suzhannah

hi, primus is correct. the sybilline books were destroyed. you could read the aeneid (virgil) or the golden ass (apaulius) to get a better view of the goddess reverence and relevance to ancient history. the worship of syble or cyble (it was initially a holy black stone) was brought to rome from another eastern culture and assimilated. this was something the romans were very good at, many cultural, religious and artistic and scientific aspects of Greece and Egypt especially were used in the roman world.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilicho#Controversy A chief debate regarding Stilicho is whether his defense of the empire was more out of self-interest than loyalty to Rome or Theodosius. Many historians argue that his chief goal was elevating his son to emperor, perhaps while reuniting the whole empire; this theory explains his almost continual struggle against Rufinus, his Eastern equivalent.

you could try reading plinny the elder for more info.

perhaps your mixing up this so called 'vest' with the breastplate of the prima porta, just a thought.

err, i did say over simplification for arguements sake. the mughal empire lasted for 300 years the british from 1600 to 1947 ish. and so on. i t wasnt a matter of time but a matter of too much expansion not enough reliable man power is my view for the fall of the empire eventually. that and what else did they have to conquer and with what. and i am just suggesting, so pls, if you reply, keep it civil, its only my one humble opinion and not a invitation for battle

thanks for all replies, this damn final exam in classics is doing my head in. have just bin informed of a question for my exam on friday and spent 8 hours researching, came up with nowt much. i am looking for iconography of portraiture by julio-claudians. i can refer back to augustus. i see only the classical representation that augustus wanted to portray, for his piety and graciousness. i see caligula desperate to associate himself with his famous family (even tho he wasnt related to augustus), so his portrait or bust looks like augustus. i see claudius taking the step of the deified emperor a bit far in dressing up as jupiter, and lastly i see nero, even tho quite heavy, but it represents opulence nontheless, sporting a hairstyle of a hellenistic type remanisant of alexender just like pompey did. do you guys have any other ideas or know any searches i can do to find out more about the iconography of the julio-claudians. i so appreciate your imput. thanks suz. p.s wish me luck as i have put myself in for an MA in classical civilizations next year (i must be mad!)

HI PHIL Tiberius didnt build the villa on capri tho did he? Claudius seems to have been the best 'bob the builder' for the people in public works i think of all julio-claudians (ex Augustus). we could include the domas aurea but that was private for the varacious nero. I think caligula started to build a bridge to the temple of castor and pollux because of his divine inspirations, there is some archaeological evidence now on that, however, i still feel that the later flavian amthitheater and the 'good emperors' ie antonines, did more than the julio-claudians but i welcome any other input. thanks hi primus, where did u find that copy of the res gestae? pls

hi there, what do you think was inspriational in the julio-claudian building programmes, archaeological buildings or monuments, art ect. this is excluding Augustus. my feeling is that apart from Nero's Domas Area and the aquaduct started by Caligula but finished by Claudius, they didnt do anywhere near as much as Augustus or the Flavians for the people of Rome. not much at all really, be interested to know what you think though. SUZHANNAH

hi any empire can be compared to Alexander and the Romans, just choose, ie, otterman, mughal, persian, british. my feeling still remains in simplifyed terms only (not to include personality or charater), was to suggest that they all went the same way-overexpansion. a step too far. spread too thin on the ground and therefore too difficult to manage and rule efficiently or control i feel is a better word.

hi well the title would be for one of the two elected magistrates in Rome, but in Augustus case it was more like president for life (as idi amin of uganda said). this was a cool dude, the more he offered to give up his titles and remain a simple pleb, the more the Romans begged him to stay. Changing from the republic, no one wanted a dictator but Augustus was simply that, but had the best spin doctors to hide the fact. All of his iconography suggests a presidential type guy and his 'res gestie' was a master piece of properganda. hope it helps.

hi phil and please feel free to go on phil, great ideas and eloquently put, thanks a mil

this maybe an over simplification but i think it expaned too far, just like Alexander. stretched beyone the bounds of being able to control it, police it and feed it.

i think they would avoid another civil war as had been created by sulla and spilled over later into the pompey crasus caesar era. Rome wanted peace thats why Augustus got the as the first emperor. just my small opinion anyway.

Pertinax THANKS A MIL, good answer, was all about spin wasnt it anyway. suzhannah

I think the question is tricky because how does one determine the right answer? Nobody knows what it means or why he recycled predecessor's arches. Maybe he wanted to show that he was still maintained traditional values despite his flirtations with Christianity and incorporated older Pagan symbols. Perhaps he wanted to associate himself with the 'Good Emperors' of the adoptive period. It could have been a time saving effort to make sure that the monument was prepared ito corresond for the 10th anniversary of his victory. Maybe it was simply a lack of artisan skill or the expense of material and recycling either or both problems. How you argue any or all of those possibilities is up to you, but I hope you get credit for the explanation and not whether or not you chose the answer that your professor prefers. I think the question is tricky because how does one determine the right answer? Nobody knows what it means or why he recycled predecessor's arches. Maybe he wanted to show that he was still maintained traditional values despite his flirtations with Christianity and incorporated older Pagan symbols. Perhaps he wanted to associate himself with the 'Good Emperors' of the adoptive period. It could have been a time saving effort to make sure that the monument was prepared ito corresond for the 10th anniversary of his victory. Maybe it was simply a lack of artisan skill or the expense of material and recycling either or both problems. How you argue any or all of those possibilities is up to you, but I hope you get credit for the explanation and not whether or not you chose the answer that your professor prefers. hi primus, ya thanks, there are no right answers, lecturers just like u to argue a point or two and back them up in your conclusion. but as always, i find myself ambivalent about a lot of things the emperors did re building projects. i take your point about traditional values as a valid one and something that i agree with. its a great feedback for my first time on here. thanks suzhannah

hi what do you think augustus was trying to convey with his use of ideaology on any of his buildings or monuments?

hi there, i am a final year classic civilization student. i have a tricky examiniation question. what would you say was the ideaological elements of constantines arch and mausoleum? i.e did the Arch of Constantine merely recycle earlier imperial reliefs or imbue them with new meaning? what do you think? thanks suzhannah