Augustus Caesar Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 I have often wondered exactly what I would do if I could go back in time to the era when Rome was glorious and all powerful under Augustus. Basically as a fly on the wall but preferably able to interact with anyone without changing the course of history in any way. Would I go to the Senate and see how it worked? Would I follow Augustus around to see the politic of the guy? Would I try to understand Livia or any one of the great man's family? Would I walk the streets getting a feel for every day living as an ordinary citizen? Would I prefer to be a soldier or Centurion or part of the Palace Guard? Would I make notes of everything I see and bring it all back to prove historians wrong? Would I keep the information to myself so as to not destroy too many illusions? Would I do a disservice by not talking of what I had learned? Would I look at all the ancient structures in their true glory and disprove so many theories about them? There are hundreds of questions I would ask here and many more for the Romans were I to go back to their ancient and wonderful (?) world. So I ask you all... what would you do? Given you couldn't take ANY technology with you nor be able to alter history or influence anyone or anything while there directly or indirectly. All you could do would be able to draw or write things down. You could talk to many people, including all the top brass without any fears. You would have six months to observe... let's say you couldn't be killed either and if you were you wouldn't be allowed back there for a second chance (just to keep it simple here)!!! Look at it objectively and come back with what you may have discovered within those six months.... be sensible!! I am curious to see just what you folk are keen to know that isn't obvious by your posts. Personally and briefly, I would be looking at the construction of the major buildings plus my obvious favourite, Hadrian's Wall. I would also look to see how the politics worked in the Senate especially at the time of Augustus himself. His family intrigue me a lot and so any facts I could find about them would be wonderful. Many things like scrolls that would contain many of our missing links in history and also for greater knowledge of how Rome managed to construct the Empire it dd. Also basic, mundane, everyday life of its citizens. How did they really get on? Was it so different to today in comparison of theirs and our struggles to survive? The list goes on.... I await like a true Roman would..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 I would rather go during the rule of Antoninus Pius. Nice and quiet and more monuments to see. If I had the money and speak latin and greek I would try to see what roman cuisine is and other epicurean endevours perfected by the romans. Then travel a lot around the empire. In the mean time I'll read many lost books. After I get bored I recruit some ships and soldiers and conquer Cuba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Neil Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 (edited) For me it would be a visit to the Saxon Shore fortifications during the independent Britannia period under Carausius. Then I could learn what their actual function was, and just what did fill the empty spaces within the fort walls. A close second would be the Council of Nicaea, watching all those bishops accepting a radically altered and watered down version of their mystery religion, in response to imperial sweetners and threats. Maybe I could smuggle in a digicam to catch images of the soon to be destroyed gnostic and apocryphal texts. Edited December 9, 2007 by Northern Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvadius Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 (edited) Personally the thought of being able to install a fire proof safe in the basement of the Villa of the Papyrii, and preferably another in the Great Library in Alexandria, does have a certain appeal. Especially if I could persuade the owners/ those in control to put a complete duplicate set of scrolls from their libraries inside and marking the spot for later archaeological recovery. If it has to be down to interacting and no technology, given that my Latin and Greek could be brought up to par, being able to observe everyday life in some of the Roman sites I've visited comes a close second. I first thought of a temple site where there are no written records or inscriptions to say which god was being worshipped. However I am not set on this location as there are lots of sites where such observation would fill in blanks that the current archaeological and other investigative disciplines will probably never fully answer. Edited December 9, 2007 by Melvadius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Porcius Cato Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 Six months isn't enough time to lift the veil covering the early republic, so I guess I'd spend my time studying with the jurists and historians who lived through the tyranny of Sulla. At that time, Romans were desparate to put things back on track, and so interest in political and legal history was unusually high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursus Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 I'd actually like to see the Roman monarchy, when it was under the shadow of the Etruscans. Considering most of the "history" of the era is legend, there would be much to discover. A close second would be the poorly documented Crisis of the Third Century, not only what was happening in Rome but in the break away "empires" of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augustus Caesar Posted December 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 Aahhh... I should have known one of you would want to smuggle a didgicam in there somewhere... sadly, it isn't allowed. It would vanish in a puff of dematerialisation through time travel... sorry NN!! It is interesting to see just how diverse some of the early comments are. Thnks guys!! Kosmo's wish to 'go during the rule of Antoninus Pius' is a good one. The cost and language barrier shouldn't be thought of here as restriction. Imagine you have been well rehearsed in all things Roman including local customs and traditions etc... Reading lost books would be fascinating and such a huge eye opener wouldn't it? Not only would you get the Roman authors' point of view but it may also be an opportunity to view books destroyed by Rome as not those deigned to be non conformist to their ideas. What a chance to get to know about, say, the Druids. I know they didn't write stuff down but at least it would be a chance. Why did Rome get shot of them etc? NN... it seems you are interested in periods of histroy where transition is taking place. Is that an accurate observation? If so, would that be becaue there are often so many missing links between one society and another when new ideas and approaches to ways of living are taken on board by the locals? I know you are into defenses and the likes but from what you say I get that impression. Melavadius... what a great idea! Copies being buried for thousands of years for us to dig up... fantastic... but how much would you ask to be copied and how would you choose which documents should be singled out? Would they favour the accuracy of historical events or documents describing social life etc? Your latter paragraph is what this is about... how do you choose? What do you choose? MPC... Ah Sulla... one of Rome's great men but a tyrant none the less. Maybe six months isn't long enough but you could assume someone else would follow on from you! Maybe not though... anyway, it wouldn't appease your own interests. In what way do you mean 'was unusually high'? I am not too conversant with that era and so am a tad curious as to why it would be different to any other from Roman History. Can you enlighten me a little as to why their interests were that way? Ursus.. another keen interest in transitional periods by the looks of it. The ancient Etruscans would be a good place to start. Once more my knowledge here is not great. And the Crisis of Third Century? Well, what a fascinating period to cover... part of the downfall of the Roman Empire and what it stood for... yep... looking into why it began to fall is important. There are so many theories for this and clarification would be a huge step to even understanding other eras of the Empire. So far this has been very good... hopefully more will follow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faustus Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) A very thought provoking question AC, This one I needed to sleep on; having done that, I choose the 6 months from October 45 to April 44 BC, to be there in the environs of Rome, and for the most fateful days of the Western world. But of course I Edited December 10, 2007 by Faustus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvadius Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) <SNIP>Melavadius... what a great idea! Copies being buried for thousands of years for us to dig up... fantastic... but how much would you ask to be copied and how would you choose which documents should be singled out? Would they favour the accuracy of historical events or documents describing social life etc? Your latter paragraph is what this is about... how do you choose? What do you choose? <SNIP> How do you choose, what do you choose? The answer is simple but I'm not going to release the topic of my (possibly forthcoming) doctoral thesis to just anyone reading this with access to such a time machine. Edited December 10, 2007 by Melvadius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephele Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 What a fun topic! I think I'd like to go back to 506 BCE, as a Roman child who joins Cloelia in her exciting "Great Escape" from the Etruscans. I've just now briefly reviewed over in the Libri subforum a children's book based on the legend of Cloelia, so that's why I'm thinking I'd not only like to have witnessed that event -- but also to have been a part of it! -- Nephele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Paulinus Maximus Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 I'd go back to 80 AD to be present for the grand opening ceremony of the Colosseum, what a spectacle that must have been! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Octavius Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) I would have liked to have been with Scipio as he planned and executed the battle of Zama; and with Caesar the same at Alesia. In both cases, I would like to have noted the condition of the troopers before, during, and after the battles. Edited December 11, 2007 by Gaius Octavius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Porcius Cato Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 MPC... Ah Sulla... one of Rome's great men but a tyrant none the less. Maybe six months isn't long enough but you could assume someone else would follow on from you! Maybe not though... anyway, it wouldn't appease your own interests. In what way do you mean 'was unusually high'? I am not too conversant with that era and so am a tad curious as to why it would be different to any other from Roman History. Can you enlighten me a little as to why their interests were that way? I'm interested in the constitutional history of the Roman republic, and the far-reaching constitutional reforms of Sulla were being targeted for repeal immediately after he resigned the dictatorship. Thus, debate on constitutional law was frequent, including what reforms had been (and had not been) tried in the past. Another period where we see this affecting historiography is in the annalists of the period surrounding the Gracchi, where early history was being reframed by current events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Augusta Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 Having to choose one period just isn't fair! As my main interest in Classical History is the personalities who made things happen, I would be happy to go back to any period, just to spend a couple of hours chatting over a cup of wine with a whole list of people from Cato the Elder through to Julia Domna. Greedy, I know, but I would have so many questions for them all. Imagine how we could reinterpret history if we really knew what made these guys tick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 I would be in Judaea roughly around the turn of the millennium. I'd like to see if the birth of the world's largest cult was based at all on actual events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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