WotWotius

Likewise. Maybe there is some epigraphical evidence for Spartans serving under the Roman eagle.

Autonomy protected by a client king? Nothing struck you as odd when writing that? So being so pernickety, I have the flu. Besides, I have edited the statement slightly to make it more correct.

I believe that there is something wrong with that picture if it was taken in 1892. The radiators, flag, blinds, lighting, dress and desks look more like 1950. It is a picture from an article on the Bellamy salute, and in the article, it is mentioned that 'It was first demonstrated on October 12, 1892 according to Bellamy's published instructions for the National School Celebration of Columbus Day'. I do not believe that the article even implies the photo is from 1892, it just uses it as an example of the Bellamy salute. Gaius was probably right in saying that it was probably from 1950s.

In regard to the Jews, Emperor Claudius also seems to have had a fairly tolerant policy: 'Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, pontifex maximus, holding the tribunician power, proclaims: . . .Therefore it is right that also the Jews, who are in all the world under us, shall maintain their ancestral customs without hindrance and to them I now also command to use this my kindness rather reasonably and not to despise the religious rites of the other nations, but to observe their own laws.' -Edict of Claudius, 41 AD. Additionally, autonomous rule in Judea was, to some extent, installed when Herod Agrippa was appointed the region's client king.

My thoughts exactly...

1) Pop tarts. 2) Transformers the Movie on DVD. 3) A pair of pirate themed long-johns. 4) A car with 'go-faster' stripes. 5) The power to control time with my mind. 6) A grey chinchilla called Dave. 7) World peace A 1974 custom telecaster.

Residences were only built above back-street bathhouses known as balneae; they were often privately owned and therefore the owners had planning permission to exstras to the buildings. It seems unlikely that the state owned thermae baths--the larger, more famous Imperial baths--were built to accommodate people. In his Moral Epistles the 1st Century philosopher, Seneca complained about the horrendous noise he had to endure when he lived above a balneae: 'I'm surrounded by the most terrible racket.... When the top gymnasts are training and swinging their lead dumb bells, when they are labouring or pretending to labour, I hear them groan.... And if I get some lazy bather who wants no more than a cheap massage, then I hear the sound of the hand slapping the shoulders.... And let us not leave out the picker of quarrels, the petty thief caught in the act, the man who is in love with the sound of his own voice in the bath.'

Very true, in fact I believe that Hadrian commissioned more statues of Antinous than he did for himself. These of statues of Antinous are just three of dozens that have survived. When the young man died under mysterious circumstances, Hadrian went as far as naming a star after him: 'Finally Hadrian declared that He had seen a star which he took to be that of Antinous, and gladly lent an ear to the fictitious tales woven by his associates to the effect that the star had really come into being from the spirit of Antinous and had then appeared for the first time.' -Dio Cassius, Epitome of Book 69

I read somewhere that during the Imperial period, Spartans were enrolled as auxillia for service against the Parthians by the emperors Lucius Verus, Septimius Severus and Caracalla. Does anybody have a source for this?

Could it be that the initial rise in Rome's Republican population was due to the fact that, as a result of her numerous overseas wars, Rome was receiving a vaster number of slaves than she ever had (much more than in the time of Augustus). Butthen again, why would slaves appear on a Republican Census? Yes, but this decline in birth rate has only been document as taking place amongst the upper classes. I am quite inclined to believe that the urban poor did not have such a free roam with birth control. Maybe Pertinax will enlighten us about the matter. Oh, and this Keith Hopkins character sounds interesting. Which ones of his books would you recommend? As far as I know colonisation was still taking place: it was up to Augustus to fully Romanise Gaul and Hispana, and this was done by establishing colonia such as Colonia Agrippa. Besides, even if it was not, the colonies founded during the '50 years of the Republic' were only founded during that time; they may have only flourished during the time of the principate.

Alexandria also had a sizable Jewish population.

I have made my final decision: 1 + 2. And as for the travelling, if I pick a certain module for the Archaeology part of my course, I get to excavate the site of a Roman frontier fort in Egypt.

Are you basically saying that the original figure given by Plutarch was so low because that Rome's male population, rather than being decimated by civil war, was in fact off fighting the civil war? So once Octavian restored peace to the Empire and disbanded her surplus legions, Rome experienced a great influx of men... that seems to make sense. In my view, it seems that the Principate was much better suited to supporting a large population than the Republican government ever did. Though the average Roman pleb was would have still been suffering various social injustices under the Principate--as stated in previous discussions--from what I have read into the matter, quality of life and maybe even life expectancy was better under the rule of emperors. For instance, the centralised government provided by Augustus initiated various building programs designed to appease the urban poor; most notable of which were the three aqueducts built under the supervision of Marcus Agrippa, and after his death, under the eyes of three curators of the water supply (all of which were well established patricians at the height of their careers). Once built, the aqueducts were thoroughly maintained and monitored: according to Dio, Agrippa had a troop of 240 trained slaves to repair them and to cut off people who have tapped the water supply illegally. Because water was now so readily available, Augustus was in a position to order the construction of the Baths of Agrippa: Rome's first large-scale public baths. Another service provided under the principate was the fight service. After the antics of Rufus Egnatius--a praetor who attempted to form a fire brigade--Augustus created his own fire brigade under the command of an adile; though this did not really amount to much. However, in 6 AD, he eventually brought the Cohortes Vigiles into existence--town watchmen who also acted as firefighters. During the age of Augustus, wholesale slum clearance was beyond the technology and the think of the time. Suetonius tells us that Augustus did however re-house people living in the slums cleared to make way for the Forum Augustum. He additionally proposed legislation to limit the number of stories attached to the Roman apartment (insulae). But if we are to believe the satirist Juvenal, this law was often evaded. Augustus' reign witnessed the beginning of a permanent free Annona ration: 'I made grain and cash contributions from my granary...sometimes for 100, 000 people or more.' -Res Gestae During a particularly bad famine in 22 BC grain was supplied at a '...very cheap rate; sometimes he provided it for free...' -Suetonius, life of Augustus. Finally there was also the additional perk of Augustus' freebies such as games and and largesse: 'None of Augustus' predecessors had provided such splendid shows.' -Suetonius, life of Augustus 'His awards of largesse to the people were frequent...' -Suetonius, life of Augustus All of these services may well have arisen if the Republic prevailed. However, under the centralised rule of Augustus these services were provided more quickly and efficiently than they would have done under the bureaucratic Republic. My point being that because of all these services, quality of life would have been better under the principate, the city may have been able to support such great influx of people.

I will have to agree with you, but because the opening is so spectacular, I still regard Gladiator as one of my favourite films.

Hmmmm 5th century. That's really late for a new Roman building in Britannia, isn't it? Late yes, but not the sort of thing that should really be surprising. Yes, during the early 5th Century Britannia was one of the few Roman provinces still experiencing a 'golden age'. Many of the spectacular courtyard villas such as Chedworth and Bignor Roman Villa reached their zenith during this time.

I've been looking into the matter of Roman singing, and it seems that it was a part of the everyday life of common plebs. Tibullus informs us that: 'Weaving women in unremitting service to Minerva sing while the loom clatters as the clay weights swing.' Singing was also a popular with a certain emperor: 'While he was singing no one was allowed to leave the theatre even for the most urgent reasons. And so it is said that some women gave birth to children there, while many who were worn out with listening and applauding, secretly leaped from the wall, since the gates at the entrance were closed, or feigned death and were carried out as if for burial.' While you are all probably aware of the amusing musical antics of Emperor Nero, the source does confirm that most public choral performances took place in theatres. There are also reports of complaints for bad singing in the bathhouses. Does anybody know a source for this?

...that you were.

I have recently finished doing an A-level--I don't know much about the US education system, but you are probably doing something similar--in American History. The course involved writing many an essay; if any of them are relevant, I will send them to you if you want.

From what you have posted, I understand that you received Gladiator with an air of bitterness. I know that the sets were thoroughly sterile, but come on, the opening is one of the best I have ever seen--it is up there with the opening to Saving Private Ryan.

I suppose the quote was mediated so that the English translation would rhyme.

This is probably a bit off topic, but how did the whole concept of germicides develop in Ancient Rome? I assume it was due to simple trial and error, but nothing is never that simple.

Wow, you share your birthday with the with great historical figures such as Elizabeth I of England and Eazy-E. Oh, and happy birthday! :thumbs_up:

I had a thumb through Suetonius, and according to him the song actually goes: 'Home we bring our bald whoremonger; Romans, lock your wives away! All the bags of gold you lent him Went his Gallic tarts to pay.' Another marching song, sung by the legions of Caesar during his famous quadruple triumphs, goes as follows: 'Gaul was brought to shame by Caesar:By King Nicomedes, he. Here comes Caesar, wreathed in triumph For his Gallic victory! Nicomedes wears no laurels Though the greatest of the three.' It seems strange that the latter song reinforces Caesar's reputation for homosexuality, and the former suggests the complete opposite. Maybe his legions loved him so much, they felt comfortable enough to mock him facetiously in the manner that friends do.

This morning I received a module option form from Exeter University's Classics and Ancient History department. Upon inspecting it I was immediately confronted with dozens of options for my further study of Greece and Rome; of these I had to pick two. After mulling over my choices, I managed to narrow it down to four modules. Which two of the following should I choose? 1) Ancient Sources (written evidence): Roman Historical Writing--Sallust, Livy and Tacitus. 2) Ancient Sources (written evidence): Archaic Tyranny--Pheidon of Argos, Cypselus of Corinth, Pisistratus of Athens, Cleisthenes of Sicyon, Theagenes of Megara, Pittacus of Mytilene, Polycrates of Samos and Cleomenes I of Sparta. 3) Ancient Sources (material evidence): Greek Temples. 4) Ancient Sources (material evidence): Brave New Rome of Augustus--architecture of the Principate.

And what of the cities in Britannia Romana?