ASCLEPIADES

You just couldn't say 'lead poisioning', could you? Is it against your religion? Well, my priest says Χρόνος (Chronos) .

And this? Salve, GO! Sorry for the omission. Aside form the obviously anomalous cases of LC Sulla and CJ Caesar, one of the few restrictions specifically imposed over Dictators' power was that they couldn't leave Italy, as they might become a danger to the Res Publica. Cassius Dio was quite explicit when he quoted the lecture given to tha Senate by Q. Lutatius Catulus at DCLXXXVIII (66 BC) cautioning them about the risk in giving to much power to a man (Gn. Pompeius Magnus) for the war against the Cilician Pirates (Libri XXXVI, Ch. XXXIV, Sec. I-II): "Yet if there should be any necessity of choosing another in addition to the annual officials, there is for this, too, an ancient precedent

Exactly (or "remember you are mortal"). This one is the oldest dated Horacian ode, written about Cleopatra's death circa DCCXXIV AUC (30 BC).

Gratiam habeo, Lady LW. Top of the graphic bushisms I have ever seen.

Very nice work indeed, as usual. BTW, I wasn't able to identify the patrician marriage of M. Pocius Cato "Licinianus" described by Plutarch on Parallel Lives, Cato Maior, Ch. XXIV, sec. I: "After the death of his wife, he (Cato Maior) married his son to the daughter of Aemilius Paulus, the sister of Scipio..."

Salve, C. Only two of them: Lucius Stertinus recovered the Legio XIX Eagle from the Bructeri in DCCLXVIII AUC (15 AD), and the hiding place of a second standard was told to Germanicus from the captured leader of the Marsi after the Battle of the Weser River the following year (C. Tacitus, Annales: Libri II, Ch. XXXII). The fate of the third one was explained by Cassius Dio (Libri LX, Ch. VIII, sec. VII) ; it was recovered at DCCXCV AUC (42 AD): "This same year, however, Sulpicius Galba overcame the Chatti, and Publius Gabinius conquered the Cauchia and as a crowning achievement recovered a military eagle, the only one that still remained in the hands of the enemy from Varus' disaster. Thanks to the exploits of these two men, Claudius (Germanicus' brother) now received the well-merited title of imperator. "

God looks with favor on those who speak Latin. Gaius is not a part of that crew. "Now is the time for drinking, now free feet will beat the earth." (Horatius, Carmina, Liber I, ode XXXVII, lines I-II): Sequitur. It's a classical Memento Mori, a remembrance of our mortality and that we should enjoy the moment.

Salve, Lady A et amici. I agree (with both statements). I think the main difference would be that Dictatorship, even perpetual, was not implied to be an hereditary condition.

Saturnism?

Salve, GM! That was a good one. I didn't catch it. (I'm overstating the obvious; you know me)

Salve, Amici. I think we all have seen in our extensive selection of admittedly biased source's quotations plenty of evidence that Roman people's preferences about Caesar, Patrician and plebeian alike, were extremely divided. On the other hand, even with (possibly) huge popular support, there was simply no legal chance for longlife consulship, dictatorship or autocracy.

Salve. Lady A. As always, you should be 100%; it is indeed. Antoninians can't deceive you . Your turn.

Salve, S. That phrase would be an oxymoron. Quoting Tom Holland, I would begin with Plutarch. After that, I would keep on with his historians' prescription; Tacitus, Cassius Dio, Appian et Cetera. But the real primary source, by antonomasia, is Cicero. As Klingan, I also love Suetonius' gossip. And check out frequently the Smith's dictionaries.

Nope.

Salve, Amici! This nice essay came from e-cheat. (2005) Assyrian Weapons and Warfare Paper The Assyrians have long been known as a ruthless and barbaric people of the ancient civilizations. While this may be true in some instances, it is not an entirely accurate view of the Empire of Assyria. The Assyrians took their warfare seriously; in fact they studied war techniques like a science (Riley, 45). The Assyrians even had special schools set up to teach sapping (military demolition of walls etc.) and mining city walls (Riley, 45). The Assyrians were the innovators of war in their time. The Assyrian army was feared for many reasons one including the use of iron in their weapons. The Assyrians were the first to use iron in spears, swords, shields and armor. They even tipped their battering rams for extra effectiveness. When the Assyrians first attacked their enemies with these awesome novelties of war, it caused almost as profound a reaction as the atom bomb has in our time (Fairservis, 96). Against iron spears and swords, bronze shields were useless. The Assyrians had the most advanced weapons of their time. Their arrows were tipped in iron, the strongest metal of the time. Their bowmen were also among the worlds finest (Fairservis, 95). They had heavy chariots drawn by two horses and had a crew of two, the driver and an archer. Later, a third man was added to protect the rear and a spare horse was hitched at the rear (Za Khan). They introduced cavalry and an accurate sling and developed siege craft with siege towers, battering rams and hand propelled vehicles with armor protection (Za Khan). The primary weapon of the infantry was the bow. It was used in groups or individually; a shield bearer protected the bowman. The bow had a range of over two hundred and fifty meters. A quiver held fifty arrows and a captain had one hundred shield bowmen and shield bearers under his command, which produced formidable firepower (Za Khan). Other weapons used by the infantry wear the spear, the javelin, slings and swords (Za Khan). The cavalry employed horses ridden bareback by two horsemen. One rider held the reins while the other rider, with a shield on his back, used a bow or a lance. Because cavalry could be used on uneven ground, it started replacing the chariot around six hundred B.C (Za Khan). The army also had special technical units. They accompanied the army and had chariots for the battle field and wagons for transporting necessary equipment which would include not only the obvious items of rations and tents but also such specialists types of equipment such as siege engines and rams (Saggs, 244). When roads had to be cut, a task force of men equipped with bronze, iron or copper picks and axes would hack a path for the army to pass through. Not even a river could stop the well-equipped Assyrians. If the river could not be crossed on foot, they would construct boats or bridges to cross the river with. The bridges were most commonly boat bridges, bridges formed by tying a number of boats together across the river with planks on top to make a footway or even a road for the chariots to pass over (Saggs, 244). Other specialists in lesser numbers included scribes for recording booty and other details of the armies campaign (Sags, 244). Another weapon used by the Assyrians was not made of wood or iron, but was used in equal effect was psychological warfare. The Assyrians were masters of psychological warfare. They believed that it was necessary that should be persuaded that it was vain to attempt to oppose Assyria. The Assyrians achieved this in two ways, demonstration of overwhelming might and by propaganda (Saggs, 248). King Sargon explicitly states that his victories had a propaganda aspect to them. After his defeat of the forces of the kingdom of Ururtu and their allies in his major campaign of 714, he says,

Knope! Maybe now you can offer some other clues.

Salve, Amici!

The above image and the following text came from this link "Harpastum (meaning "the small ball game") remained popular for 700-800 years and was played with a relatively smaller and harder ball, compared to follis or paganica. Harpastum was played by 5-12 players on a rectangular field marked by boundary lines and split by a center line. Each team had to keep the ball in their own half for as song as they can, while their opponents tried to steal it and get it over to their own side. An important rule of Harpastum stated that only the player with the ball could be tackled. That limitation caused the development of complex passing combinations. Players developed specific team roles and a lot of trickery and tactics were probably involved. The feet were scarcely used in the game of Harpastum, but a striking resemblance to rugby can be noted. Emperor Julius Caesar (???) (who is speculated to have played himself) used Harpastum to maintain the physical fitness of his soldiers and keep them battle ready. It is also believed that the Romans took Harpastum to the British Isles at the time of their expansion. By their arrival, less-sophisticated kicking games were already present on the British Isles. There actually are records of a Harpastum match played between the Romans and the British natives. Even although the conquerors won, Harpastum eventually faded out and it is very unlikely that it could have impacted the later development of English mob football. Atheneaus wrote this about Harpastum: Harpastum, which used to be called Phaininda, is the game I like most of all. Great are the exertion and fatigue attendant upon contests of ball-playing and violent twisting and turning of the neck. Hence Antiphanes, "Damn it, what a pain in the neck I've got." He describes the game thus: "He seized the ball and passed it to a team-mate while dodging another and laughing. He pushed it out of the way of another. Another fellow player he raised to his feet. All the while the crowd resounded with shouts of Out of bounds, Too far, Right beside him, Over his head, On the ground, Up in the air, Too short, Pass it back in the scrum." And these quotations came from en.wikipedia: "Galen, in On Exercise with the Small Ball, describes harpastum as: "better than wrestling or running because it exercises every part of the body, takes up little time, and costs nothing." He also considered it "profitable training in strategy", and said that it could be "played with varying degrees of strenuousness." Translation by Alexander Adam of a passage from Isidor. "Ludere expulsim, vel pilam geminare volantem" "When they snatched the ball from one another, and threw it aloft, without letting it fall to the ground."

Salve, Amici! This is a Roman mosaic is from Ostia. It presents what appears to be an infalted "pila", stitched in the fashion of modern balls. Considering that this scene represents a gym, it might be also a "paganica" or medicine ball. There are historical references of Roman boys playing ball in the streets. Cicero described one court case in which a man getting a shave was killed when a ball was kicked at the barber

Gratiam habeo, GO! An X-cellent article indeed. Vg, this comes from its "funny sounds" link ("Onomatopoeia" article of Vicipaedia): "De vocibus animalium... Animal Latine Graece Anglice Canis baubat(ur) βαύζει barks Equus hinnit χρεμετίζει neighs Feles maumat μιαυρίζει miaows (Am. meows) Leo rugit βρυχᾶται roars Ovis balat βληχᾶται baas Rana coaxat κοάζει croaks Sus grundit γρυλίζει grunts Vacca mugit μυκᾶται moos"

Beit She'an?

Quod gratias agas. My source was the latin library.

Congratulationis, FG! It seems like you had a nice and productive trip.

Jerash?

Salve, PP. I think that in UNRV's chapter of "The Roman Twelve Tables of Law", the provision about the insanes (Si furiosus escit, adgnatum gentiliumque in eo pecuniaque eius potestas esto / "If one is mad but has no guardian, the power over him and his money shall belong to his agnates and the members of his gens") is misplaced on table IV, sec. 4; it should be on Table V, sec. 2.