac tune. This song should never be played while under the influence of a hallucinogen: guy also known as gaius

Another relief sculpture from the same location: guy also known as gaius

Aurius: Thank you for your impressions of this relief sculpture. I couldn't tell the enemies by their weapons. (They look like the standard gladius.) The short hair of the enemy would make me lean against Celts or even Dacian. guy also known as gaius.

The Mario Lanza clip is phenomenal. The Dutch subtitles are cool, also. guy

If I could make a recommendation: The album by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks before they joined Fleetwood Mac is the true unknown classic. Although I try to avoid sentimental rock crap, I think these two tunes would make even someone with a cold heart cry: guy also known as gaius

Interesting Italian Metal: guy also known as gaius

But, if I had to guess the reason, it must be because IIII was conceptually more... basic: I would imagine that such a basic numeral evolved more slowly than other ones, especially if the bars still kept an intuitive meaning, like fingers or sticks. If you consider longer numerals, you can see the reason for it was needed to make them visually simpler: not so for IIII. You may be correct. Think about it: One finger is one...three fingers are three, four fingers are four. Looking at the hand, when counting the thumb for five, the fourth finger and the thumb form a "V." I know that sounds ridiculous, but it might have helped younger Ancient Romans remember their Roman numerals. guy also known as gaius

Thank you for responding to my post. I think the other examples are a lot more common than "IV." Here is an example of XXXIIX for thirty-eight (I think): Tiberius,

On a numismatic forum, the point was made that "IIII" was used for the number four instead of "IV," even on more modern coins. The following has been suggested by several people:

The Changing Popularity and Reputations of Roman Emperors in Ancient Rome Today, the Emperor Claudius is thought to be one of the better, more effective emperors. He certainly is now held in higher esteem than the psychopaths Caligula and Commodus. Perhaps, however, this viewpoint was not always shared in Ancient Rome. Here is an article about an interesting collection of coins by Trajan Decius (ruled AD 249-251) commemorating his most worthy predecessors. This article makes me reconsider the various emperors

Unfortunately, this is one of the few sites Roman sites I get to visit these days. guy also known as gaius

Here's a (virtual) tour of Ancient Rome: guy also known as gaius

Sounds like a wonderful trip. I was in Rome seven years ago and my only regret was that I didn't take a tour to see Rome at night. (I was jet lagged from my flight from California and too tired from my walking during the day.) With any kind of planning, most sites could be seen independently without a formal tour. A tour bus, however, might be worth a treat to see Rome after dark. The city lights up so majestically. The Ancient, Renaissance, and Modern monuments and architecture come alive as the night lights reflect off the water, marble, streets, and ancient concrete. Good times. guy also known as gaius

This sculpture (in the British museum) was once thought to be from the ruins of the palace of Antoninus Pius. This statue was found near Civita Lavinia (modern Lanuzio) in Lazio, Italy and is dated from the second century AD of the Roman Empire.

Addendum (an interesting aside): I usually try to approach these subjects with a modicum of scientific rigor. I was surprised (and possibly disappointed) to learn that the modern greyhound is probably not related to the hounds found in Ancient Egypt.: http://www.greyhoundinfo.org/?page_id=22 http://www.greyhoundhaven.com/aboutgreyhounds.htm Therefore, our lovable greyhounds are not of Ancient Egyptian origin. Rather, these beautiful animals are of Celtic origin, if the DNA evidence is to be believed. There is no reason to believe, therefore, that the greyhounds of Ancient Rome were imported from Cleopatra's Egypt. guy also known as gaius

Wow. I'm sorry I missed this post earlier. I love greyhounds (and the related Whippets). They are my favorite breed of dogs. Ovid (43 BCE to AD 17), in his Metamorposes, made reference to greyhounds. http://hompi.sogang.ac.kr/anthony/Classics/OvidDaphne.htm Julius Caesar and Cleopatra had their affair in 48 BCE, only a few years before this quote. I am confident that Cleopatra did not introduce the breed to the Romans since the breed was relatively common during the time of Ovid. Since I can't find an original reference of Cleopatra's giving Caesar greyhound pups, I think this may be apocryphal. l will keep searching, however. I love those greyhounds (and whippets), though. guy also known as gaius

Great link, Auris. Thank you. There have long been two gaps in my knowledge to the better understanding of Ancient Roman history: Latin and Ancient Roman numismatics. Over the last several years I've worked hard to learn about Ancient Roman numismatics (although I don't collect coins). Learning Latin, however, has been a real struggle. I function very well in Spanish, using it nearly daily at work for more than twenty years. My Italian, another Latin-derived language, is more than adequate to communicate with my relatives in Italy on a regular basis. Learning Latin, however, has been a nearly impossible task. I lose my motivation as soon as I hear Latin, Maybe my brain has ossified. Maybe Latin is so foreign to my ears. I would much rather review my Dutch (a far more guttural and harsh-sounding language) before my next trip to the Netherlands than review my Latin so I can speak Latin with...no one. At least when I practice my Dutch, I can annoy my Dutch friends and...I can pretend I am speaking the tongue of some Ancient Germanic Batavian tribe. guy also known as gaius

Very thought-provoking post. From Wikipedia: Approximate distribution of languages in Iron Age Italy during the 6th century BCE. I always found the Oscan language to be interesting. If I remember correctly, it was used on the coinage of the rebels during the Social War (91