Favonius Cornelius

It would be very very cool to have all the fas/nefas and holidays on it...anyone adding these?

I guess I am confused by this reference to "corn". Corn, as we Americans know it, is yellow stuff that grows on a cob and originated in MesoAmerica and didn't reach Europe until after Columbus' "discovery" What the heck are the Romans referring to when they say corn in ancient texts? I have always assumed that it was some kind of cereal or grain. However Virgil61's postulation that it is the same as polenta (which is made from cornmeal?) So I guess my question is. 1. What exactly was the Roman "corn" as it is not the "corn" people state-side think of. 2. What is polenta made from? Matt

I liked both of those instantly, but your point is perfectly valid. I've been meaning to do this for some time, thanks for reminding me. Hey if you have any sway with the people who have a sway with people in making the series, beg them for more battles and politics please. And then get me into a casting crew party too. Io Saturnalia!

I think in terms of gladiatorial schools, Campania and Capua were well known. I'm sure if you could tame and train one of those Germans or Picts they would make just as good fighters.

In the 80's, the total sum of income of a common worker to that of the CEO of a company was about 8 to 30 times. Today it is 300 times. I don't suppose the centralization of money has anything to do with the fall of the middle class? Perhaps our real problem is we do not have a Gracchus.

Oh ya...I've done that too don't worry LOL You spin it around, either your head or by your side whatever your style is. I think the trick is the release. I have been able to get rocks to fly well, but never straight. I imagine maybe you need to release just before on its spinning path, or have some way to hold the sling itself such that the sling opens up smooth and does not inhibit the rock's path as it leaves. I'm sure there is a book out there somewhere on this but I've never investigated that far.

You know you've hit on an interesting topic of discussion: just where did those Romans get their engineering skills? I was thinking more along the lines of the Greeks. Such tremendous skill (and confidence) would not,you imagine,appear overnight-I think this is actually one of the gretest Roman attributes but of which I have very little knowledge, I was hoping someone would open a debate so I could enjoy a ringside seat. Favonius-you probably think im obsessed with lead pipes, but, Pantagathus sparked a line of enquiry that made me realise that apart from calcification inside pipes (preventing solution of lead) ,Romans used cabbage as a food and a plentiful medicine. The presence of l'methionine in cabbage (the reason they used it for hangovers without knowing what element worked) would tend to detox a person with lead and cadmium in their bodies. Oh wow thanks Pertinax! That information is valuable to me, because every once in a while I come across some pleb who has heard this rediculous theory and I certainly do not mind additional rationale.

Were they really diamond shaped? Every slingstone I have seen is oval. I always imagined this was so because sharp edges would cause the flight pattern of the stone to become erratic and this aiming would be much harder. The only exception I have seen are ballista shot, and some of those seemed to have a little crest used to guide the rock across the firing chamber. Slingers have considerable advantage over archers in that you need less strength to use and ammo is always plentiful! Equal skill is needed however, I've tried many times to use a sling and I still can't get it right. Interesting to note that many rocks found at sites have little things like 'take this!' etched into the rock.

So you didn't like Bertha then.... :1eye:

You know you've hit on an interesting topic of discussion: just where did those Romans get their engineering skills? I was thinking more along the lines of the Greeks.

Hey I am curious about this, could you please give more details? Why only women?

LOL. That's one of the funniest things I've read in here. Interesting. In likewise fashion could a Peregine cover for the Urbanus? Do you know of any examples where a city praetor was lucky enough to lead troops? Were there any instances of a praetor winning a triumph for it?

Congrats Spurius! For names hmm.. Bertha Othella Matilda

Maybe we've hit upon the true reason the Romans won so many wars. I know I would be a surly demon if I ate that grub! Very interesting thread, and I too wonder the truth of it, a human needs a more varied diet than that. Perhaps for periods of time it could be simple but surely when they camped or remained in one place for a period of time they had meats and vegetables. I remember reading about this hard tack diet, but I always assumed it was an 'on the march' kind of grub.

I don't know about your schools, but in my public school's history class I learned a lot about the history of the Christian religion and very little of Islam. That sort of 'Christians are the victims' line is popular among Intelligent Design crowds. Even if it were true, it still does not hold because we live in a heavily dominated Christian culture while Islam is so rare as to be a thing to study to know more about.

Ah that's interesting. The job of the peregrinus then could be a lot more complicated and demanding then I'd imagine, having to account for the varying laws of other nations and Roman common law.

I don't mean to come off heavy handed. It's just my personal interactions at work more than anything that make me feel that way. In general I've noticed a lot of cultural superiority complex in many eastern cultures. If in Turkey you find a remarkable Byzantine or Roman find, they are more than ready to bury it under a road or dam. A Muslim mosque in Spain on the other hand is preserved and cherished. Americans study Chinese history here in the states, I'd be willing to bet you don't find much of Roman history in China.

Lol na, just been a lot of peregrine talk around and it made me remember I don't know much about the office.

Why would you wonder that?

The Second Punic war caused great strife for the Roman people. It was surely a time when nearly no family did not lose a man in the wars to the armies of Hannibal. As seen in the extreme dictations of the quindecimviri during that time, religious observance was one outlet used to allay public strain. The scars of the war left its mark on the psyche of Roman Republic after its conclusion. It was a firtile ground for religious exploration where the people could find meaning in their lives. One such expression was the growing Cult of Bacchus. Bacchus had been recognized for some time under the name Liber, the Italic diety, when Rome expanded through Italia. Perhaps too there was influence from the Greek founded cities in the south of Italia via Dionysus. The calculated Roman tradition of absorption of the gods of conquered peoples promised that popular gods would be respected. By 186 BC, the Cult had spread through much of Italia, and the severity of its secretive cult members in their drunken orgiastic worship had caused the Senate of Rome to declare the Cult of Bacchus a subversive group which threatened public order. Based on the accounts from the histories and archaeological evidence, we see a picture of excessive intoxication and revelry as a fundamental to worship of Bacchus. Coupled with its tradition of secrecy, one can see the allure to those who look for excitement and change in a rough world. Livy, Book 39: "During the following year the consuls Sp. Postumius Albinus and Q. Marcius Philippus had their attention diverted from the army and the wars, and the administration of provinces, by the necessity of putting down a domestic conspiracy. The provinces were allotted to the praetors as follows: the civic jurisdiction to T. Maenius, the alien to M. Licinius Lucullus, Sardinia to C. Aurelius Scaurus, Sicily to P. Cornelius Sulla, Hither Spain to L. Q. Crispinus, and Further Spain to C. Calpurnius Piso. Both the consuls were charged with the investigation into the secret conspiracies. A low-born Greek went into Etruria first of all, but did not bring with him any of the numerous arts which that most accomplished of all nations has introduced amongst us for the cultivation of mind and body. He was a hedge-priest and wizard, not one of those who imbue men's minds with error by professing to teach their superstitions openly for money, but a hierophant of secret nocturnal mysteries. At first these were divulged to only a few; then they began to spread amongst both men and women, and the attractions of wine and feasting increased the number of his followers. When they were heated with wine and the nightly commingling of men and women, those of tender age with their seniors, had extinguished all sense of modesty, debaucheries of every kind commenced; each had pleasures at hand to satisfy the lust he was most prone to. Nor was the mischief confined to the promiscuous intercourse of men and women; false witness, the forging of seals and testaments, and false informations, all proceeded from the same source, as also poisonings and murders of families where the bodies could not even be found for burial. Many crimes were committed by treachery; most by violence, which was kept secret, because the cries of those who were being violated or murdered could not be heard owing to the noise of drums and cymbals." More on The Subversive Cult and its Discovery Through the Woman Hispala (This post was written while under the influence of Bacchus.)

I think one of the most elusive offices was that of the praetor peregrinus. All I've ever heard of this office is that it is related to foreign affairs. Consider this post an official plea and challenge to the people of this noteworthy site to educate me on the subtleties of the powers and jurisdiction of the praetor peregrinus.

The Romans were building peerless siege fortification long before they ever heard of anything out of China. I work with a number of Chinese. They also seem to think everything about their culture is greatest and thought of everything first. I think they're racist.

I think only because there was a Crassus and Caesar around to thwart him... Even when they were all in league together, Pompey's best days were behind him. He was an old lion that could only be roused when attacked. Perhaps, perhaps...but with a history of Sulla and then Caesar behind them, and the power of an Empire to use, it would only be a matter of time before the next man stood up, launched a war and marched back.

Pompey was resting on his laurels, I think only because there was a Crassus and Caesar around to thwart him...

As tough as it makes life for New Yorkers, I am willing to bet the transit workers have a good rationale for striking. Here in San Diego there are protests against corporations on just about every corner, and beggars on all the major streets. It NEVER was like this a few years ago when I first moved out here. We live in some lean and mean times these days. I wish I could have started my career in the 90s.