Centurion-Macro

Did you purchase the book or find it available at a library? I printed out the list of Davis' books and had planned to seek them out in the order published, but haven't gotten the chance. Hopefully, the library can find some for me. I bought it over in Germany, but I only read it since I got back. Have you read any of the series?

Okay, you have confused me a great deal with this blog. I seriously did not know there were three familiar dimensions. But time is interesting, and I believe time travel is possible, as it is like a book. And with that book, you should be able to theoredically turn the page. But no doubt there is some obsolete scientist to oppose this view with his own theories. I am a history man for a reason

I am currently reading 'The Latter Days At Colditz' by Patrick Read. It is a brilliant book about the escapes of Colditz, and the life and lifestyle was in the castle. I definitely recommend it to everyone who is interested in a original prisoner escape book, which is written by a very good author with a good sense of humor.

If you could survive the arena, there was always a chance that you could be freed. Gladiators actually had a good life, and if you were a good fighter, and you did not die, there was a good chance you would be freed with the Rudis. But if you were an average gladiator, to be honest, you did not have a good chance. Only those with exceptional skill or luck were freed, and even some who were freed kept fighting, as it was all they knew, and it was a good career if you were good at it.

Firstly, this is a brilliant article. I have not read something like that on an internet forum for a long time. I can fully believe all this in the Roman legions. Those that entered were brutal men, and they were not the warriors of other cultures, for example, the Greeks. These were poor men, commonly from the dregs of society, looking for adventure and promise of land if they survived the 25 years. They did not fight for honor, and they did not fight for Rome. Most soldiers had never seen Rome, and most never did. They were ordered by the rich folk, and in turn, these orders were passed through the alpha males, or the centurions. They did keep order by brutality, as we see with punishments such as Decimation, which was an extremely harsh punishment, not designed to inspire loyalty, but to inspire fear. The legions did have a brotherhood, but the legions also had everything commonly found in a prison. Many of the men were like convicts in the fact they were brutal, they were all powerful men, and they were dangerous. They were indeed given slack pay, bad hours and a tiring career, and at the end the 'land' they received was commonly in a outlying province, such as Britain. It is understandable that they felt resentment, and it only takes one to set off that spark of resentment. Sure, the officers could usually keep order, but in a legion of 5,000 men, all alpha males, it is only natural that order will fail at some point. Rome channeled these men, and concentrated them into a fighting machine, but even a fighting machine like a legion can not be kept in line for ever like that. For example, the mutiny before the invasion of Britain was one of fear. The legions heard such incredible rumors that Britain held, such as monsters and beasts, and they decided not to go. This group decided that their pay and what Rome was currently offering them was not enough to invade over the sea. They did not want to die so that Claudius could cement his position in Rome, a city they had never laid eyes on. And they did not want to follow their officers from Rome, who did not care about the men at all, and only wanted to advance their own careers. And eventually what had to happen was that the alpha males who implemented this mutiny were killed. Order was restored, by brutality. The legions then captured Britain. This system did work, as we can see from the magnitude of the Roman civilization. But it would always spark these outbursts, and these outbursts had to be put down or the system would fail. You must remember that Rome was ruled by a few rich officials, and they commanded through the use of force. And therefore the legions were a mirror of that. The commander and tribunes were the elite, and they used the centurions, men who they could count on to keep the other men in line through their fearsome personalities. And in turn, the men followed this system. But as you state, there is only so much a man can take before he reaches a breaking point. And that is what happens in a legion mutiny. So in answer to your question, I believe it was the Roman society. Ruled by a small elite, they could not keep the masses in line by themselves. The legions were meant to protect the elites through conquest and policing duties. They were governed by the same system, and so mutinies happened, much like food riot might happen in Rome. They are completely similar in the fact that Roman society worked through controlling the masses, and to do that force was needed. Sure, they could count on respect or loyalty to keep order, but when times get bad, how can you inspire loyalty? Therefore fear was used in Roman society, as it was universal and could be counted on. So the Roman legions followed that system as well.

But I was always under the assumption that the average soldier would keep out of politics, and just do the job. Or is it Praetorians we are talking about here? Because I doubt if the average legionary would care what happened if he invaded a rich mans property.

Ah I see. So they would stall for as long as possible because their target may have 'contacts'.

What is the basic storyline to Frontier Wolf? I have never read it.

I liked how it did that, as it was a nice change. Instead of just being combat, it includes a lot more about the storyline and situation the empire is in.

So they would disobey orders?

I do not believe this did happen, as in the arena you killed who you had to to win another day. And if he did refuse to do the emperors order, he would probably have to be killed, as he would have disgraced the emperor, and the emperor could not let that slip in front of a big crowd of people.

It is an interesting idea, and it should be given more attention, but it is not that important in history. It was only to defend the city, which really only needed defending in the later years of the empire.

I would assume that most Roman citizens in Gaul would in possession of a dagger, and possibly a sword. If they were a hunter, they may have possession of spears and bows, but if it was the suburbs or anything similar it would be dagger and sword. ~I believe governors could search whenever they wanted, and for whatever reason, as long as they said it was a matter of importance to the emperor.

I never really liked Under The Eagle as much as some of the other books from the series. But I agree with the others you put up there, and I have been meaning to read Fire In the East for a long time.

From the short describing paragraph it looks interesting. I took a look at the blog, and posted a comment there for you. It has potential, but you are making a few errors. However these cane be overcome

So I can get things free if I wish? Because I am quite sort of money at this time.

The Thespians? I will look into this. I have actually never heard of them before.

Ha ha, me too. But I don't mind. Maybe it will get older members to come back

So at different times, different cities held the advantage? Then why are the Spartans so idolized?

I shall take a look at them. I have been looking for a good gladiator book for a while now.

Were there any other cities or towns etc, that had Spartan like soldiers, or such dedications to soldiering? I am not that educated in Greek history, and I find it odd that the Spartans are all we hear about. Surely the Athenians had good soldiers also, as they won the Battle of Marathon, but were there any other places in Greece that had extremely good soldiers? Because the Spartans seem to be the only ones we hear about these days.

Interesting, I shall check this out when a get a free moment.

...What a detailed response Alright, I suppose it is a bit bad they had a mistake in it for some, as it the dictionary, but I would never look it up unless it was for spelling, as you state in your post.

I have never heard of these books. What exactly are they about?

I recently have got into Lindsey Davis books. They are very original for their time. ~It was the same with me. Although I barely understood it, I soon figured it all out, and now I love Roman books. However my favorite book of the series was the Lantern Bearers. It was brilliant.