DecimusCaesar

I'm sorry, I got a bit mixed up. I was talking about one isolated incident where they attacked a Orthodox church and one Muslim man claimed it was revenge because "the Pope had said (sic) that the muslims were violent". Re-reading my last post I realise that I haven't written it coherently . I do realise that the Pope didn't actually 'claim' that the muslims were violent (as he was just quoting the Emperor in a speech about religion and tolerance). Sorry for any misunderstanding.

I remember seeing an advertisment for a reconstruction mosaic depicting the Battle of Issus (the one discovered in Pompeii). It looked brilliant, and the artist had decided to fill the gaps that existed on the real mosaic. The only problem is that is cost a HUGE amount of money and only real Alexanderphiles and art lovers would have coughed up the amount of money to get it. I wish I could find the picture.

Alexander was made out to be a 'uniter of nations' by the Historian Tarn in the 1940's around the time that the United Nations were being formed. He was trying to find a coonection with Alexander's world and that of his own time by claiming that Alexander at Opis had made the claims that he wanted all the people in his Empire equal, whether they were Greek, Persian or Indian. One of the main reasons Tarn created this perspective for Alexander was that his image had been somewhat tarnished by the Nazis, who often associated him with their ideal of the Superman, an all conquering man devoted to war. By creating this image of Alexander as an enlightened man trying to unite the peoples of the world (like the United Nations) he was trying to rescue his image. Many people wanted to believe Tarn's image, and this idea has become popular ever since. The real truth is different. Alexander's banquet at Opis was not really equal. The Greeks were given the pride of sitting next to the King, while the Persians had to sit in another designated area. Alexander also took to wearing Persian clothes in order to improve his image with the Persian priests after he had destroyed their sacred book, the Avesta. He had realised that to insult the religion of the Persians might cause rebellion in his newly conquered provinces and so he tried to reach a compromise between the Greeks and the Persians by retaining Greek culture while adopting some Persian ways. Later on his megalomania and egotism compelled him to take his image as the Persian King of Kings to heart and he began to order his men to do 'prokynensis' (I hope I spelled that right - to kneel and blow kisses to him). As for murdering some of his generals, I believe that Peter Green's theory that Alexander killed Cleitus on purpose and not in a drunken stupor to be somewhat correct. Alexander felt threatened by some of his generals especially men like Cleitus, who opposed his orientalizing and he had deliberatly decided to rile Cleitus up on the night of his murder, in order for Cleitus, in his anger, to show his true feelings towards Alexander's Persian ways. He killed others like Parmenion because he believed that his own soldiers might rally around Parmenion if he was going to far in his orientalization.

I think it's true what the comedian Chris Morris said when he was asked if he was going to do a parody of the whole events that have taken place in the last few years involving terrorism and Jihad. He said something along the lines of to parody an event you make it ridiculous, but this whole situation is so riduculous there's no need to parody it. When you've got Muslims burning down Orthodox churches (not Catholic ones) as revenge for the Pope's claim that they are violent, you beging to see his point. The whole situation would be silly if it weren't so depressing.

I was wondering if archaeologists had dug up the remains of the Colossus from the bottom of the ocean. I think I read a few years back that they had managed to drag up a few smaller pieces. I haven't seen any of it, and I was wondering if they are on display or if the Archaeologists took photographs of the monument at the bottom of the sea.

It was something he would have attempted if he had lived. Alexander was addicted to conquest and as Arrian said, he would have attempted the conquest of Europe as well as massive building projects in the lands he had already conquered, among them a gigantic Pyramid to honour his father Philip. He was planning on making it much larger than the Pyramid of Khufu.

Thanks for the information on the Egyptian court of this period. I've been wondering if he depiction was accurate for a few days now and I was only getting pictures and descriptions showing the Egyptian court wearing antiquated clothing from the Bronze Age.

Yes, that's the one. It was aired around the same time that the Pompeii documentary was made. I think they re-used some of the scenes from that old show or they just filmed new scenes with actors dressed in the exact same costumes. It just looked too familiar. As for the amphitheatres in Rome, I'm not sure if they were made out of wood at this period, but the 'spectacula' built during the republic (in Capua ?) was made out of stone.

Tacitus is another good read on the early Emperor's of Rome, even if the reign of Caligula is missing as well as some parts about Claudius. Penguin: The Annals of Imperial Rome The Histories. Suetonius is also a favourite of mine.

Another thing I noticed is that Tigellinus, the Praetorian Commander, often gets the blame of corrupting Nero and he is often talked of as one of the people who was responsible for encouraging the Emperor in his depravities, yet in the documentary we don't see much of this, instead he just carries out Nero's orders and does his dirty work for him. Didn't Tigellinus get replaced as Praetorian Commander by Nymphidius Sabinus towards the end, unlike the documentary?

Wonderful gallery Pertinax, I like the screen grabs!

Pertinax, I shall look for your article it sounds interesting. I have also read that Woad gives off a terrible smell, similar to rotting eggs. Is this true? It might have made covert operations of the Britons very hard to pull off if the Romans could smell them coming.

I agree yet I thought it rather strange that Nero's earlier life was ignored,especially his realationship with his mother Agripinna. Still it was a very good production. I noticed that Mary Beard was the historical consultant for the show, I think her review of Rome was posted here recently.

interestingly it has the fleur-de-lis in the middle. On another note, I still can't find the source claiming that it was Marius who invented the Roman salute, perhaps John Keegan was mistaken about it, but I still can't find. The swastika was also a popular symbol among Roman soldiers in the third century AD as depicted on the 'Great Hunt' mosaic at Piazza Armerina in Sicily. Here is an illustration- Dura Europus Soldiers

Ha ha! Nice onePrimus!

The passage is in Appian's civil wars - Book II section 11-12 "undaunted Bibulus bared his throat for the knife and at the top of his voice called on Caesar's friends to do the deed..."

Thanks Nepilla!

That is because we do not see them until episode two: Attia offers Pullo dormice when both he and Vorenus return young Octavian to her. This makes sense if Mary Beard saw the version that was aired on the BBC as both episode one and two had been cut down and stuck together. There are more inaccuacies concerning the leather wrist guards the characters often wear, none of the legionnaires or Centurions or even high ranking officers wore these things, yet they appear in almost every depiction of Rome (including the 2002 film 'Julius Caesar'). They seem to be based off of Greek Hoplite arm guards. Caesar also had a strange fashion sense according to Suetonius, "he added wrist-length sleeves with fringes to his purple-striped tunic..." yet his clothes in the series show no sign of this, even though it was rather unfashionable to do so. His cuirass is also inaccurate in some ways, especially with the eagle emblazzoned upon it. He would have probably worn a cuirass with a rhomboid motif rather than an eagle. There are many others that I shall add later...

The only source I can find of Caesar using violence against Bibulus is in 'The Twelve Caesars' when Bibulus delayed the agrarian law and he was driven from the forum 'by force of arms'. This event took place before his retirement to his home. It doesn't mention Caesar threatening to kill him, even in the 'Civil wars' Caesar tries to pass himself off as a man who is always willing to forgive Bibulus even after he burned some of the ships and refused to meet with Caesar before his death.

It's strange to see that trade connection to India could have survived in the east betweens Romans during this era seeing as the Sassanids would have done their best to exhaust the coffers of Rome and Constantinople, but Skarr's article makes sense if the goods were passed through Arabia, a neutral territory. As for the Trade between China, the Romans got a hold on silk worms themselves and could still produce garments made from silk during the later Empire, even as the trading links with China began to decline.

I'm also getting on to this pretty late, Brilliant stuff Nepilla. There have been lot of good names on this, mine will be more difficult, no doubt.... Male- First name: fdadyd Middle name: nawio

Thanks for the links Ludovicus, I have seem a similar style painting to the one you have posted in a book on the Aztecs. I have also seen 16th Century drawings depicting natives been set upon by dogs. Those hounds they had were massive.

An interesting find! I remember reading about 'Lucy' a few years back, it's amazing that anthropolagists were able to recreate her final moments on earth with just a few fragments of bone. I think since then Ororin man (?) was named the oldest specemin of a hominid found (about 5 Million years ago).

That's a good clip Cato. Blaming Michael Palaelogus is easy. I liked the part where he was using 'his words' to break up with a girlfriend.