sylla
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Posts posted by sylla
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Point taken; by any Classical Era measure or standard.Scientific by any measure? Not really.Certainly no one of them was a post-Popperian researcher.
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I noticed there a curious detail:
During their term of office great earthquakes occurred in the Peloponnese accompanied by tidal waves which engulfed the open country and cities in a manner past belief; for never in the earlier periods had such disasters befallen Greek cities, nor had entire cities along with their inhabitants disappeared as a result of some divine force wreaking destruction and ruin upon mankind.
What this means is that there was no memory of Tera's eruption by then, strongly suggesting that Plato's inspiration for Atlantis destruction was Helike and not Tera.
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Offending post deletedUltimately I have to leave the question of whether the Romans were civilised to each of you to decide for yourselves. If you point at literature, art, civil engineering, organisation, then perhaps you're right. If on the other hand you see the arrogance, brutishness, greed, and downright callousness that existed as what they regarded as positive sides to their culture, then perhaps you'll think differently. What is certain is that we cannot in any degree regard the Romans as 'scientific'. Why would they need to be? They had plenty of conquered experts to do all the clever stuff for them. -
It's odd that such an important battle has so thoroughly dropped out of public memory in the way that Hastings, Gettysburg or Stalingrad hasn't. Rarely is the battle even mentioned on a list of the most importnat battles of the Middle Ages.
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Most of the "trouble making" Tribunes operated in the early Republic, since the Plebs achieved equall rights and the formation of the Patrician-Plebic Nobilitas almost all Tribunes didn't steer the public opinion.It depends on your definition of "trouble making". The earlier tribunes were radical in their ends, not their means.
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That is only logical; paradoxically or not, for their own nature most religions tend not to be tolerant with the other faiths, as each one of them considers itself as the sole truth, not just "one truth" among many. For the same reason, arguably most defenders of religious freedom ever have been at least agnostics.I find it refreshing that these early leaders, many of whom were Deists, saw the separation of Church and State as a fundamental principle for the protection of religious freedom.
Nope; in fact, depending on your specific definition for the former, both terms would be almost surely mutually exclusive.Does it make sense for fundamentalists to follow the Nicean Creed? -
This was evidently an irregular communication from irregular findings; nothing else can objectively be said on the purported findings themselves until they are regularly and properly analyzed.Any other theories you're aware of about what they MAY have found if not the 50k soliders?BTW, even if Herodotus' 50K story might well have been a bit unreliable from the beginning, the mere obvious fact that Darius didn't die there proves absolutely nothing in either way.
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Maybe I had something to sayNo I think the last time on this thread you were probably talking to me
but a quick check on several of the other discussion threads will quickly assure any reader of how many threads are ended by yourself. 
Even extreme disagreeing can't be mistaken for personal affront
.It seems that on the ongoing risk for Venice we also agree
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Hardly could such image be any more misleading on either Sallust or Marxism.There is a tendency to dismiss Sallust as a sort of proto-Marxist, ...
Sallust was one of the most influential historians ever, but as most (if not all) historians, he had his owm agenda; as you noted, his good understanding of the mood of the day was openly biased in favor of the autocracy that overcame the Republic.Yes he was pro-Caesarian and biased, but then all ancient sources are biased to some degree. As he lived during the times he writes about, he gives us a good understanding of the mood of the day.
Actually, the vision of the purported farmer class pauperization has considerably changed in recent years; for one, the high demand of that same slave labor seems to be in obvious contradiction with such thesis. In any case, the Republic was destroyed by the professional army, not by the yeomen.It is no secret that money played a major role in the ruin of the republic. From the overthrow of the yeoman farmer class after the 2nd Punic War to the rise of an economy based on plunder and slave labor ...
Caesar, the Gracchi and even the novus homo Marius were evidently notable members of that same corrupt senatorial aristocracy, the same as their respective most prominent allies. Strictly speaking, all of them fought within the aristocracy; their common goal was clearly the control of such aristocracy, not its destruction; even Augustus was in the same case.... all the way to the corrupt senatorial aristocracy that fought the Grachhi, Marius, and would not stop until they were defeated by Caesar. A great pessimism overtook society that these events were happening, and Sallust is a window into that. This attitude can be seen by later historians, who write about (probably legendary) Romans like Cinncinatus, famous to all for his humility. -
Offending post deletedIn the ancient world, and in many respects up until recently, there has been great concern over the manipulation of the masses by demogagues. Polybius stated that classical constitutions were their strongest when they gave more power to the aristocracy (as did the Roman constitution during Polybius' life) and were in decline when they gave more power to the common people (as did the Carthagenian constitution shortly before Polybius wrote). -
Antonius was defeated at Mutina basically because:You are right about Philippi. The Caesarians should have lost, and Antony was certainly the brains behind the victory. On Mutina, you may be right that there is a lot we do not know. But what we do know speaks well of Antony. After successfuly besiging Decimus Brutus (who held Caesar's old post of governor of Cisalpine Gaul) he fought two combined consular armies. Although he techincaly lost, the consuls were both killed. We do know that it was an extremely bloody battle (on both sides), and Octavian was spared because he wasn't actually on the battlefield during the fight. I think it should be viewed as a stalemate, even though the odds were heavily against Antony.- The best half of his present army deserted to the other side.
- All his other allies were still too far away.
The defeat was hardly definitive and Antonius had still a good chance of winning the war, when the cleaver duplicity of Octavius changed the whole scenario, opening the way for the triumvirate.
The best interest of Caesar
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Denial + nihilism + insults + arguments ad hominem = not a very strong case
.The rules of evidence are not the strong point here (for that, even Google may help)
.But there's no need to ignore the bias any more; no amount of evidence will ever be enough when the conclusion is known in advance by your own pocket
.BTW, no need to be disturbed; if anyone is ever forced to face his own share of global responsibility, it would not be by poor me
, but by his local government... Now, regarding the following...
In spite of that, I'm sure this will not be "enough" until you say "the last word"; thanks in advance.Physician, heal thyself! Only actually annoying when you stray off topic into subjects you only apparently know by google
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sorry, but I was not talking to you (but if it fits you, go ahead). -
Sorry, my bad
3mm x 100yr = 6 inches. That indicates a 4 fold slowdown of supposed 24inch per century rate of rise, which "proves" rising CO2 levels are a benefit. Frankly, all of this is nonsense.... the sea level is already more than 24 inches higher than 100 years ago and by now it climbs by an average of three millimeters per year[/i]." ; the article posted by Klingan makes perfect sense, as it mentions "24 cm.", not "24 inches", as I wrongly wrote above.(BTW, 3mm/year x 100yr = 11.81 inches/century).
Nope; what bother us is that the Adriatric, as any other sea, is rising, as it is clearly explained in that same Croatian article.Above chart shows the seasonal variation of sea levels in Split Croatia, which is only half way up the Adriatic arm where things only begin to get weird. Venice sees the full effect, and is peaking now and will be near trough at the same month the picture was taken http://www.hhi.hr/mijene/mijene_en/promj_e.htmDoesn't it bother anyone that Split is seeing no rise of sea levels the last half century, yet any "global" source of sea rise would have to pass by Split to get to Venice?
(What you try to prove with your posted graphic I simply can't understand, as it shows seasonal variations, not annual net increases)
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I don't know.Callaecus - this is interesting. I'd not heard of this prior to your post.How big (in territory and population) was Helike?
I suggest you to consult the webpage about the ongoing research project :
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Offending post deleted... Spokesman Hassan Mohseni tells Fars news agency: "Egypt's chief archeologist Zahi Hawass has recently rejected the discovery of the army in his personal weblog due to political pressure."... -
Offending post deletedTrue, I'm not denying the increase in power output. But it doesn't necessarily translate to higher speed. In racing boats yes, of course, but not so much when they get bulkier like the triremes.The increase in speed would be much less and in fact a waste of those 500 watts of power. Slides are for racing, fixed seats for going the distance.
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It seems like Venice is being flooded as we speak. Here's an article on the matter (in German)
More or less, something like:
"Venice is once again under water. Almost half of the urban area is flooded...
...the flood was created by a combination of heavy rain, wind and tides.
At the Ducal Palace ... the water sometimes rose as high as half a meter...
... the sea level is already more than 24 inches higher than 100 years ago and by now it climbs by an average of three millimeters per year."
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I have yet to come across a novel about Julius Caesar that I was thoroughly satisfied with (although McCoullugh's "Memoirs of Cleopatra" was phenomenal!). Has anyone out there read some really great novels about him that would like to share?
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What is the best source describing these tactics?
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One of the biggest innovations of competitive rowing was the use of the sliding seat, which allows the rower to use his leg and hips in addition to his upper body thereby applying much more force to his stroke. It's a much simpler mechanical innovation than the steam engine, and it still relies on human muscle power.
There is some evidence that the ancients may have used some crude form of the sliding seat:
http://archive.comlab.ox.ac.uk/other/museu...iding-seat.html
Does anyone have additional information?
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I vote for Neverland too.
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Usus autem sum, ne in aliquo fallam carissimam mihi familiaritatem tuam, praecipue libris ex bibliotheca Ulpia, aetate mea thermis Diocletianis, et item ex domo Tiberiana, usus etiam [ex] regestis scribarum porticus porphyreticae, actis etiam senatus ac populi. 2 et quoniam me ad colligenda talis viri gesta ephemeris Turduli Gallicani plurimum invit, viri honestissimi ac sincerissimi, beneficium amici senis tacere non debui. 3 Cn. Pompeium, tribus fulgentem triumphis belli piratici, belli Sertoriani, belli Mithridatici multarumque rerum gestarum maiestate sublimem, quis tandem nosset, nisi eum Marcus Tullius et Titus Livius in litteras rettulissent? 4 Publ<i>um Scipionem Afric<an>um, immo Scipiones omnes, seu Lucios seu Nasicas, nonne tenebrae possiderent ac tegerent, nisi commendatores eorum historici nobiles atque ignobiles extitissent? 5 longum est omnia persequi, quae ad exemplum huiusce modi etiam nobis tacentibus usurpanda sunt. 6 illud tantum contestatum volo me et rem scripsisse, quam, si quis voluerit, honestius eloquio celsiore demonstret, et mihi quidem id animi fuit, 6 <ut> non Sallustios, Livios, Tacito<s>, Trogos atque omnes disertissimos imitarer viros in vita principum et temporibus disserendis, sed Marium Maximum, Suetonium Tranquillum, Fabium Marcellinum, Gargilium Martialem, Iulium Capitolinum, Aelium Lampridium ceterosque, qui haec et talia non tam diserte quam vere memoriae tradiderunt. 8 sum enim unus ex curiosis, quod infi[ni]t<i>as ire non possum, ince<n>dentibus vobis, qui, cum multa sciatis, scire multo plura cupitis. 9 et ne diutius ea, quae ad meum consilium pertinent, loquar, magnum et praeclarum principem et qualem historia nostra non novit, arripiam.One key difference between the pre-Marian Roman Republic, and the other classical city states, is that typically those other cities had distinct military and civilian functions. The Spartans, for example, had kings who ruled in times of war, but ephori who formed a pentarchy of sorts in times of peace. The Ephori were unquestionably civilian in nature, and their main military use was to accompany the kings on campaign to arrest them if they overstepped their legal authority. The kings were mostly military in nature. The Athenians had a system even more segregated between civilian and military. Monarchies, like that of Rome before the republic, had a king as supreme overlord, but agents under that king whose function was exclusively military or civilian. The same could be said of the Roman Empire (probably pre-Diocletian, and certainly post-Diocletian) The magistracies of the Roman Republic had an inseparable military and civilian function. Sometimes the consuls would administer civil administration in Rome, and sometimes they would lead the army on the battlefield. Sometimes the praetors would serve as judges, sometimes as military commanders. Sometimes the quaestors managed the treasury in Rome, sometimes they assisted military commanders on campaign. Just about the only magistracy (other than the oddball censorship) that was mostly in one field or the other was the tribunate of plebs. However, it of course was an outgrowth of the military tribunate. -
Offending post deletedCicero appears to have had major reservations about violence. Once he noted to Atticus, after receiving a statue of Mars, that he was a 'pacifist'. -
Offending post deletedA timely piece from New Scientist summarizes 7 sunken cities, but does not include Helike:
Vanished Persian army said found in desert
in Archaeological News: The World
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