johnwerneken

A Very Hoppy New Year to all my Roman friends!

the battle if marathon by peter krentz sounds the most interesting, then fink's review of the scholarship. essentially i agree with the reviewer, and for the reasons he well stated. Persia to my knowledge was a tremendous innovation, the first empire with various nationalities, transnational faith(s), etc. personally i suspect that the mythology on marathon, as to the 'david vs. goliath aspect, as Krentz noted (an actual combat defeat for Persia, and one that was rather unexcpected, apparently by all) to be it's main lasting impact. Only some by-then rather useless intellectual speculation, and partial sources for alphabets, deity names, seem to me to be the material heritage from Greece. democracy is not a big deal...whoever does the warfare, and how they do it, is always the key to how any group of people is governed, and there is no such thing as morality, except as a tool for getting along together when it is mostly shared within a group. when a knowledgable source is said to consider MY views seriously, and to offer cogent findings with source citations, then i am interested in what they offer and in what they conclude, as it may help me whether it mostly confirms my pre-existing view of gives grounds for changes whether minor or complete.

B, Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War

A book I want to read and probably own.

Excellent! Love historical novels, history, and things which illuminate leadership, and character, or lack thereof.

johnwerneken here fyi some links are broken early empire five good Emperors