Ursus

I'll quote myself from my own review of Maty's "Sons of Caesar:"

I lasted 10 seconds before I hit some sort of star and blew up. I thought the star was a power-up, like a mushroom in Mario Bros. Boy, was I wrong.

As much as I am a Romanophile, the only "Latin" worth speaking these days from a business standpoint is the type spoken by Hispanic immigrants.

Never been a big soccer fan. Hell, soccer doesn't even have cheerleaders.

Because neither the Senate nor Rome were much more than historic symbols at that point in history...?

I guess Canada is behind the States. Dogfish Head has had this beer for a while, though I can't seem to find any in my area: http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-b...ateau-jiahu.htm

Over the holiday weekend I was able to skim a book on the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. Beautiful.

Very exciting. I hope something insightful comes of this discovery.

Didn't Maty already try this angle? Looks interesting, nonetheless. Hmmmm ...... Maybe. Oh, definitely adding this to my list.

*raises hand*

Scene from The Best of Both Worlds.

.... did this film ever open up in the US?

In addition to what has been said: For the times, a rather liberal policy of granting citizenship to conquered subjects.

I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll wait to find a cheap used copy that I can call my own. Good to hear it's a worthwhile read!

I just discovered a piece of the One True Cross which I think I will sell on Ebay.

The Romans were indeed influenced by Greeks and Etruscans from the very beginning. However, Jupiter/Zeus and probably Vesta/Hestia are both modeled on Indo-European deities; The Greeks and Romans had these deities in common from their common IE origin. Mars was common to all the Italic tribes and seems to have been an indigenous deity.

Lessons in Project Management from the Roman Empire (to be reviewed this summer) Empress Zenobia Roman Gaul and Germany Spartacus: Blood and Sand What is on your wish list? *edit* also want: Roman Passions

I have seen this in action, sadly. I know (in the online sense of the word) rabid Hellenophiles who do little else than debate Platonic philosophy, and some of them seem to have trouble coming down from the clouds long enough to hold down a job in the real world ....

The cult which had largely been driven underground by the Senate decree made a public comeback during the time of Caesar and Antony. Antony, in fact, went so far as to compare himself to Dionysus (and Cleopatra was linked with Aphrodite, naturally). The best evidence for the cult in imperial times actually comes from the upper classes, where Dionysian themes permeate the frescoes and mosaics of well-to-do houses, as well as adorn their sarcophagi. Robert Turcan, a French scholar, believes the cult had lost much of its revolutionary fervor, and some Dionysian cults were little more than upper crust drinking symposiums toasting the success of the Pax Romana. Finally, the Hellenophile emperor Hadrian funded and united the various guilds of Dionysian actors and artists in the Greek east, and of course with that single stroke the Dionysian cult was now absorbed wholesale into The Establishment.

There was a religion of the family and the farm before a state religion; the former influenced the latter. Regarding the State religion, at the founding of the Republic the major gods were Jupiter, Mars, Quirinus and Vesta. The first three were served by major flamines (recruited from Patricians), the latter by the cult of the Vestal Virgins (selected among Patrician daughters). There was also a rex sacrorum, king of sacrifices, who seems to have taken over some of the monarch's former religious duties: among other things the rex made sacrifices to Janus, the god of beginnings. The minor gods recognized by the state were served by minor flamines (Plebians could serve) and they were: Vulcan, Volturnas, Palatua, Furrina, Flora, Carmenta, Portunas, Falacer, and Pomona. As you can see, most of these gods are local agricultural deities. I'm sure somewhere in the Latin countryside they still had cults among farmers and peasants, but by the late Republic many of the state cults from the monarchy had grown anachronistic, and even the deeply conservative Romans had often forgotten the withers and wherefores of many of their older cults.

From what I have read, the trend can be observed from the time of Augustus. With the recovery from the civil war, there was an economic boom In Italy. Italians seemed less enthusiastic to join the regular army, for they could find well paying jobs that were less dangerous than military service. Italians still constituted the better paying and more prestigious Praetorian Guard, but provincials came to increasingly fill out the legions.

I agree it is hard to justify the destruction of a beaten, cowed enemy.

I completely agree with you on a rational level. However, when it comes to defenseless animals, I have a sympathy that perhaps extends beyond a rational look. Which is to say I find slaughter of animals for entertainment utterly needless on an emotional level by any standards of any era (hunting for sport, where the animal has a chance, is different) I think bullfighting is rather stupid, as well.

I haven't read a book cover to cover since December. But this summer I am going to make some time for a few books here and there.

I have read Aurelian and the Third Century and would recommend it, but I haven't read any of the other books.