AEGYPTUS

First off, this is a really interesting thread, and I would be inclined to agree with Northern Neil's view on this occasion. Caracalla's edict would certainly appear to have had a tangible effect on the lives on the proceeding generations of newly empowered citizens, as opposed to being purely symbolic. I have recently been reading up on the importance of civic institutions and their associated franchises as bulwarks of regional identity in Egypt under Roman hegemony. During my reading I found some information that I thought may add something to the overall all debate regarding the importance of the edict, and the impact it would have had to peoples' daily lives on the ground. A.K Bowman and D. Rathbone, in their article

I guess, but I also believe (although we can clearly see in this thread that I do not know much about Serapis) that the god represents one of the early stages of the monotheistic flows that was to become more and more common in the empire. If I am not mistaken I believe the trend you identified above (early move towards Monotheism) is now labelled as Henotheism, that is to say one god-head such as Serapis (considered to be an all powerful deity) represents an amalgam of various different deities. At least this is my rudimentary understanding of the topic which I have garnered from some of the books I've been reading lately pertaining to Hellenistic Religion. All in all really interesting material (great essay Ursus)!

I have just finished Richard Miles' Ancient World The Search for the Origins of Western Civilization. Just like his book on Carthage it was accessible, informative and enjoyable. I would highly recommend it! Also, just wondering if anyone has come across some decent accessible introductory pieces regarding the study of the Eleusinian Mysteries (books mainly please, but articles as well). Thanks in advance!

I really enjoyed Gladiator, I have to agree the music was sad but truly sublime I love Lisa Gerrard she is a talented vocalist, also, Hans Zimmer is a great composer!!!

I'm having trouble replying - darn computer plus fat fingers! You might like Adrian Goldsworthy's book The Fall of Carthage - it's a great read and I do enjoy his writing style Adrian Goldsworthy definitely ring a bell for me, I think I may have read a book by him on the Roman Army already... and if the memory serves I found it rather enjoyable will have to look it up! Thanks Noricum!

I am currently reading Richard Miles' Carthage Must Be Destroyed The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization. I have to say Miles' style of narrative really appeals to me... it is really accessible as well as informative, as to be honest I am not exceedingly knowledgeable when it comes to the Western Mediterranean Civilizations. I first came across Richard Miles in my local library where I borrowed and read his book on Alexander the Great's Successors and I've been somewhat addicted to his books ever since. I think Richard Miles is fairly main stream and well known, so I would imagine many of you would have heard of him or read some of his work. Ever since I picked up his book on Carthage I haven't been able to put it down... I would most definitely recommend it! Was just wondering whether anyone could point me towards any other accessible modern scholarship on the topic of Carthage and her ascendency in the Western Med (emphasis on accessible as I am not that knowledgeable as perviously stated). All help would be much appreciated! BTW Noricum I haven't heard of Mary Renault's books on Alexander The Great's life. Sounds like an interesting angle will have to look them up .

I want the Roma Victrix Beaker @UNRV

I would like to see a wall map that gives a framework for the spread of Christianity throughout the empire. Also, I think it would be important to map areas where there was declines due to persecution etc... Failing this I would love a map of the Byzantine world.

Wasn't it something to do with the temperament of the animal. They were indeed fearsome weapons when they were under control. However, if this was not the case they were likely to inflict heavy casualties on the armies they were supposed to be fighting for. This might be one of the reason the Roman decided not to add war elephant as standard member of the legionaries ranks.

I got : #1 is: Plotinus #2 is: Marcus Aurelius #3 is: Cato Maior #4 is: Seneca #5 is: Paulus

Thanks Romanus! I will look for the book you suggested. I read through the internet source you posted it was interesting, however probably a little to late. The period I set for my essay title is quite large already adding another 3 centuries of information may complicate things... I might use it by mention it in my conclusion! Once again thank you so much for all your help!

Thanks for your input Romanus, I'll check those out asap!

Hey All, Basically I'm looking for books and/or websites or any other type of source really that you may know of that would be of use for someone who wishes to immerse themselves more deeply into the topic named above. Would really appreciate your input and suggestions! -AEGYPTUS

No there are no additional requirements to my knowledge. Thanks for the input Sylla... Will look at the sources, I wasn't aware of them actually

I'm not sure what the exact word cap is... just aware that there is one for this assignment! Will find out though. The only reason i thought of including Augustus campaigns was because quite a few of the ones mentioned above lead to the creation of new provinces, so I thought it would be worth including lol ... Again thanks for all the help!

Very good point I guess my focus is rather narrow the problem is i have a word cap on the essay (no more than four pages) so I'm kind of tight for space lol . Would you have any other suggestions for areas i could discuss other than military expansion that would be relevant to essay? Thanks to everyone for their input so far! It will be taken to heart!

Hey Everyone, I was wondering if anyone could give me a few pointers on what to focus on in planning an essay. The question is as follows: Describe the main stages in the growth of Rome from a small city state c.509BC into a great empire c.AD14. So as you can see there are a lot of sources for this period however I'm unsure as to where i should start. I was planning on focusing on the campaigns that lead to territorial expansion for Rome. So I was planning on mentioning the following wars in my essay. The Latin Wars, The Samnite Wars (all three), The First and Second Punic Wars, The Macedonian Wars (all three), The Mithridatic Wars, Caesars campaigns in Gaul and Britain, Octavian war against Antony and Cleopatra, Campaign against the Cantabri 26-19BC, Alpine Campaigns 25-8BC, African Campaigns 25BC and the Illyrian Campaigns 6-9AD. Basically I would like to know what i should include, exclude or add to the list of thing I should address... any input would be much appreciated. As I'm really at a loss as to where I should start as it quite a broad question at least for someone with my limited experience! Thanks in advance!!! AEGYPTUS P.S. Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place. Just really need some advice!

Imagine how annoyed people who invested in the Neues Museum will be if with further research Mr. Stierlin proves to be right lol If its supposed to be its centre piece...

I got 7 out of 10... I'm really pleased considering I never did latin lol

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you there Nephele. I would not attribute the control of the masses merely to monotheisitc religions, all religions has control over their aherents to a certain extent, regardless whether the religion in question preaches about many gods or only one. it is in my view a characterstic of all religions in general.

Very interesting!!!

Very interesting article, thanks for sharing. I would say Obama is going to have a hard time meeting the globes expectations for him. Reading articles such as this reinforces this ideal in my mind. Being compared to Greek Gods and orators such as Cicero is going to be a hard expectation to meet.

The University I am studying in, University College Cork, Ireland has a good Classical Department if you want to add it your list here is the link: http://www.ucc.ie/academic/classics/ It is smaller in comparison to others in the country but its quite good! I don't go to Trinity College Dublin, Ireland... but I hear it has a very good Classics department and is worth putting on the list as well, here is the link: http://www.tcd.ie/Classics/ Sorry in advance if you have added them already. I only had a quick glance at the list so I guess there is a possibility there already there! AEGYPTUS

...and still do. The Holy Trinity itself, with the Virgin Mary, gives worshippers a choice of four 'gods' to fit different situations. Plus there is the army of souls who were made into saints after their deaths, which suggests a continuity of the Roman practice of deifiing prominent citizens. In addition, the saints cover just about every aspect of temporal life, just as the old gods did. They get prayed to as well, despite the commandment of only worshipping one god. Also, the other gods are still there aren't they? Mercury - winged messenger, Angel Michael - winged messenger, for example. Could it be that they are both the same guy? To say that they are angels and not gods is a play on words - they are still up there, with all their supernatural powers. (According to the scriptures, by Dawkins!) Just as a small foot note. I would hardly put participating in prayer to Saints on certain temporal issues in the same bracket as worshipping a God. I would have thought the Cult of the Saints including that of the Virgin Mary would have been viewed as role models on piety and a Christian way of living...opposed to actual God(s) in their own right. Just thought I would put forward an other possible reason for the Early Christians to have prayed to the Saints. Also I would have thought the rise of Christianity as inevitable... Particularly after the Council Of Nicea in in AD 325 as it lead to the first uniform Christian doctrine. This uniformity would insure a healthy development for the Christian church and enable it to spread its influence futher in the Empire. Yes there were still a lot of challanges in the form of Theological disputes about Christ Nature to follow, the rise of Islam, the Photian schism, the reformation and counter-reformation, communist opression of Eastern Churches to follow in the Churchs interesting and troubled history. However the uniformity gained at various Ecumenical Councils and the peoples readiness for change would ensure this faiths survival against all odds...

I think it was a very good essay over all. Certainly learned a lot Though that would be easy as I know very little about the Delian league lol. Was very imformative though!!!