Skarr

Hi Favonius Cornelius or Caesarian753, Somehow, I had the nagging suspicion on reading your various posts that it must be someone from the unrv forum. However, since your handle there is different, I couldn't figure out who exactly. Nice to have an ally there. Those forums are full of jerks who haven't a clue about Rome or anything connected with Rome. I think the most ignorant post I saw was someone wishing for Gaius Marius, Marcus Aurelius, Trajan and a few others to appear on the Rome series. Talk about clueless ! Txs for the compliment. Many of my posts were out of sheer irritation, trying to keep people focused on Rome rather than other issues like the cancellation of the Carnivale series, which seems to have a lot of their fans coming over to the Rome forum to air their displeasure at HBO.

Primus, I think you raise an important point here and so does Viggen, as a number of people prefer to 'lurk'. Maybe they are shy, maybe they are lazy, maybe they just prefer to read or maybe, they have nothing to say or don't want to say anything. Apart from offering a sort of incentive to people who post (like additional features - I think that is a great idea), we can have a poll or a yes / no questionnaire sent out to people who have registered but haven't posted once (in say, two months) to ask them (in a non threatening way obviously) very politely their reasons for not contributing to the Forum and whether there's anything that we need to do in order to encourage them.

If you really want to be entertained, go to Hbo.com and read some of the ignorant posts there on the Community forums. People there don't have a clue about Rome and this makes for some highly amusing posts that will be sure to give all Roman history buffs a huge laugh. I couldn't resist correcting some of them though.

Chris, I've already reviewed a book on another site ( a book about Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus's Greek campaign that ends in the Mummius massacre at Corinth). Can I publish the review on this site ? I think I had sent you a private email earlier. I'm already a contributing reviewer and would be glad to participate. I'm in the process of reading a book on the Xth Legion which I'll be reviewing on the other site and would be glad to publish my review here. Let me know.

[spoilers - For those who haven't seen this yet, stop reading this any further ] I can't say I was disappointed as after Empire, I had low expectations of any series about Rome and was pleasantly surprised to see how well made it turned out to be. I think the cutting was fast and furious and I think the dramatic scenes were probably longer and then somehow edited to fit the one hour length for the story. I think I liked Atia - the actress playing her is perfect for the role and portrays her very well with just the right combination of intrigue, mystery, sexuality and sheer intelligence, even dominance, particularly in the way she interacts with slaves and plebians. She is the true domina and comes across as much more powerful than Servilia, who was a bit of a disappointment, as also Brutus. Ciaran Hinds makes a passable Caesar at best and I would have liked to see Caesar move around the camp energetically and goad his men to action. Caesar never sat still and in this first episode ( maybe the death of Julia affected him), he is shown mostly sitting in his tent, brooding about Pompey. The opening battle sequence was really good and I wish they had shown more of it. However, I think it was more illustrative of Roman discipline and was probably included solely for that reason, demonstrating that even a hero can be severely punished for a breach of the rigid rules (breaking the line was a no-no). I would have had Pulio show some remorse for his conduct later as he was drunk at the time. After all, he could have endangered his comrades. Something about the character doesn't ring true and I guess it's the influence of Hollywood, the need to make a 'buddy' movie sort of thing, as the strict, principled centurion constantly disciplines a wild legionnaire. (48 Hours, anyone?) However, these are minor distractions and overall, I would rate the first show - 4 stars out of 5.

The average legionnaire was small as the average height was around 5' 4" compared to the giant Germans / Gallic warriors. The soldier was toughened by constant drills, marching with 100 lb packs and a tough diet (mainly bread - meat and vegetables were more or less added as supplements). Discipline, fighting in formation and the smart use of the gladius for stabbing the enemy (who mainly fought in the phalanx type of formation) were the keys to Roman victories, something the barbarians never understood. The javelins (especially after Marius's reforms) were also soft at the joint (between the head and the shaft) so that they would bend and could not be easily retrieved or thrown back at the Romans once they penetrated the shield. In many battles, the opposing armies were so frustrated at being unable to remove the javelins from their shields that they threw away their entire shield and left themselves completely defenseless to the attacks of the Roman legionnaires. The use of Roman cavalry (especially by Caesar) was often a decisive force in many battles and they would usually rout the enemy, once the Roman infantry broke their line. The use of certain formations, like a triangular wedge also helped the Romans overcome superior numbers and penetrate enemy lines easily. Romans were not usually defeated and even when they succumbed, they fought to the last man, often in an orbis formation, a circular formation that they used as a last resort. Or, sometimes, rather than be tortured or disfigured by the enemy, the survivors would enter into a suicide pact and take their own lives.

I think a quarterly newsletter may be useful, highlighting some topics such as : 1. Upcoming book reviews 2. Literary contests or similar competitions (ancient Rome should, of course, be a subject) 3. Events, festivals, fairs, speeches or other information - if it concerns Rome 4. Member contributed articles on specific topics (by invitation - you could ask for essays on particular topics of interest) 5. Top 5 posts (maybe based on content or number of comments or some such thing) 6. Suggestion box for next newsletter ( you could invite readers of the first newsletter to send their suggestions of what they would like to see in the newsletter) Anyway, this is my 2 c.. on this

Although I wouldn't really classify myself as religious, I do think I like to understand why we are the way we are, origins of the universe and other matters using logic, science and maybe a little bit of insight from my own experiences, including meditation. I don't know if many of you caught an interesting program on Larry King a couple of nights ago where Creationism vs Science was discussed at length including something called Intelligent Design, which seems to be a pseudo science or religion masquerading as science. One of the speakers there, Deepak Chopra, made some intelligent observations and I checked out his blog too at http://choprablog.com and added my 2 c... there (for what it's worth). There are some interesting debates / discussions there which may stimulate your thoughts a bit.

Link to BBC article Here is the article that spurred my interest (previous post)

I have HBO on demand as part of my cable subscription and on Rome, there were as many as 4 or 5 separate documentaries covering 'Making of', Women of Rome, Slavery in Rome and so on. I found these short films pretty interesting overall and if you want to get HBO, this may be a good time to begin your subscription, particularly if you are fascinated with everything Roman (with me, it's mostly the pre-Empire period but I will definitely watch a show set in the late Repubic). Caesar vs Pompey ? Who can resist this? The sets and costumes look good and I do think a lot of research went into the production. There were interviews with a couple of historians (I can't recall their names readily) who explained how they researched the time and period and the pains that were taken to ensure an authentic recreation of those times. I thought a few shots of the Subura which were featured were pretty much 'on the money' and as I imagined it. This is not a clean, pristine city like in some of the earlier films of the Hollywood era but a dirtier, grimier Rome, with a lot of the confusion and the unsanitary conditions that were pretty common throughout the city, except for its more affluent sections. Conditions in the Subura must have been horrendous with the cramped quarters and the towering insulae that lined its narrow streets. I wouldn't really put much stock in what the critics say and you'll have to ultimately judge this on your own. I'm sure there will be parts which you may disagree with but I think this comes with the territory. As for me, I can't wait for this series to begin and am looking forward to it eagerly, much more than Empire.

Well, this is probably old news as for many years now, divers had already reported its existence and a couple of years ago, I recall seeing a BBC documentary interviewing some of the divers who went down and actually took photographs of the structure (a little murky) but clearly showing man made structures of stone deep underwater. They have also found a huge sunken city off the Western coast of India and are recovering artifacts and samples. It is estimated that the city was a huge, flourishing place around 10,000 years ago (around the Ice age) and the entire land mass was supposed to have broken off and submerged when some cataclysmic events took place around this time. This has been passed down in Indian myths (various flood myths) as huge tracts of land were covered by the rising sea, due to the warming of the Earth when all that mass of ice melted and changed the global climate. Of course, all of these are theories but there are many interesting things that occurred around this period. As a student of ancient history, I'm always fascinated by this, especially ancient myths. In one mythical battle (the myth is at least a few thousand years old in terms of its documentation but as there was an oral tradition, I suspect that this is much, much older), the hero (present day - being worshipped as lord Krishna) fights off his enemies with a weapon that seeks them out based on sound, as it gets really dark and no one can figure out where the enemy is hiding. Now, this tells me there was some kind of technology involved, which has been lost. There are also interesting descriptions of other weapons ( like one which sets everything on fire within a few miles - like a bomb blast) and a weapon which can be summoned and activated like a program with the correct code or 'mantra' being pronounced. Many of the 'vehicles' (described as chariots by ignorant translators or even the scribes who originally recorded these events) have some kind of propulsion system and their movements are also peculiar as some of them lift off vertically and have some kind of 'radar' on board to sense other flying vehicles. Now, I'm normally a skeptic when it comes to aliens and other technology but I can also read between the lines and figure out that there was some kind of technology involved here, which has been 'lost in translation' to borrow a phrase. The mythical battles I'm referring to are found in an ancient Indian epic poem - "The Mahabharatha". Various translated versions exist and may seem tedious in parts but if you have some patience, there are a number of interesting things here, all of which cannot be simply explained away as being the products of a fanciful imagination.

I think the chief reason why Rome still dominates history today is because of what they left behind. Due to their penchant for meticulous organization and record keeping, their system of government, their buildings, monuments, etc. etc. we have one of the greatest records of any single civilization for posterity than any other which had gone before. As another poster said, there were other great cultures, possibly even greater in certain respects but which have been completely swept away by the Romans, as if they never existed. It is like the Hellenization that took place in certain parts of what was once the mighty Persian empire as Alexander and subsequently, his generals, took control over various parts of the fragmented empire and changed it, in some cases, forever. As to the fall of Rome, it is inevitable for any empire to feel complacent after so many centuries of dominance and the simple fact was possibly that Rome had become too large, too spread out and too secure in its own ways, somewhat like the British Empire which never thought it would crumble in so short a time. There was no sense of purpose driving Rome any more, the Republic itself had become nothing but a dim memory for most Romans. Several centuries ago, to be a Roman citizen meant something and so did a visit to the august Forum, the senate of Rome. All of these institutions had become meaningless over the centuries and I think the Romans just gave up on their idea, the idea that was responsible for its formation.

I want to be frank here and the only reason I chose my profession was because of the money and I thought I could make a comfortable living off it, although my heart was never in it. In my 40's now, I feel the urge to create and do something which I like, which is to be a writer and also collaborate in one of my favorite mediums (comic books or to use a more adult term, graphic novels). I'm collaborating with another writer to produce a series of graphic novels that will chronicle the epic adventures of Caesar's Xth Legion in a graphic novel format, with a dramatic entertaining story. We have now almost scripted the first chapter ( 100 panels ), which will be the first in a 12 part series and this is something I really love, as I can transport myself to that distant time and visualize those epic times in glorious detail. Hopefully, I'll be able to share all of this with you in detail when our series gets published. We are in the process of interviewing various artists right now and if there's any artist out there, who's interested in pitching his or her work to us, send me an email.

I must get time to play this game as the graphics look really cool and I think the battle scenarios are quite interesting. I used to play the Age of Empires (Roman expansion) a lot online some years ago but haven't really got to playing games again as I've been so busy with various projects. Howeve, after reading some of the posts on this forum and viewing the graphics on this game, I'm interested again.

My novel has just been reviewed by Carrie White and you can read the review at my site !

I'm not sure if I can post here with the name of the publisher without checking with him but I'll be glad to send you his contact information if you have a manuscript ready for review. Please email me separately on this.

I agree here with Clodius. Caesar was bent upon becoming one of the greatest Romans the world had ever seen and was determined to leave a mark for posterity. I'm sure he took great pains to be appear neutral and seem logical, even dispassionate in his descriptions, as an observer of great events, with the subtle undercurrent that he was the main catalyst responsible for those events. Writing in the third person about your own acts and deeds seems less boastful and appears 'greater' in the eyes of the reader than saying I did this or that... Caesar was well aware of the enmity of various folk who could not brook his success or his victories and while he could not personally stand before them and respond, his commentaries were a subtle way of telling these people.. Look at what I have accomplished and let the facts speak for themselves on whether I'm great or not. There is no doubt about it then as well as now, that Caesar was a unique man, truly great and that's why we are so fascinated by him, even after 2,000 years. If there's one person I would have liked to meet from ancient history, that would be Caesar, my first choice, even over Alexander. He was truly intelligent and far ahead of his time.

One of the frequent challenges that any writer faces is to recreate the Roman world as it existed then and while history / biography and various other literature that exists certainly help, there are two books which I particularly liked and which you can use for research purposes. These books explore certain aspects of the daily lives of the Roman people, their private lives and may prove useful material for those looking to write that next novel or story set in ancient Rome. One is a book called "A History of Private Life" - From Pagan Rome to Byzantium Editors : Phillipe Aries and Georges Duby Another book I liked (very concise book but well written) Life in Ancient Rome by F.R. Cowell Check these out if you are looking for some good information on life in ancient Rome.

I think this site needs to be promoted more and despite being involved in Roman related stuff for years, I stumbled on this site by accident barely a couple of months ago. I think there's a lot of interesting information to read and one way of promotion is for all members with web sites or blogs to include a link with a recommendation.

To me, the real Rome died when Caesar was assassinated. In terms of research, I have generally confined my readings to a cut off date of around 25 BC or so (counting backwards). While I have read some accounts of Claudius,Nero,Caligula,Vespasian,Aurelius,Julian and a few others like Hadrian / Trajan, I would say that my reading here has been more confined to popular texts or versions. I liked the TV series - I, Claudius and I think the DVD set is pretty good. I own the Caligula LD and it is a curiosity, more than anything else. I also have the odd novel set in Rome around Nero's time or during one of the later emperors. I don't think there are many novels set in the Republic and I was pleasantly surprised to read one titled Woman of Stone by Debra Tash, covering a brief chapter in the life of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus. Check out my post under Roman media, where I've reviewed the novel (available both in print and as an ebook)

I'm involved with another writer, who's developing a script for a graphic novel / series about Caesar's beloved Xth Legion. Caesar / Pompey and the Xth will figure prominently in this, which will follow the life of an ordinary soldier in the Xth and his family, split between his father / brother, who fight with Pompey against him. It will primarily be a dramatic story with this backdrop as the familial saga unfolds over a series of graphic novels. We are developing a pilot / pitch for this project, once the script is completed and are looking for an artist to collaborate / develop 10 panels which will be part of our pitch. We will provide everything in terms of what exactly each of the panels should depict and even provide stock photos, drawings etc. of what a soldier should look like, buildings etc. etc. to aid the artist. In case any artist is interested in collaborating, please let me know. The understanding is that we will get some funding if our pitch is successful for actual production of the pilot which will be marketed widely. In fact, one of the ideas we have is to market this at various colleges / schools so that students can learn history visually as opposed to reading a dry text. Our aim is to get as much historical accuracy as possible in our scripts / text with some dramatic incidents to make it interesting and educational.

Someone should have speared the director after that disgraceful battle! It was the worst battle I've ever seen and topped the 'assassination' attempt by Antony using snakes. I wonder which writer thought of that plot angle. There were so many things wrong with Empire, I can't even begin to point them out. I was so worried about my novel and historical accuracy as I took a number of liberties throughout the text and by comparison to what has been shown in 'Empire' as 'history', I think no one, except maybe you guys here, a pretty sharp bunch, will notice! Anyway, let's wait until Aug 28th for the HBO / BBC production of Rome. I like the actor playing Caesar and hope he does a good job. In Empire, I was somehow expecting Caesar to start talking about the Underverse .. maybe they should have cast Vin Diesel as Antony.. ha, ha.. that would have been something!

Well, I do hope they come up something better than Empire. I couldn't believe the scene where they brand Octavianus. Also, the attempt by Antony to kill him using snakes was laughable.

Woman of Stone In 148 BC, the praetor or Roman governor assigned to Macedonia, Quintus Caecilius Metellus, crushes the revolt in that province, putting to bed any dreams of Macedonian independence inspired by Andriscus, a pretender to the throne, who claimed to be the son of the famous Perseus. While Metellus was busy with his new army, later honored by the senate on his return to Italy in 146 BC with the cognomen Macedonicus, the Greeks sought to lead a semi-revolt against Rome, appointing Critolaus, one of their pro-independence leaders as a dictator in Corinth... ...read the full review of Woman of Stone by Debra Tash

A new version of the ebook has just been uploaded at the site ebookad.com, where you can download my novel in various formats. This version has much more enhanced historical detail, which was cut out from the earlier edition due to some ongoing discussion with the publisher. I have now included these omitted sections as I think it greatly enhances the overall enjoyment of the novel. Also, check out the synopsis, which I'm posting here as well as on my site. I just heard from my publisher that the novel should hit stores worldwide sometime in September. If you can't wait, you can always download the ebook, available in various formats at www.ebookad.com Here is the synopsis : After an explosive start (Prologue) where a boy is kidnapped by a powerful barbarian chief, the story begins nearly ten years later, when the boy has now grown into a powerful man, a barbarian giant with almost superhuman strength but with one major physical defect, one which could kill him if he's not careful. He also has no real status and although he loves the princess he grew up with, he cannot marry her, as he is no more than a stable boy in the eyes of his 'adopted' father, the barbarian chief. Marcus Trebonius Drusus, a young Roman knight of the Ordo Equester of the Republic of Rome in 120 BC is extremely depressed and angry when the story begins. He has just married a beautiful princess with all the physical attributes that any man would desire in a woman. However, there is a major problem. She has a lover, this same barbarian giant whom she cannot abandon, even after marriage. He must marry her though, to forge an alliance between the senate of Rome and her people through a treaty. Although he does not love her, the presence of his wife