Carla

I too believe the coin was placed on the tongue of the deceased, but i have heard of a few instances of the eyes. however, i don't personnally believe that this was the norm by any standards. the ferryman charon needed one obol as payment to cross the river styx on his boat. beyond the river was not simply heaven or hell, but there were different areas which were occupied by a range of different people. there were those of untimely death(ie children), those who committed suicide, those who died of natural means, the banks of elysium which initiates of the Elusynian mysteries lived on. vergil describes this scene in the underworld as the house of pluto with a garden of monsters and evils followed by different places for different souls. It was also believed possible for heroes or gods in mythology to venture into the underworld and return safely with sacrifices, the "golden bough" Aeneas used and an obol. Aeneas is described in the Aeneid as managing to go down following strict religious code and rules. Plays like The Frogs show Dionysus venture down to the underworld in search of tragic talent. (very funny) I'd suggest reading vergil's Aeneid VI and Euripides' The Frogs.

not that Juvenal was 100% relaible and accurate as he wrote his satires for the audience in the sphere of comedy , but a good source nonetheless. I meant, "as well as historians". please ignore the "other" in previous post.

Nero also limited the number of residential buildings in Rome as the houses were too crammed and the risk of fire due to the nature and materials used was huge. The height of the basilicus was around two stories high supported by columns, just to give another standard for comparison.

well as i recall. homosexuality itself was not dissapproved of in the roman world BUT... It was whether or not you gave or recieved that determined how people thought of you. If you gave you were manly and all grrr but if you were passive you were seen as weak, subordinate and damned girly. (think it was juvenal that the evidence comes from, as well as other factual historians)

From what i understand deification was, on the most part, adopted as a means of propaganda by the rulers. It stemmed from Greece and Egypt. Greeks kings such as the Seleukids said they were of divine ancestry and the Ptolemies and the Pharoes said that they were actually gods. Kleopatra and Caesar presented themselves as Isis and Osiris, with their son Caesarion as being the god of the universe , Horus. Thus the dynastic cult was completed. Being seen as divine, or having divine favour, was a means of legitimising the rule of foreign or non-dynatic rulers. Also, was used as a means of unifying the empires. Although, it is interesting to note that having divine honours did not automatically mean that they were thought of as deities the same way as Apollo or Zeus. Often, honours were given as a means of showing appreciation and respect to the rulers for benefits being granted to the cities or states.