P.Clodius
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Posts posted by P.Clodius
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While we all now what occurred during Cicero's consulship, does anyone know what kind of legislation, if any, was passed?
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HAHAHA..this thread brings back memories. Where I'm from we had what I used to generalize as a yorkshire accent, but you could go 2-3 miles down the road and they'd have more Townie accents (Manchester). Wi wer reet brohhd wi wer...Now my accent is a melange. People from the US think I'm British, people from Britain think I'm a yank!
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This is a great documentary which offers many insights into this very subject. Try to get a copy if you can.
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It seems so odd to me that none of their script has been found yet, as they had colonies all over the Mediterranean. Is it possible that the Romans obliterated them to that extent?
Nothing..just this statement, and the raising of Carthage proper.
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The best evidence I can think of to answer GO's point is this. St Augustine tells us a lot -- in his voluminous writings -- about himself and his studies. He was bilingual in childhood, speaking Punic and Latin. At school he learned Greek (he didn't like it: see Augustine, Confessions 1.13-14). Later, when he became interested in religion, he chose to learn Aramaic and Hebrew. Aramaic he found easy, because it was very close to Punic. Hebrew he found difficult, in spite of the linguistic relationship. This is evidence that, as we would expect from history, Carthaginian (Punic) was very close to Phoenician and therefore Aramaic; not so very close to Hebrew.
Thanks Andrew! That was really enlightening.
Doesn't this undermine the assumption that rome actively sought to eradicate the punic language though? Septimus Severus and Augustine were around what 3-4 hundred years after the 3rd punic war and yet the language appeared to be alive and well, no?
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...once 11* praetors were chosen...
*needs fact check
Thought it was 4!
edit...wiki says
The expansion of Roman authority over other lands required the addition of praetors. Two were created in 227 BC, for the administration of Sicily and Sardinia, and two more when the two Spanish provinces were formed in 197 BC. Lucius Cornelius Sulla increased the number of Praetors to eight, which Julius Caesar raised successively to ten, then fourteen, and finally to sixteen.[ -
The French wish to call "shenanigans" on Italy over that whole Alesia thing too.
Are you $h1ting me?
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As an aside, Britain has an island named after Caesar; the U.S., a state.
Please expand!
Jersey = a corruption of Caesar.
The State of New Jersey. (Originally, Province of Novo Caesaria).
Hmmm...never heard that before, here's wiki says...
Formerly under the control of Brittany and named Angia (also spelled Agna [5]), Jersey became subject to Viking influence in the ninth century, one of the "Norman Islands". The name for Jersey itself is sourced from a Viking heritage: the Norse suffix -ey for island can be found in many places around the northern European coasts. However, the significance of the first part of the island's toponym is unclear. Among theories are that it derives from jarth (Old Norse: "earth") or jarl, or perhaps a personal name, Geirr, to give "Geirr's Island".[6] Alternatively support for a Celtic origin can be made with reference to the Gaulish gar- (oak), ceton (forest). It is also said to be a corruption of the Latin Caesarea, the Roman name for the island, influenced by Old English suffix -ey for "island";[7][8] this is plausible if regional pronunciation of Latin implied that Caesarea was not pronounced [kaisarea] but [tʃeːsarea]. -
As an aside, Britain has an island named after Caesar; the U.S., a state.
Please expand!
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GM, if you can, get a copy of Tom Holland's Rubicon, it provides an excellent narrative of these events.
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I've recently been reading a bit on the controversy surrounding control of the legions during the first Mithridatic War. Sulla, Consul at the time, was appointed by the Senate to lead the Roman forces. Gaius Marius however convinced a Tribune of the Plebs to pass a law transferring authority to Marius.
Was Gaius Marius' appointment legal under Roman law?
Yes his appointment was legal via a plebiscite.
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I must respectfully but unequivocally disagree with your assessment of the viability of the Republic in the mid-1st century B.C. To my way of thinking the Republic came to an end when the first cudgel struck the head of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus in 133. In fact I would go so far as to say that the conclusion of the 2nd Punic War marked the beginning of the end of the Republic. If Caesar had fallen off his horse while crossing the Rubicon and cracked his skull open, the shell of the Republic might have had a few more years (even a decade or two), but I doubt if it would have survived till the birth of Christ.
We are in agreement.
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I came across a statement that the Carthaginian language is an offshoot of Hebrew....
Indeed. The same migration that 'created' the Hebrews created the Phoenicians.
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We have a number of threads in which Caesar and Augustus are maligned....
Revisionism, plain and simple. Of course this can be healthy and considered normal as new evidence arises. Current events (at the time of writing) can influence a thesis, an obvious one would be "Naughty dictator/fascist one man rule" thesis of the nineteen thirties and forties, or the "white mans burden/for the good of civilization" thesis of the eighteen hundreds to support imperialism. Unfortunately certain quarters of this forum seek empiricism when as we know empiricism is an impossible thing in ancient history.
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Octavian looked decidely shakey in his early career compared to some other leading romans.
Exactly, he was an outsider who showed the 'leading romans' how to do it!
In fact, I think Octavian showed considerable courage in his attempts to get ahead because if you read the story...Very much so. He had proverbial balls!
he seems at times hesitant or unsure of himself.Holding his cards close to his chest to see how things playout? A SURE sign of a skillful politician, no?
Lets also remember he was not guaranteed of victory.That's right, he created his 'victory'. Octavian was the head of a 'committee' of leading caesarians. Early on, this was comprised of Pollio, Antony, Opius, Balbus, Hirtius, and Pansa. Later it was Aggripa, Maecenas, along with family members. His gift was selecting able men and assigning them to tasks. Isn't part and parcel of being an able politician the ability of getting others, perhaps as gifted or more so, to do your bidding?
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I took three years of college Latin, but it was so long ago that Cicero was a guest lecturer.
HAHAHAHA
I too have Latin via Ovid but have yet to be disciplined enough to go through it as I should. I also have Rosetta Stone Latin that I 'scrounged' via shall we say 'internet resources'. Its very simple to use and if you can get a copy I'd recommend it. But again, you need the discipline/desire.
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"If a man of Caesar's genius could not find a solution who can find one now?" Forget the guys name but its in Cicero's letters.
An indication of the potential problems of the post Caesarian government. One of those problems being a highly politicized military. A legion being a self-aware, individual corporate entity...At the end of the conflict with Antony, which was in fact a roman world war, Octavian had, and I'm going from memory here so go easy MPC, 90 legions to contend with, any one of which could have raised the stakes (for the others to follow). Yet Octavian succeeded in reaching equitable agreement with this potentially explosive force. He demobilizes most of them, pays them off or settles them, and there were no mass evictions to make room for the new 'farmers'. This act would have required the finesse of a diplomat, the conviction of a stern commander, the approachability of a 'good friend', in essence this act would have required a politician of the highest order.
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He was a ruthless gangster in the in the power struggle following Caesar's murder.
"It isn't easy to critisize a man who can proscribe." A. Pollio
After securing power, he ruled with more restraint, with an eye to refined peace.Pax Romana
He was what he needed to be or could afford to be depending on the circumstances, but always with a calculating mind.Arguably the worlds greatest politician
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Also remember Vegetius was VERY much late empire, so his writings do not reflect requirements for earlier periods, say scipionic or caesarian legions.
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Writing on the lex Iulia agraria Campania, Long wrote:
"This monstrous, this abominable crime was committed to serve a party purpose; and the criminal was a Roman consul ... too intelligent not to know what he was doing, and unscrupulous enough to do anything that would serve his own ends."
I believe the Primary Sources on which Long formed such an opinion to have been "mistaken".
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thats roman six feet, about 5'9" in our measurement.
Then how do people get the idea that Romans were so much shorter than we are today? 5'9 is pretty tall by today's standards even! Not giant, but pretty tall!
Their diet was mainly corn/grain based, not as much meat..(queue Pertinax!) I don't think 5'9" is particularly tall, probably average. It was tallish for a roman though, I seem to remember reading 5'4" was the average.
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That's a nice PS job man
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It appears that Appius was on some sort of quixotic rampage against luxury, and it's possible that the eponymous owner of Sallust's Gardens may have been one of the casualties. If so, this would an ironic end for Sallust's career in the senate, given his own rhetoric against luxury.
This event occurs before the gardens though, he hadn't raped his province yet.
The Enemies of Rome by Philip Matyszak
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