ASCLEPIADES

and here is a commentary on the Hippocratic writings about proctology.

Here is a description of the founding of some more surgical instruments when exploring a shipwreck some years ago.

Salve, Mr. Dalby! Do you think that the simmilarities between the Odyssey and the Epic of Gilgamesh are enough to suppose a direct relationship?

Salve! Does anybody know if there was any kind of trans-saharian trade or contact during the Empire?

Indeed and Drinkwater also falls into this camp as does Heather, (though Heather believes the decline began with the loss of Africa... losing the tax base to pay and upkeep the army as we have the one comment from Valentinian III, the source escapes me at the moment, saying he can't even pay for them army he has), while Elton feels it is with the death of Majorian and the breakaway of Aegidius. I'd like to add Marcellinus as well in Dalmatia, taking away the other units in the Western Empire from central authority as well. Salve! During the twenty-some years that Soissons was isolated in the north, what kind of relation maintained it with the empire(s)?

Clearly, that depends on the definition of robotics. The authors of this article uses it as a synonym of the Greek "automata" which is in fact the name of one of the books of Hero; it simply means that the devices work independently, without simultaneous human or animal traction. You are right, cuckoo clocks and clockworks are considered automata and they are included in many histories of robotics. It is true that these devices probably wouldn't have a place in a Congress of Robotics today, but neither the Aristotelian taxonomy in a Congress of Biology.

And what do you have as supporting evidence for this claim? What evidence supports another explanation for Cato's Lex Porcii? Or his marriages to the great plebeian house of Licinia? Or his buiilding of the tribune house, the Basilica Porcia? Or his opposition to patrician families? Or his professed admiration for the plebeian hero M. Curius Dentatus? It's one thing to show that Cato (when he was not yet 20) was supported by the Valerian clan, but there's still the matter of his next 60 years to explain! By your reasoning, Marius wouldn't count as a champion of the plebs either since he also had the support of a patrician family. The "cause of the plebs" implies to me a conflict between this class and another group, which in the roman republic could be no other than the patrician. Assuming that during Cato's lifetime we can identify a significant ongoing conflict between patrician and plebs (which is not the same as between rich and poor, as long as there were substantial plebeian nobility and even some impoverished patricians), I cannot see that any of these arguments support that Cato had any established position in such a conflict: - Lex Portia (if we are talking about the same), as far as I know, forbade any citizen flagellation, not specifically that of the plebs and/or the poor. -The great plebeian house of Licina was great because it had been noble and rich for a long time and the marriage of Cato would be a great advance in his political career and social status. -Big and notorious works during a politician's tenure had always been (and continue to be) bonuses for the advance of his career. -I understand that as any noted politician, Cato opposed to a lot of people, among them (inevitably) some members of important patrician families, and not to those families per se. The Scipio brothers were probably the most notorious case. Cato's elder son married a member of the Aemilia Gens, cr

Sorry for the last (failed) post. Afranius Syagrius was the last of at least three rulers (his father Aegydius, one Paulus and himself) of the remanents of the Gallic provinces left by the emergence of the Germanic Kingdoms between the rivers Somme and Loire, around the city of Noviodunum (Soissons), at least from 464 to 486, in both geographical and political isolation. They ruled with various titles, including Comes, Dux and specially magister militum per Gallias, a direct opposition to the Suebian Ricimer and his successors after the death of Majorian, probably the last western emperor that deserves such title. They were apparently ignored by both Ravenna and Constantinople and survived mainly exploiting the conflicts between Visigoths and Salian Franks, who called them "rex romanorum" (this is how the domain of Soissons became known as a "Kingdom"). It is an almost unknown period, but the conquest of Soissons and the death of Syagrius by the Frankish king Clovis are well attested in French legends, as they are frequently considered the beginning of the Merovingian rule and, subsequently, of the Kingdom of France. By outliving the western empire for a decade, Syagrius became the last roman ruler north of the Alps. Here is an (imaginary) depiction of the demise of Soissons. Here

I don't think Cato championed the cause of the Plebs. As a pragmatic new man from the province, his tactic for thriving in late republican politics, besides the support of the Valeria Gens, was probably something like that of Ghandi, turning poverty into civic virtue, and also claiming to be more genuinely roman and chauvinistic even than the Patricii. This strategy was extremely successful and gives to his writings some similarities to the stoic thought, but as MPC was telling, he was intensely hellenophobic. When the historians say that the late Republic tried to run its empire like it used to run a mere city, they are clearly thinking in people like him. "Carthaginem esse delendam" was good personal promotion but bad politics; that's why the roman had to rebuilt that city later.

I think that for Caesar (and any other roman politician), his party was HIM, and maybe his family. Impoverished aristocrats like Caesar or Sulla tended to be more radical ("revolutionary"), while new men like Cato Maiorus or Cicero tended to be more conservative.

I don't see a difference. Just about all the ancient societies were "patriarchal" by modern standards, so women didn't have a much of a say in the choice of patron deities. Rome had three deities, two of which were female, and it was known more for its armies than for its arts. So I don't think gender was reflective of cultural development. Maybe you should define "pagan" with a little more detail. I have been a "gentile

The quote/blank posts are only evidence of my poor skills driving the controls.

Hi. Mr. Dalby. If the lack of true contradictions between the Iliad and the Odyssey is an argument for a common authorship, I would expect that the presence of internal contradictions would be an argument for multiple authorships of both books. What do you think about it?

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Here is a description of an automata of Hero used in a theatre.

It's not easy to find specific biographies of the enemies of Caesar and/or Augustus. What do you think of Titus Labienus? Or Sextus Pompeius? Or Caius Cassius Longinus? My preferences go in that order.

Was this because the Romans viewed Egypt as part of Alexander's empire, therefore part of the east? The name Africa (from latin Afer of uncertain ethymology, probably phoenician) was used for the land around Carthage, mostly included in modern day Tunisia. It was made a province after the III punic war and persisted with various denominations until the muslim conquest and even after (arab Ifriquiya); most of Antiquity the term for the continent was Libya, a word that came through the greek from the pharaonic Egypt, where it was used for the land located to the west of the Nile valley at least since the XIX dynasty. When the ancients began to divide the known world into continents, most of them (for example, Herodotus, Dionysius, Pliny, Sallust, Hirtius) fixed the boundary of Asia and Libya at the descent of the Nile or even at Catabathmus Magna (31

If that's all it takes to make you an ancient Greek fan, then along with Aspasia and Phryne you may want to consider a *cough* closer "examination" of the following noteworthy courtesans: Archeanassa, Lais of Corinth, Lais of Hyccara, Neaira, Tha

This thread and the precedent have a bunch of notable contributions (Note: Catilina, not

As MPC was saying, today there are no less than seven pics from five different roman cities over three present countries of north Africa in the "Guess the Ancient City" thread (excluding Aegyptus, of course).

Yup!! Visit this Website Wow, miguel ... it was mere luck! Sorry, guys! Inserting this link is the best I can do for now. Pretty bridge, isn't it?

No. Is it really that difficult? The name of this city appears in the Bible five times, including some verses in Paul's letter to the Colossians. This should be a big hint. Laodicea?

Not being an expert, the main problem that I can found in the aforementioned section is the description of a key character, the parthian prince Pacorus (wrongly described as a roman general); of his 3 or 4 expeditions against Rome, the article only describes the last one against Mark Anthony's soldiers (wrongly described as republicans). Certainly, this can be confusing. www.parthia.com has a nice account of this events.

I would probably be a slave after being captured in my former country, which is now a new province (I don't even remember its name) and where I was a writer. With a little luck (well, not so little) I hope to end as the teacher of the kids of a senator.