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Aurelia

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Posts posted by Aurelia

  5. The pilum bends after hitting a target.

    in Gloria Exercitus - 'Glory of the Army'

    Posted

    Hello, in a biography about Caesar, Adrian Goldsworhty says that its just a myth that the pila bends after hitting a target. Have anyone heard this too or something else? If you find something that says it actually bends, please send a link. Thanks in advance! :thumbsup:

     

    Hi Legio. You asked for some links. This one seems to confirm that the pilum bends and has some interesting pictures as well:

    http://www.romancoins.info/MilitaryEquipment-spear.html

     

    Then there is an entry in Wikipedia, which other than some basic info provides a couple of suggestions for further reading:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilum

     

    Other links, all of which say more or less the same thing, i.e. that the pilum was supposed to bend:

    http://www.caerleon.net/history/army/pilum.htm

    http://www.novaroma.org/nr/Pilum

    http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/welc...nner/page09.htm

  6. Druids committed human sacrifice, cannibalism?

    in Historia in Universum

    Posted

    The idea that druids ate flesh as a normal practice in order to gain their enemies strength runs counter to the accepted head hunting they used for that purpose. The possession of an enemies head was supposed to impart their manly qualities. There was also some symbolism fromskulls connected with it but off hand I don't remember the details. I'll do some digging on this - There's some literature to hand.

     

    Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't headhunting more widespread amongst Celtic tribes in Gaul? Or was it also practised in Britain? I know that there is mention of headhunting in old Irish mythology but I would be interested in finding out whether cutting off and keeping an enemy's head was customary practice throughout the so-called Celtic world. Perhaps ritual cannibalism (if it did indeed exist) was practised by some tribes and not others.

  9. Druids committed human sacrifice, cannibalism?

    in Historia in Universum

    Posted

    Excellent find!

     

    Voluntary human sacrifice would not be out of the question. The idea that a young aristocrat would give his life to invoke the gods for the good of the tribe seems to fit in well with those beliefs.

     

    I had never heard of the cannibalism aspect, though. Interesting.

     

    I wish I could watch this tonight but I think, as usual, people in the US get to see it first.

     

    I knew about Druids reportedly practising human sacrifice but was also intrigued about the cannibalism part. I would be ready to accept the idea of eating one's enemies as a way of absorbing their physical and/or spiritual strength (some native American tribes in Central and South America were said to practise ritual cannibalism when Spanish and Portuguese explorers arrived there in the XVI century). Don't know if I believe the theory that cannibalism amongst Celts in Britain around 1 AD was a result of increasing hunger and desperation though.

  10. The Nano Car

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    Forget it. Our government won't allow GM or any other American car manufacture to produce an inexpensive car like the Nano for sale over here, because the Nano has no air-bags.

     

    You could say the same for Europe. The EU is very picky and European and non-European manufacturers need to comply with dozens of safety and environmental regulations before being allowed to sell their cars.

  12. Druids committed human sacrifice, cannibalism?

    in Historia in Universum

    Posted

    According to Roman accounts, Druids were high-ranking priests of the Celts who practised human sacrifice. Pliny the Elder even suggests that the Celts were not averse to ritual cannibalism. Fact or Roman propaganda?

     

    Recent finds seem to confirm these accounts, according to Secrets of the Druids, a new documentary airing this Sunday on the US National Geographic Channel. For more information, go to: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...annibalism.html

  15. All the Universities you need to know

    in Academia

    Posted

    Just to get out of the UK/Ireland, continental Europe, America triangle for a moment:

     

    South Africa

     

    University of Cape Town - Classics Dept: http://www.classics.uct.ac.za/

    (I took a few interesting courses here as a undergraduate student)

    Rhodes University - Classical Studies: http://oldwww.ru.ac.za/academic/department...uages/classics/

    University of the Free State - Dept of English and Classical Languages: http://www.uovs.ac.za/faculties/index.php?...1&DCode=144

    University of Johannesburg - Dept of Greek and Latin Studies: http://www.uj.ac.za/Default.aspx?alias=www.uj.ac.za/greek

    University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (Durban) - Classics Dept: http://classics.ukzn.ac.za/

    University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (Pietermaritzburg) - Classics Dept: http://classicspmb.ukzn.ac.za/HomePage15638.aspx

    University of Pretoria - Dept of Ancient Languages: http://web.up.ac.za/default.asp?ipkCategoryID=540

    University of South Africa (UNISA) - Classics Section: http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=Vie...p;ContentID=144

    University of Stellenbosch - Dept of Ancient Studies: http://sun025.sun.ac.za/portal/page/portal...ncient-studies/

  16. Names of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae??

    in Gloria Exercitus - 'Glory of the Army'

    Posted

    According to this website (not sure how reliable it is though), the pillar where Herodotus claims to have seen the names of the 300 Spartan warriors who fought at Thermopylae has been destroyed.

     

    http://www.300spartanwarriors.com/battleof...spartiates.html

     

     

    Apparently only a few names are known:

     

    Dienekes (Dieneces) - Herodotus wrote that he was the bravest of the 300.

    Maron and Alpheus - Two Spartan brothers who also distinguished themselves and possessed that quality known as andreia, which in Greek means courage and bravery.

    Pantites - Sent away from Thermopylae on a diplomatic mission to enlist the services of the other Greek city-states. He later hanged himself because of the shame and the dishonor bestowed upon him by his fellow Spartans who thought he had loitered long enough not to engage in battle.

    Eurytus - Suffered a very severe eye inflammation which incapicatated him so much that he ordered his helot to guide him into battle and perished with the remaining Spartans on the final day.

    Aristodemus (Aristodamus) - Suffered the same inflammation as Eurytus, however, instead of fighting, returned to Sparta and was labeled 'The Trembler' for not having fought and died with his fellow Spartans. Aristodemus' redemption came when he stood in the front line of the phalanx at the Battle of Plataea, broke ranks and killed several Persians on his own before dying.

  18. Romans and the paranormal

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    As I expected, most ghostly encounters in Swindon revolve around pubs. Hmm... Not quite sure why... :)

     

    However, there's a lot of activity along Ermine St - unfortunately mostly Dick Turpin era or later - but there is one mention of a luminscent lemure

     

    The village and parish of Wanborough ( Town of "Durocornovium" ) a mile or so south east of urban Swindon, also has its share of haunting accounts. The top of Binlands was said to be the site of the appearance of a Roman soldier. The reporter told of a legionaire, in full colour, marching straight tioward him. Apparently he was agitated and was relunctant to return to the spot.

    Haunted Swindon - A census of Hauntings - Dave Wood & Nicky Sewell

     

    Interesting story, thanks for sharing.

  20. Proto-Romance and Romance Languages

    in Lingua Latina

    Posted · Edited by Aurelia

    Aaaaaaaah, that explains the knowledge on Portuguese! I am only partially fluent in it...I'll work on it a bit in my research, but don't feel nearly as comfortable discussing it as I do Spanish and Italian. Welcome aboard!

     

     

    And maybe the fact that I'm Brazilian also helps. :D I introduced myself in another thread but you probably didn't get to read it. If you need any help with Portuguese let me know.

  21. Romans and the paranormal

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    Anyone ever seen a Roman ghost? :D

     

     

     

    Saw a Babylonian, Assyrian (his name was Sanhaneser I think) and an... Amaleqian but Roman, hum...no

     

    Wow, Babylonians, Assyrians? Much older ghosts - interesting but not surprising since you live in the holy land. Never heard of Amaleqians though.

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