DecimusCaesar

Maybe Captain Kirk did it with a phaser? Damnit Jim, I'm a doctor, not an archaeologist. [My apologies for this off-topic, and hopelessly geeky diversion] I recently saw a clip from William Shatner's Alexander the Great TV-show of the 1960's. Very cheaply done - I think you can buy a low priced DVD from Amazon or other internet sellers.

Great review Ursus! I personally enjoyed much of the second season, although I could agree with you on some of the faults in the series.

In Michael Wood's 'In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great' he mentions talking with modern Zoroastrians in Iran. One of the men tell Mr.Wood that Alexander burned their holy book 'The Avesta' but makes no mention of him killing any priests. Then again, I'm not entirely sure if Alexander burned the Avesta. That itself might be a myth.

Michael Grant devotes a good chapter to anti-Germanic sentiments in his 'Fall of the Roman Empire'. He discusses how the Romans believed that the Germans were a destructive, aggressive and smelly people. Many late Roman writers, especially Claudian, even consider the Germanic foederati serving in the Roman army to be expendable. The Germans could have been assimilated into the Empire, but the Romans often found it difficult to work among them, and the Germans themselves would often take advantages of Rome's weakness. Sidonius, Paulinus of Pella, Ammianus Marcellinus, Orosius and many others wrote very negatively of the Germans. Others like Synesius of Cyrene were very hostile. Prudentius wrote of them: "As Beasts from men, as dumb as those who speak, As from the good who God's commands seek Differ the foolish heathen, so Rome stands, alone in pride among the barbarian lands." Hatred of German settlers had grown so much by the time of Honorious, that around AD 408/9/10 there were pogroms launched against them. Later Church chroniclers of the fifth century write a little more positively about the Germans. Yet the main reason for this was that the Germans were being seen as God's avengers, punishing the wicked Romans for their sins. It was basically an attempt to make a bad situation look good. Afterall, many Pagans argued that since Christianity had become the Empire's official religion, the Empire was struck by invasion and disaster. The Christian answer to this was to claim that the coming of the Barbarians was all in God's plan. This one of the main ideas of Saint Augustine's 'City of God'.

Barry Cunliffe and Simon James do agree that it is very hard to define ancient Europeans. The 'Celts' of continental Europe had some similarities but they were also very different. The Gauls and the Iberians were distinctly different in appearance, religion and architecture for instance. Francis Pryor mentions that there were regional differences in technology, architecture and artistic styles in Britain as well. In parts of Scotland, the people lived in large stone Brochs, while those of southern England lived in sprawling Oppida. Northen England had a distinctly different sense of burial, with men being buried in graves with their chariots and worldly goods. The tribes of North Wales did not produce their own pottery (leaving large blanks in the archaeological record) and they had bronze tools instead of the Iron types used in Eastern England. Pryor emphasises that there were big differences between these regions of Britain...so much so that the different tribes might have considered their neighbours had come from the moon. Tacitus mentions these differences, as outlined by Northern Neil. But I personally don't think that the differences were that big. For instance, we have tribes from several different regions joining each other during Boudica's rebellion of AD 60. Caractacus also had support from the tribes of Wales, and he sought help from Cartimandua from Northern England (even though he was betrayed). Perhaps these tribes felt the need to unite in the face of Roman domination. Then again they might have had peaceful connections stretching back to prehistoric times - afterall, Stonehenge was built with stones brought from several different areas.

Thanks, Nepele. I've been looking through these posts - it's a great wishlist! I'm not sure that all of the ideas would be taken up though, but I really like the SPQR one, but I think again that this sort of thing would make a good series - a la "Rome." I'm surprised not to have seen Pyrrhus of Epirus in the lists. He's great fodder for a mini-series, I reckon - his story has it all - he even gets killed in battle (albeit rather unheroically, but thems the breaks). Russ That's a brilliant idea. I would like to see a film about Pyrrhus...his life was heroic, tragic and often funny. It would make for a good film, although it would be very difficult to market. I suppose that's why we see a dozen movies an tv shows on Caesar or Cleopatra (they are great, and relativily well known stories), but none on the other periods of Greco-Roman history, as well the other civilisations of the Ancient World. Persoanlly, I'd like to see a Epirean Phalanx facing Rome in battle on the big screen.

For the most part, even the hard-core accuracy nuts around here were largely quite pleased with season 1. Season 2, in both accuracy and script writing, simply wasn't up snuff. Still definately worth a watch though. I really enjoyed series 2, having watched parts of it again. I only wish it had lasted longer, as I felt as if the last few episodes had been rushed. The series had some really great moments, and was really well acted. I also enjoyed the portrayl of Cicero and Brutus...their final moments in the series were rather moving. This series also felt much more epic than the first, what with the inclusion of larger sets for the Aventine, and the great battle of Philippi. The only downside of the series was the inclusion of the strange plot involving Levi and Timon, and the fact that the Antony and Cleopatra plotline was rushed. If Season 2 had the tight script of the first Season it would have been even greater.

Happy Birthday MPC! I've just viewed the Caesar assassination a while back on Youtube. Link below: The Murder of Caesar I can't watch Rome at the moment as both seasons 1 & 2 are on loan. I've been watching the Wire instead!

Henry VIII has been making a bit of a come back lately. I've never understood why all sixteenth century dramas have to concentrate on Tudor England. It would be nice to have one that looks at the European incursions into the Americas, or the life of Emperor Maximillian or King Philip II.

A very late Happy Birthday Viggen!

Greek Fire was invented in around AD 674 by a Syrian architect and chemist called Callinicus. According to a 13th century military writer, Mark the Greek, the weapon used a mixture of sulphur, saltpeter, gasoline, pine resin and gum resin. It use in battle is difficult to reconstruct. It was often put into shells and fired from catapults and ballistas, but it was also contained in a mechanical pump, which could be used to spray it over a short distance. This flamethrower would be operated by a siphonator , a Fire engineer. The flamethrower pump would be conatined on a towered prow of the battleship called a kastelloma. The flame thrower would be protected in this manner, although the Byzantines would also employ soldiers to defend the siphonator with large shields. A Byzantine writer described the flamethrower siphon being contained inside a wooden structure : "Let there be a false floor above such a flamethrower, made of planks and also enclosed with planks all around..."

These ideas are repeated in Francis Pryor's 'Britain AD'. Pryor goes one step further by claiming that there were no Anglo-Saxon migrations to Britain, and that the culture of the Saxons were imported peacefully by traders. He also agrees with the DNA evidence, and he says that there is very little evidence for native Britons uprooting during the fifth century (as they would have done in the face of an invasion). As for the DNA evidence, it is difficult to come to conclusion based on research as it is often contradictory. For instance, research carried out by Dr. Mark Thomas of the Center for Genetic anthropology at University College London in 2004, came to the exact opposite conclusion of Oppenheimer's research. He claims that the English share their DNA with the Dutch. Research by Dr. Brian Sykes on the other hand points to a strong genetic connection between the people of Britain with the Basques of continental Europe.

The Dominate is my favourite period too, and I'm also interested in early Byzantium. I'd also like to learn more about the 'age of anarchy' that preceeded the dominate, but there doesn't seem to be much good books about the era. Other than that, I'm also interested in the late Republic and the first century AD - especially the emperors and the society of that period.

When Neanderthal skulls were first discovered in Europe many of them had holes in them. The Archaeologists supposed that the holes were caused by cannibals who drilling into the head to get to the brains. Later research showed that the bone had healed and that the Neanderthals were actually performing a type of brain surgery called trepanation. Now we have come full circle again to neanderthal cannibalism. Come to think of it, haven't there been a dozen reports on the possible cause of neanderthal extinction in the last few months? Archaeologists of the Paleolithic period must be working into overdrive!

Happy Birthday Gaius!

Is this drama-documentary part of a new series on heroes and villains of history? If so, did anyone catch the episode about Attila the Hun a few weeks back? In terms of costumes and sets it was the most realistic depiction of the Late Roman Empire ever seen, but unfortunately the content was very poor. There were huge generalisations and plenty of omissions to the story. About half of the episode was dedicated to Attila and Bleda's siege of Naissus - yet there was no depiction of his invasion of Italy at all. It sounds to me as if the Spartacus episode was very similar - if this really is part of a series. Here's the trailer to the episode anyway:

Happy Birthday to everyone. I hope you all enjoyed your day, and that you got what you all wanted!

I know a few words but I don't think I could string a sentence together in the language. I have always wanted to learn but I consider it a far too complex and daunting task. If I ever buy a book on Latin the chances are I will have given up on it after a few weeks.

The Macedonian Pezhetairoi (phalangites) often had a small or medium shield when in battle. The shield was strapped to the arm and a leather strap was placed around the neck or shoulders for support. They did not carry their shields in the same style as the Roman legionaries - that is, in their hands.

While not exactly a FPS, Shadow of Rome for the Playstaion 2 is a game where you control a Roman Centurion in third person. I haven't played it before, but it's apparently set during the last days of the Republic. I also think you can take part in gladiator games and chariot races although I'm not too sure. Here's the link for the game on Amazon - Shadow of Rome

I't would be great to have a look at the list - especially considering the influence that Sassanid persecution of Christians had on the Roman psyche. These religious persecutions got very bad during the reign of Heraclius during the Byzantine Period. At one time the Persians had whipped the people of Jerusalem up into rebellion after the ill treatment they had suffered at the hands of the Romano-Byzantines.

Thanks for posting PP - I've come across a few of those lists before. I found the one on Medieval Law and Order very enlightening, especially as my view of the subject had been one of torture and cruel deaths for the smallest of crimes. It would seem that laws became harsher during the Early Modern Period rather than the Medieval.

I have always wanted to play the Europa Universalis games. They looked like an interesting strategy game centering on the Conquistadors through to Napoleon. Now that they have a game set in Roman times it is even more of a reason to give this series a look.

A big budget film about Julian the Apostate would be worth a look. He is an intruiging person, and if they made a film of his life there would be plenty of drama, intrigue and big battles to keep the viewer interested.

Ancient Inventions by Peter James and Nick Thrope illustrates how these surgical instruments were used. It is a fascinating subject, and jsut goes to show how far Roman medical knowledge spread.