M. Porcius Cato

I agree with GO. It's more fun when you serve a little biographical tidbit with your coifs and locks.

I'm sorry, Caldrail, this is total tommy rot! I am not sure what books you have been reading at all! There was the little thing called The Augustan Peace; there was an enormous rebuilding programme and advances in engineering; there was the founding of colonies; there was stability. Augustus's reign was remembered for all these things. And you are not prepared to call them 'events and advances'? Words fail me, for once - they really do. Augustus' reign may have contained many fine things, but this thread was on the man and not his legacy. I don't think Caldrail is wrong to point out that Octavian's character (at least when he was young) is relevant to understanding "what Augustus was like". I assume you don't think that it was the avuncular Brian Blessed-type of fellow who had the family of Livia murdered?

I have a Pandora. It's a great name--my iPhone really does present "many gifts". And Pandora was the Greco-Roman Eve, which makes for a great Apple connection. (As does Atalanta and Helen.)

I voted for George Washington--but mostly out of prognostication rather than historical record. Without GW, there would be no United States of America, and I think the strong historical influence of the US on the 20th century (the defeat of totalitarianism and the triumph of capitalism, science, and technology) will be replicated in the 21st century with the defeat of the Islamic fundamentalists and neo-communists (aka "international populists") and with yet another technological explosion (in robotics and medicine) that will dwarf all previous ones in improving the quality of life on this planet. If the US manages to last for another 200 years after that (i.e., from 1776 to 2276), it will go down in history as another massive success for republican government, and George Washington will be seen as the American Junius Brutus. All of this is sheer speculation, but I don't think it's too early to begin celebrating Washington right now.

This one is perfect on so many levels--in fact, Cato's son Cato was in love with a Psyche.

If the portrait isn't period, can you give a little more of a hint?

We Mac users name all of our tech toys--iPods, iPhones, MacBooks, etc. The names I choose are typically drawn from the mortals who defied the gods in some way (Prometheus, Phaeton, Arachne, Atalanta, etc), and I'm looking for some more great names, preferably female, as part of the same theme. Any ideas?

BTW, Marcus Claudius Marcellus was a Patrician; tsk, tsk... No. The Marcelli were plebeian. See HERE: they were the most illustrious of the plebeian branches of the Claudii.

There seem to be an inconcistence here since Vorenus claim in the second episode that his ancestors fought in battles of Zama and Magnesia. Not an inconsistency in the show, though. If I were to finish the Vorenus quote, it would be "...I'm as solid a Roman as anyone! I've fought for Rome. My father fought for Rome, as did his father and his father before him. My wife was born here on the Aventine ..." That's from memory, but I'll bet I'm pretty close.

The discussion about 'imperator' seems irrelevant to the question at hand. No one would doubt that Augustus was an emperor, yet his titles were all rather ordinary ones (imperator, princeps, etc) held by people who were not in fact emperors. Nor is supreme power the distinguishing factor either--Sulla, Caesar, and Augustus dominated all political life, yet there was clearly something unique about Augustus' dominatio. Best I can tell, the most important factor setting Augustus against his equally monarchical predecessors was the lex Titia, which was an explicit sanction of the people for his re-organization of the state. Neither Caesar nor Sulla enjoyed such a strategically important own-goal from the democratic assemblies, and thus Augustus also could claim with some authority to have the sanction of the people in his actions.

There is no hair visible in the original uncropped photo. That having been said, there are several clues to this person's identity in the photo I've posted. He's got that crazy Alexander hair. It's not Alexander is it?

Can't we see a bit more of his hair?

Bingo

It was likely raised in Cisalpine Gaul (simply as a matter of proximity convenience) just prior to Caesar crossing the Alps against the Helvetii. Though Caesar himself claims it was in Italy proper... Bellum Gallica 1.10.. Interesting. Back to the show, when Vorenus ran for a magistracy, he responded to a heckler ("Go back to Gaul, Gingernut!") by saying "I'll not deny, friend, I have a Gallic look about me, but I'm as solid a Roman as anyone!" Might be the motto of Legio XI.

Let me expand slightly: Although this plebeian made history in mathematics, geometry presented him with considerable challenges.

With regard to Jocasta's introducing Octavia to smoking hemp, Herodotus writes: [4.74] Hemp grows in Scythia: it is very like flax; only that it is a much coarser and taller plant: some grows wild about the country, some is produced by cultivation: the Thracians make garments of it which closely resemble linen; so much so, indeed, that if a person has never seen hemp he is sure to think they are linen, and if he has, unless he is very experienced in such matters, he will not know of which material they are. [4.75] The Scythians, as I said, take some of this hemp-seed, and, creeping under the felt coverings, throw it upon the red-hot stones; immediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapour as no Grecian vapour-bath can exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for joy, and this vapour serves them instead of a water-bath; for they never by any chance wash their bodies with water. To me, it's all clear now. Hemp-smoking barbarians who refuse to bathe? The Scythians were hippies!

Where was Legio XI raised? Could it be that they had a Dalmatian in their ranks?

Bastards! That's why I subscribe to HBO.

Neat observation. And what of Vorenus?

Nice observation. IMO, Brando gave a good performance as Don Corleone, and I'd even argue that Brando gave the best performance of that thug Antony--until Purefoy's almost perfect performance.

No. No. No. And No, it's not Citius Altius Fortius, nor is it his sister Altia.

His contribution to mathematics can't be underestimated.

Sure, it's possible. But Pompey had also mellowed in his old age. Most immediately, he had shown some forbearance in voluntarily taking a colleague in office when he needn't have done so. Maybe that was a calculated move for the sake of appearances, but in conjunction with Pompey's other actions, I'm inclined to think that he wanted to dial down the volume on the political rivalries that existed in the lead-up to Jan 44. In any case, my point remains that there were those who rather energetically attempted to save the republic.

Ha! Like the government would ever do something stupid like that! Oh, wait ... Maybe they'll come to their senses now that everyone from Alan Greenspan to Paul Krugman (see NYT today) recognizes that a bail-out is a cure worse than the disease.