Skarr

I do think you need thumbs for archery as without them, no doubt you could launch an arrow but you wouldn't be able to hit anything with any level of accuracy. All archery techniques in ancient times involved the extensive use of the thumb in the drawing motion and arrows were lined up to be shot over the thumb. Even in ancient India, there is a story about the famous hero Arjuna, an archer without compare (from the Mahabharata - an epic on a famous battle that took place thousands of years ago) who is threatened by a rival, a young boy with exceptional skill who has also mastered the art of archery. The only way this hero triumphs is by having his teacher demand the boy's thumb as a form of "payment" for the instruction that has been granted to the boy. Without the thumb, the boy cannot hit anything, as he cannot aim properly.

I would echo what Primus has already stated.. The HBO Rome series was pretty accurate in its depiction of the city, especially the area around the Forum, which is how I imagined it, based on my research (mostly pre-Caesar) of the Republican times. There were a few buildings that I did not recognize and I think the arch shown in the triumphal scene was added much later. Apart from that, I think the production design was quite good, very impressive. Coming to the princeps / public contact, in Republican times, dictators like Sulla walked alone in the streets of Rome, unaccompanied by even clients (Sulla preferred to walk alone). However, people feared the old Sulla, almost a superstitious fear and gave him a wide berth when he roamed about the city on foot. Caesar also liked to walk rather than be carried in a litter and so did many of the other powerful men. The senators' red shoes and broad purple stripe on the borders of their togas were enough authority to sway most Romans, who would automatically defer to this and yield way for their betters, without any need to announce their presence or shove people out of the way in Rome's narrow and crowded streets. Iron weapons were forbidden and soldiers in uniform were not allowed inside the city but had to camp outside the walls. Most of the 'heavies' inside the city were gladiators or ex-gladiators, who were employed by various senators - from bodyguard work to intimidation of speakers in the Rostra. These guys sometimes carried hidden clubs in the folds of their tunics, which were useful during a riot or other melee. In imperial times, of course, things were a little different and many emperors rarely ventured outside the palace, except to go to the games or to the theater.

Moonlapse, this is a great accomplishment, in my opinion and I think every school / college should have one as this will really bring history to life. A great map is like a good reference book - one that you will keep coming back to again and again.

I did read "Da Vinci Code" and found it a good thriller, one written with a view to make a buck and little else. The author offers little or no insight and I found the so-called climatic portions of the novel, anticlimatic and can't understand what the fuss is all about, from a modern perspective. However, it just goes to show that only a few people are truly living in modern times as there are thousands, if not millions, who are still trapped in some sort of time capsule, a victim of archaic beliefs and thoughts that still seem to 'possess' their senses. As long as people continue to be trapped by the legacy of the past, no real progress will be possible, especially in terms of dogmatic beliefs that are the bane of our 21st century existence.

Just hung my framed copy on the wall and I must say, the framing makes a vast difference, particularly with an antique frame and matching antique map. I also used Perfect View glass and the end result is way better than I expected. It's great to look at it now with a huge magnifying glass to discern the finer features of the map and it really puts things in perspective.

I guess you can always go and get a money order .. that should be simple

I don't think everything originated in Africa. I guess, (I hope I don't offend anyone,) you can go back to Noah'a arc to trace origin. Noah's ark... you must be kidding, right ?

Just so folks know, I've had a couple of complaints about damaged maps (banged up and torn edges... which will be replaced of course). I've ordered some poly poster sleeves to help provide additional protection in the shipping process. Primus, My map did have a couple of tears on the edges.. However, I have already given it for framing and the frame maker said that the mat would cover the damages and would not be visible. The map looks great and it will take a couple of weeks for them to frame it. It's going to cost me a pretty penny though, as frames are pretty expensive and I went with an antique frame that matches the look and colors on the map.

The original Greeks themselves were a mix of various tribes and races who settled in those lands and many of them originally came from Central Asia or Europe. Subsequently, after the Romans dominated Greece, many of them were taken as slaves to various parts of the Roman Empire and I guess that over time, they would have not only mixed with other races but lost their very identities as they got absorbed into the various communities they settled in. I think therefore that it is nearly impossible to correlate people today who are settled in Greece with the ancient world and maybe DNA matching may provide clues to migration paths. I understand that there is a company which performs this testing and you have to send them a swab of your DNA and they can trace the migration paths from Africa [ everything originated in Africa ] to other parts of the world. I remember seeing a program on TV the other day where a woman from the Phillipines started in Africa, migrated to Europe, to Asia and some of them in fact, migrated all the way to South America. This could explain why some people from that region bear a strong physical resemblance to native Indians settled in South America [not those who came to the New World from Spain].

I see Deadwood and even Entourage have been released, why not "Rome". Thanks for the link, I registered. I hope they release this soon with tons of extras, with added footage to each episode. I think some of the scenes really looked choppy and must have wound up on the cutting floor.

Alien theories are good sci-fi / entertainment but nothing beyond that. I would defer to the argument posed by Fermi which basically asks, very simply, "If aliens exist, why aren't they here already?" The Earth is 4.5 b years old and if we assume that a space faring species took the time to explore the outer edges of our Milky Way for planets capable of sustaining life (I presume they would be like us and first explore those planets that are capable of sustaining any life at all), they may have come and gone several times already and no one would be the wiser. They may have visited the Earth when it was ruled by the dinosaurs or they may have come during a time when there was little life but those in the oceans. For all you know, some alien encylopedia may have classified this as a rock with some potential. I like the idea of Arthur C Clarke the best where, in 2001 (the year it is found), he postulates that an advanced alien civilization left a probe a couple of million years ago ( a monolith first on Earth, then traveling to the moon, waiting to be found - I didn't like the earlier part where the monolith itself, while on Earth, is responsible for creating man from apes by stimulating their brain waves and helping them develop tools and so on). When explorers on the moon stumble on the monolith, it sends a signal to a second monolith, a giant stargate of some kind through which inter-galactic travel is possible, which orbits Jupiter. In this case, the monolith acts as a kind of specimen gatherer for this advanced species' museum and the spaceship sent by mankind is captured and stored in their museum along with other species from different worlds to study and observe. Of course, in this case, there is no real contact. It would be like someone collecting a bug of some kind and placing it in a jar for later observation. Humans tend to think of themselves as unique, special and extraordinary. However, given the vastness of the universe (I think it is teeming with all kinds of life), contact with other life forms seems to be a very long shot. If I were a gambler, I would post really long odds of humans establishing contact within our lifetimes or for that matter, within several lifetimes. In terms of time, the entire human civilization has developed in a heart beat and we are only kidding ourselves when we boast that we have been around for a "long time". The odds of anyone visiting the Earth are greater during periods before humans existed than now. Sorry for the long post but I have always found this topic very fascinating.

Sangria is great with any seafood. I particularly like this with shrimp scampi (the spicy version). I must try some of the wines listed here. Last year, we had a business meeting in the Napa valley for over three days and it was nothing but wine after 5 pm. We would literally drink through the night and somehow make it through the next day's sessions. However, quantities of excellent food helped and it's no wonder the Roman empire collapsed. All that drinking and eating - we have to pay for it some day, I guess !!! I'm still recovering from the after effects of that 3 day orgy of food and wine (it's surprising we got any business done but hey, sometimes you think better after a few glasses are within you)

Some years ago, I did some research on the ancient wine drinking habits and uncovered some surprising facts. The Romans were definitely connoisseurs of fine wine and paid as much attention as we do today to the vintage, the source of the wine and of course, its quality. Each amphora, in fact, had their own identification / labeling system and was not only stamped with the year in which the wine was put inside the air tight container but also who made it and which region it was from. Amphorae were stored in special cellars (locked - the key would be given to the head steward and was jealously guarded. Even a wife had no access to the key, only the master) and the wine was stored for years, with special amphorae being opened only on important occasions, much like our behavior today. We have no way, of course, of determining their precise taste but I would imagine that the Romans, given their level of sophistication, would have had wine tasters and other experts who would probably review the quality of various wines and offer recommendations. Of course, the best recommendations would be from the elite consumers, who would probably show off their wine collection during parties and so on.

Roman battle tactics were deceptively simple, but pretty effective on the field. It was Marius, I think, who noticed that the enemy were using their own pila against them by removing them from their shields and throwing them back. An improved design helped in this regard by making a weak point where the shaft met the metal, thereby making it impossible for the enemy to remove the spears from their shields. In fact, the tactic proved so effective that, frustrated at not being able to remove the spear, many of the enemy would throw away their shields and the soldiers would then move in and make short work with their gladii The purpose of the pila was to basically disrupt the enemy and allow the soldiers to move in under their cover.

I'm not too sure that I would be rooting for an aging Indiana Jones. Maybe he could be a mentor in the movie and let a young blade take his place in some hair raising adventures. The first movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is still the best, in my opinion, especially for the spectacular opening sequence in South America. Those scenes will never be topped and one unforgettable sequence is, of course, the rolling stone ball as Jones makes his way out of the labyrinth. No matter how many times you watch it, you still feel the thrill and excitement of Ford's journey into the unknown, as he carefully steps his way to claim the golden idol.

Good point, Favonius. One thing to remember is that Romans did not enslave on the basis of color but on the basis of status. That is to say, the status of the subject nation to which the enslaved person hailed from. Another point is that slavery was not an absolute status as slaves could eventually become free (number of ways - released by master, purchase of their own freedom, extraordinary service, etc.) and although they would be known as freedmen or freedwomen in their own lifetimes, their children could become citizens and in subsequent generations, even go up the cursus honorum by becoming eligible to contest in various elections and assume magisterial positions. A few centuries after Caesar, many of the nobility were descended from slave ancestors.

Here's wishing you both a very Happy Birthday !

I think various anthropologists have argued that the female body evolved its particular shape and form to sexually excite the male and to ensure that they would get "possessed" by the most eligible or rather, the strongest male specimen. I could well imagine that weaker males in a cavemen scenario would stand less of chance to pass on their genes to posterity than stronger and more virile males. It is no different from what we see in the animal kingdom where the bigger and stronger male wins and can be observed even today in say, the way lions breed. Well, while modern men have certainly come a long way (today money and education are more important than brute strength), ancient symbols based on primitive beliefs abound. Take the venerated cross for example. I remember reading a theory that the cross was actually shaped like a T with one vertical bar and one horizontal bar right across but later on, because they wanted to emphasize the male oriented religion (meant exclusively for men, with women having no rights to preach etc. in the early Church), they elongated the bar. The 'tree of life' is another phrase with strong symbolic associations. The point here is that many of our so called 'symbols' are based on ancient views of the world, when birth must have seemed a total mystery. Where did babies come from was an adult question, not one asked by a fourth grader. People lived in groups then and women were worshipped for their creativity and it was not really known whether or not men were necessary for creating new life. Later on, as men grew wiser, women began to lose that respect they once enjoyed and soon descended from their status as divine beings, holders of the mysteries of life to a mere sexual object.

Interesting snippet, Pertinax. I do remember reading some similar legend but attributed to a different source, not Strabo. This is very interesting indeed and as someone pointed out, bears some resemblance to the myths around the Amazons, who lived apart from any men and fought like warriors as a separate unit. Of course, the quintessential love story concerning the Amazons for me is the great love that Achilles is supposed to have borne the Queen of the Amazons, whom he killed - Penthilesia. It is said that Achilles was struck by the beauty of the woman when she lay lifeless on the ground, after he had stabbed her through with his spear. Of course, there are other stories concerning this "love", if you can call it so (if you ask me, it sounds more like temporary infatuation or even insanity, if one were to believe the rumors spread by the scurrilous Thersites, the bane of the Greek camp). In a different context, I remember reading about some other island but in the Americas (off the coast of Peru?) where a colony of women lived, with the men going to work in the mainland. However, this may have been more out of economic circumstance and certainly not so brutal as the cult that probably developed in the island that Strabo is talking about. One thing to remember though is that Strabo probably never visited the island and probably got this information from a tertiary source himself and the story itself is probably more hearsay than anything else, with a kernel of truth that we may never know.

Romans did not tolerate the pirates as they not only looted merchant ships but also threatened the regular shipments of grain which the citizens of Rome had come to expect like clockwork, particularly with the expanding population and the dependence of masses of people on the handout of free bread. Food riots in Rome due to lack of bread were a major concern of the senators and they would do anything to avoid any uncertainty, particularly where it concerned their precious grain shipments. The island of Sicily was a grain basket and also home to many pirates as well as Roman rebels, who often found this a safe haven and a way of attacking Rome, by threatening its valuable food resources. Pompey's son Sextus was very successful in holding Rome to ransom and frequently had the help of pirates (who provided their ships) to ward off attacks from Antony or Octavian's fleets after Caesar's death. I think it was the clever Agrippa who eventually got rid of him. Octavian hated the sea and was always fearful of being shipwrecked. The pirates were always a thorn in Rome's flesh and could never be eradicated completely, despite successful claims made by Pompey and others who were given special powers and money to fight them. I think the worst record was that of Antony's father, Creticus, who suffered a massive defeat.

I would guess that the druids wore wool garments of some kind and as winters were cold, they would have also used furs or skins from animals. I think the druids "clad in white" may be heavily influenced by some common media representations (think Asterix). There were many sacred places - from trees, to natural formations / clearings and even open spaces. For example, a natural clearing within a thick forest would be a sacred place as also a thick stand of oak trees as this tree has been venerated for years by different cultures. I have some archival information that I need to dig into and will post here.

I think the ancients viewed "Gods" differently than the more modern view, which is part mystical, part philosophical and part acceptance that there are many unknown mysteries and humankind, despite their technological progress, has yet to answer many of the fundamental questions. I tend to view the ancients understood that there were many mysterious, unpredictable and unknown forces that not only influenced their lives on a purely physical plane - earthquakes, storms, etc. but also subtly, in that there was a mystical link between each human and his / her favorite god or spirit. What started as a mere appreciation of the power of nature became anthropomorphized as humans began associating specific aspects of nature with the forces they believed worked unseen to produce the visible effects. The Greeks were no different than other cultures in that they were themselves made up of several cultures from the Thurgans who came into the Peloponnese from Central Europe, bringing with them their myths and gods, to the all powerful Minoans or Keftians, who were a powerful sea faring nation. There were also other indigenous people settled there and the mythology is in a sense, borrowed and refined over generations as one culture blended into the next and the story of Herakles itself may have undergone several revisions or updates over time, as new cultures brought with them similar myths and feats of strength that soon become the stuff of legend. In that sense, I would agree that the "melting pot", especially in the islands that comprise a lot of Greece, must have been quite varied and intense. One must also remember that the Greeks were traditionally fragmented and developed their own societies and city states and it is only in later times, when the threat from Persia became too great to ignore, that they began to see a sense of unity and saw a real advantage in allying themselves against a common foe. This is not to say that the Persians were one race either. They were also a mix of races, cultures and tribes, with each of them owing allegiance to the satraps who were like the lords or feudal barons reporting to the top dog - Darius or Xerxes etc. Interestingly, after the Persian invasions (they were brief and the Greeks soon got rid of their invaders), some of the temples still survived for a time, as for example, temples dedicated to Anahita and other Persian goddesses, who were possibly based on the Babylonian gods and goddesses. I'm sure that many of these ancient gods / goddesses must have been Hellenized and absorbed over generations. As any history student would know, after war comes peace and with peace comes assimilation, inter marriages and other cultural exchanges that soon loose their identity. The most classic example is the Etruscan people. Today, it is very difficult for even the most erudite scholar to truly pinpoint the differences as the Etruscans were literally "swallowed" by the Romans. Today, who is an American is more a sense of what kind of person you are in terms of how you think, speak and act than which country your ancestors originally came from. Today, if you told someone in the US.. "my family was originally from Europe", you would get a slight nod / acknowledgment, that's all. I doubt anyone would bother to inquire any further and ask which specific country / region. In another century or maybe more, I think we will all be citizens of Earth. Any further differentiation may become meaningless.

I'm a CPA and also a Chartered Accountant. However, I wanted to do History and pursue archaeology. Unfortunately, due to economic pressures / family etc. I was forced to choose a bread winning line.

Primus, in HBO's Rome they have Caesar meeting Cleopatra's brother before he met her. Actually, he refused to meet with Ptolemy (much to his outrage) and only met him briefly on the morning that followed his meeting with Cleopatra, who had herself smuggled into the palace to meet Caesar secretly. Contrary to the popular Hollywood version where Cleopatra seduces Caesar on her first meeting, her primary purpose was to ensure that Caesar hear both their claims to the throne and be the arbiter of their respective fates. The next morning, Caesar summoned both of them to meet him and Ptolemy was unaware of his sister's presence and when he saw her, he screamed the vilest of abuses against Caesar and ran out of the palace where he attempted to unsuccessfully lay siege to the palace. Caesar's proverbial luck held out and he was able to barricade himself with his relatively small army and wait for reinforcements. I do agree that Cleopatra was probably more shrewd than most people give her credit. She was an erudite woman and I don't think it was primarily her beauty that attracted men like Caesar but her intelligence, her political savvy (she was well aware of everything that went on in that region) and many other qualities which made her a fairly capable leader. If you examine the coins minted by Antonius closely (I think you can view them online at the British Museum site), the images of Cleopatra are less than flattering. Given that these coins were minted with Antony's approval, I think you can make the argument that Cleopatra's beauty may be more of a myth than anything else. One thing is for sure though. There was no woman more powerful than her at the time and she was also the wealthiest woman in the world. After all, both Caesar and Antony needed tons of cash to pay their troops and wage their bloody campaigns. Who else but Egypt could finance their ambitions ?

They got the triumph all wrong and not only did they get that wrong, they also botched up the execution of Vercingetorix. First, elephants ..... Some years before Caesar celebrated his four triumphs - victories in Gaul, Egypt, Pontus and Numidia (I think that was a little controversial since Caesar fought Cato and Scipio, who were allied with King Juba and triumphs are generally given only to generals who fight Rome's enemies with a specific kill count), Pompey wanted to bring in elephants but they were too big to fit into the gate. He finally settled for a chariot with four white horses or something like that. He was disappointed but that was that. It is therefore highly unlikely that Caesar used elephants. Second, the ceremony with Octavian rubbing sacrificial blood on Caesar's face is pure BS. They would have used some kind of dye or powder, not blood, which was traditionally spilled on the ground and on the altar, open to the sky, in the tradition established by Numa Pompilius. The triumphal procession was circular in route and ended at the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus where Caesar himself, as the head priest, would have performed any ceremonies. He may have stood on the steps and waved to the crowds but there was no way he would have erected a podium as shown in the series with special guests like Atia, Antony, etc. That was all BS. Finally, Vercingetorix was paraded in the triumph (the Gaul one). After that, he was taken back to the Carcer and subsequently, strangled in the Tullianum with no spectators as this is a hole in the ground through which prisoners were lowered for execution. Later, his body would have been dumped in the Tiber or the main sewer and not burnt in reverence by Gaulish slaves. Last, did you see Antony's costume during the triumph ? Highly inaccurate.