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Centurion-Macro

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Posts posted by Centurion-Macro

  1. Atheism older than Christianity or Islam, but Romans erased it from hi

    in Templum Romae - Temple of Rome

    Posted

    It's an interesting article, although in my view it's not as original as Professor Whitmarsh believes. I agree with him that skepticism did exist in the ancient world - yet this is something classicists have known for a long time. If I remember rightly, the Dominician priest and philosopher Andre-Jean Festugiere admitted this quite openly in his study of personal religion in ancient Greece (Personal Religion Among the Greeks, California, 1954). He noted that what many people think of as 'Greek religion' was actually state religion, and not everyone believed in state religion. After all, it was more about political unity and patriotism than religious belief. This was why Socrates was killed, and why doubt must have existed in the minds of some Greek people. Robert Parker (On Greek Religion, Cornell, 2011) has also noted that state religion was more political than religious, and that a number of Greeks did not really believe the rituals they were partaking in. 

     

    Yet Festugiere and Parker also emphasise personal religion among the Greeks. While Festugiere's discussions on the Athenian dramatists are a little far fetched at times (he wants their beliefs to be as close to Christianity as possible) his talk about sailors and soldiers raising temples and shrines out of piety rather than compulsion, and the evidence showing religious belief among ordinary Greeks, is interesting. The mystery cults of Dionysus etc. also reveal a strong religious impulse among many Greeks. 

     

    I hope the Professor will discuss these aspects of popular religion, rather than discussing only the philosophers, who, while interesting, only represented a minority. 

     

    Still, seems like a worthy book. I'll try and read it. 

  2. A new flag for New Zealand

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    I would agree with most of what you said caldrail. I suspect the Commonwealth will collapse soon, and there are a myriad of names for the ideology that is driving it. Peter Hitchens calls it "the new liberal bigotry", Prof. Roger Scruton has called it "the culture of repudiation" and Prof. Niall Ferguson has gone so far as to dub it the ideology of "self-flagellation." Basically, it is an aggressive form of liberal leftism that has taken hold in Britain and New Zealand. It is indeed like the AWI, because it is being driven by a noisy minority to the horror of some New Zealanders and the indifference of others. Ultimately it is decisive, since New Zealand (unlike Australia) has a significant number of people who feel a residual loyalty to the 'Mother Country', the monarchy and even a certain nostalgia for the security of the old Empire. 

     

    It will be interesting to see how the situation in both India and New Zealand pan out in the future. If Corbyn became Prime Minister, I wonder if he would pay India reparations?

  3. Roman invasion of Ireland

    in Gloria Exercitus - 'Glory of the Army'

    Posted

    I think it's also important to remember that the Romans never took over Caledonia, nor did they even have full control over what is today modern-day Cornwall. Britannia itself was very far away from the imperial centre, and was often a drain on the military resources of the Empire. The main reason Britannia itself was invaded was because the emperor Claudius needed a military victory to solidify his power back home and he chose britain because it loomed large in the Roman imagination as the place Julius Caesar invaded but never conquered. The main reason Julius Caesar himself invaded was because British tribes were subverting his recent conquests in Gaul.

     

    After Claudius, emperors still had to impress their subjects with military victories, but after this they were often looking to the East (Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian) and North (Trajan, Aurelius). To add Hibernia to the empire might have been a nice goal (and it is a good topic for speculation!) but I do not think they could have done it. Even fi they had wanted to do it, I do not think it would have been possible either.

     

    Although, I am interested to know what cultural influence the Roman Empire had on Hibernia, even without an invasion. Was it similar to pre-Claudian Britannia where the southern tribes traded with the Romans and learned Latin?

    • Like 1

  4. A new flag for New Zealand

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    Haha! As a New Zealander I have a few opinions on the topic.

     

    Basically the country is split into three main groups. The first are frustrated by the flag referendum and want no change, because they see the current flag as a traditional part of the country. The second group aggressively want to change the flag because they see the current flag as a symbol of the British Empire and of imperialism. The third group don't really care, and want the money to be spent on something else, and some suspect that it is all a plot by the Prime Minister to distract the country from his neoliberal reforms.

     

    I personally do not want to see a change. I admit that flags can (and often should) adapt if the people want them to. I think Edmund Burke's idea of the organic society is useful here. If the flag were being changed because New Zealanders as a whole wanted a new flag, and if they were getting a new flag for the betterment of the country, then that would be grand and I might agree with it. But from what I see, the group that want to change the flag are not doing it for patriotic reasons but because they either dislike or are embarrassed by the nation and want to cause it harm.

     

    In short, if a majority wanted a new flag, and if they were doing it for the country then I might be supportive. But right now it is more like a liberal/lefty coup, with one group of people trying to force a new flag on everyone else, ultimately leading to the detriment of the nation.

    • Like 1

  5. Condition of slaves in Roman society

    in Imperium Romanorum

    Posted · Edited by Centurion-Macro

    I've recently been reading a pamplet by Joseph McCabe, who throws some interesting thoughts on the subject. His argument is that Romans did care more for their slaves than is often assumed, and that had the Roman Empire continued slavery would have been abolished.

     

    Eg. many Romans such as Juvenal, Dion Chrysostom (a Romanised Greek), Seneca, Pliny, the jurors Florenius & Ulpian, and Plutarch (admittedly another Greek) all condemned slavery and believed it to be a vile institution.

     

    Many laws were created to protect slaves: the Cornelian Law (82BC), Petronian Law (32BC), Hadrian's abolishing of old subterrian dungeons, Nero gave slaves the right of appeal if they felt themselves badly treated, Antonius Pius said a slave who sought refuge from a cruel or hard master should be resold, Caracalla forbade parents to sell children as slaves, Diocletian forbade creditors to fell debtors into slavery.

     

    I haven't verified whether McCade is correct yet, but certainly it offers an interesting viewpoint.

  6. Welcome and Introduce Yourself Here

    in Welcome and Introduce Yourself Here

    Posted

    Hi there!

     

    I study Ancient History (mostly Roman because you know, they had it going on!) at university here in Australia. I'm not having the best time with it ATM (Essay hell!) but I'm still head over heels in love with Roman history. So here's hoping I can get through this semester and dominate it from here on out!

     

    And I suppose I'm mostly here to meet more history nerds!

    Welcome! If you want history nerds you've certainly found us :P

  7. Coinage as Propaganda

    in Numismatica

    Posted

    Coinage is much like a modern day TV advertisement. It is something seen by millions everyday, as a way of subtly communicating ideas. I consider coinage propoganda, as it would have reinforced the idea of Romanisation on the provinces. And the fact each Emperor loved to make coins of himself was a way of showing 'whos boss' in Rome.

  17. Rome at Its Very Best

    in Imperium Romanorum

    Posted

    Interesting question, and one I find difficult to answer.

     

    I think the Augustan period was its best, not for the military supremacy or the new empire but because this phase marked a new stage of cultural development in Rome. Some of the worlds greatest poets flourished under it, and some brilliant epic poetry was fathomed. More than anything else I think that showed Rome at its best.

  23. Welcome and Introduce Yourself Here

    in Welcome and Introduce Yourself Here

    Posted

    i am biggest history buff.i am always interested in history ancient roman empire and Native American history. i am biggest Trekkie also. like read about ancient roman and other ancient culture

    Welcome to the forum amcroja, hope you enjoy it here. I don't know much about Native American history, save what I have learned in various socialist groups.

     

    Do you have any particular interest when it comes to ancient Rome? (eg. army or literature)

     

     

    Hello,

     

    New to the forum, and very interested to discuss the crisis of the third century with members. I am working on a historical novel idea, and am just beginning the huge amount of research needed to be able to write good characters and a believable world. I want to set the majority of the story in Narbonensis or Aquitania between about 230 and 280 a.d. Most of the characters will be commoners and involved in agriculture in one way or another.

     

    Has anyone here read Joseph Tainter's Collapse of Complex Societies? This is a scholarly work that I've picked up recently. I think illustrating Tainter's thesis through fiction could make a really compelling story that could really resonate with contemporary readers.

    Welcome!

     

    I am interested, what will be the conflict in the novel? Will they be involved in any invasions that displace them or other military tid-bits? I only ask because it is odd to hear an idea for a Roman story without the military involved :P

  24. Welcome and Introduce Yourself Here

    in Welcome and Introduce Yourself Here

    Posted

    Hello everybody, I am Praetoriani, Latin for Praetorian Guard, but I am guessing alot of you could have guessed that. I am just know beginning to embark on my journey of studying Ancient Roman history. I have always had a fascination with the Praetorian Guard, the Roman Emperors, and the major battles that the Roman Legions experienced. Hopefully I can learn a great deal of information here, and I plan on to post more frequently once I study the history more.

     

    - Ad majorem Roma!

    Welcome! A long time ago I too became interested in Rome because of its major battles and its immense empire, and I am now doing a BA in the subject ;)

     

    Welcome to the forums, friend.

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