Spurius

Just to make sure I'm following this: The formation is from republican times, right?

I believe the overage/fee scam is called phishing. It also includes the false notifications about your bank account security and linking to websites that at a glance look like company sites, but within 10 seconds of looking are as rotten as the scammers heart.... I think it was Barnum who said: No one ever went broke under estimating the intelligence of the average person...

I'm scanning and taking that linked article apart right now. You're right, a fair lump of salt needs to be at hand but the ideas are interesting. Transcendence and temporal power...

Earlier today, as I was driving into work, I heard a brief discussion about Benedict XVI and his early speeches as pope. Specifically, his strong stand against moral relativism and the tyranny of secularism and relativism. I felt an echo effect going off in my head. This post is to review and discuss how the early Christian church took this stance and crushed standing Roman religions, and its comparison to today

He gave his all to a great german chocolate bunt cake? One "s", okay? Personally, I think he is a good choice. As far as his past, look at his age: 14 - forced into Hitler Youth after family moved several times due to father's opposition to the brown shirts and his mother taken away to a camp. 16- Guard and anti-aircraft crew member in BMW plant. 17- Made regular army and surrendered himself to Allies at first opportunity, sat out rest of war in POW camp. I can't say I'd have been able to do better in that situation. Besides, John Paul II was active in resisting the Nazis and he had much more time knowing and befriending Benedict XVI than the rest of the world. Maybe there's something to this guy people aren't quite getting.

Looks like a Niederbieber type from the 2nd Century CE. It might also be a cavalry helm from the same time period. The key for me is the short neck protection and the large cheek pieces. The photo wasn't clear enough, did it have a rib in the front above the brow? If not, then it might be an auxilia helm from that time period. They usually had much less elaborate equipment than the regular legionaires. It might even be a chariot helm, but that is a very outside guess. I really think it's a cavalry helm though. Of course a real expert may come and prove me completely wrong here , so YMMV with my answer.

I have enjoyed only one: Raising Arizona. Of course the sound track is good enough to clear a room in about 3 minutes

My three favorite series- fact or fiction - dealing with history and/or historical figures/places (and in order too): 1) I, Claudius 2) Band of Brothers 3) Sharpes Rifles As far as movies go, and there is easily only one top for me, and it pretty much only uses historical names/figures but not actual events: The Lion in Winter - the O'Toole/Hepburn version, not the whiny Steward/Close recent remake. And boy are there a lot of others, but I can't spend all night on this. Thanks for cracking open some fun memories this evening!

and from the original post True, historically bad does not make a movie bad....but it is still historically bad. Now about Gladiator, I really still don't see it as much better than the Fall of the Roman Empire. It does have certain points I do like, such as the return of the household gods and the basic stoic personality of Maximus, but the over all package leaves me kind of cold. I will say that its sucess did keep the ancient spectacle alive as a movie type. I am waiting with baited breath for the 300 Spartans and the Gates of Fire. Troy, sorry I can't divorce myself from the Illiad that much. I must say however, that I was wrong to include it on my list. It is in no manner a historical movie (just like Arthur) so I recatagorize it under plainly bad.

In the past ten or so years: Ancient/Medieval- Troy, Alexander, Gladiator, Braveheart, Arthur American Revolutionary/Civil War - The Patriot, Cold Harbor WWII- Pearl Harbor, Enemy at the Gates, U-571 Out of all that rubbish, I would have to agree that Troy is near the bottom of the heap, but Pearl is the worst...IMHO.

I can pretty much put a date to the birth of my interest in history. In November of 1972 my nine-year-old mind was blown away by two books "Classical Myths of Greece and Rome" and Bullfinch's "Greek and Roman Myths." There were great artists drawings in the first, especially of the Trojan War, and the second gave me a depth of reading that blew me away (I was "borrowing" my eldest sister's book for her college class.). The final blow came a month later with the purchase of "The Illustrated History of the War between the States" by my Dad at the same time as buying me both Confederate and Union caps. (I was the rebel in my group of friends- I liked to wear Union Blue ) The rest, as they say, is history.

1) Try and find free time when I don't want to sleep. 2) RPGs or miniature battles. (Historic and Fantasy) 2-B ) Painting figures for said games and battles. 3) Read histories. No really, just about any history will do and I re-read many works several times as well as spot refreshing. (Right now, before bed matter is Goittein's A Mediterranean Society) 4) Walk - Great for gathering thoughts and tiring out tots.

Got the stuff four days after you mailed it. It was a great relief from a few killer weeks at work and illness at home. I may finish something for contest two tonight, but I don't think it'll win...just hope people enjoy reading it.

I think the movie and its problems are summed up in a scene, and bear with me I've only seen it 1 1/2 times, with Derek Jacobi as a senator. IIRC- The Senator was greeting the main character wit ha line that included something to the effect of 'the Senate elected by the people of Rome.' And Jacobi was wearing what looked to me like a watch band with the face turned away from the camera. I liked some of the little details, like the house gods and the stoicism of the general, but on the whole the movie was unremarkable. About the same, IMHO, as Quo Vadis.

I too was unhappy with the lists in the middle, but I didn't have the time to rework the story enough times as I wished. Kids do suck up time! Plus, I wanted to use those messages...they too were actual messages found in roman digs and possibly carried by centurians. (They acted as messengers a surprising about of time, along with the higher officers spending lots of time in social visits.) You could almost say I plagarized a good hunk of my story by using so many old inscriptions and tablets. Your idea about the inscription::bag: I could have put the naked inscription at the begining and kept the same end. That's why you got #2 instead of me. You did quite well with launching into your story with dialog. It can be hard to maintain the pace for a short piece that way, but you did it well. (That's why mine had so many abrupt endings...edited for time!) The one thing that bothered me with you piece, and it probably was a problem in how it was submitted, but you could have broken up the paragraphs and dialog a bit more. On paper it's no major problem, but on a screen it can cause eye strain. Let me make this clear, you and Lee deserved the head slots :notworthy: . Here's to the next contest when I'll have more time!

Wow. I thank the judges for their choice, and I thank you for the compliment. This is a nice surprise after a less than sucessful day at work. I'd like to choose the book Imperial Governor and the Gordian coin. Once again, thanks!

I have always been a bit partial to one not mentioned here: Zenobia of Palmyra. Watta dame!

So that's three votes for point three that Scaevola brought up. That works for the romans. What about everyone else? I know the greeks, with the exception of Sparta, weren't that organized.

Is there any published photos from this site? I'd love to see the items but haven't found any images after a quick search.

never mind. edited for brain fart

For heavy infantry, the legions were hard to beat. And, with the technical innovations like the sturrip some time away, Rome at it height was fighting during a period when infantry was the king of battle. The gladius was a great stabbing weapon. Try this, swing a club for a period of time and then later do a piston like stabbing motion for the same amount. See which one tires your arm out less, and stabbing has a greater killing potential. The pilum was as good as it gets for a battlefield javelin. Carrying two meant that an enemy charge could be broken up quite nicely with one volley. The second either stopped or rendered the frontline too few to seriously challenge roman ranks. Then you advance with that piston armed gladius snaking out around a large shield. Rome armoring its troops in chain or segmetata not only protected them, but was a great morale boost when facing gangs of screaming barbarians. In short, the best heavy infantry in an infantry world. And Rome did evolve, just look at composition of a second century C.E. legion and a fifth century fighting force. Quite a change.

I like the Egyptian conquest not because of the military aspects (not that there were any to speak of), but because from that point on Rome was bled of its gold in ever increasing amounts. Egypt, oft conquered - never digested.

Is religion bad for society? Nope, in fact itis one of the things necessary for the formation of society, IMHO. Does it make more problems than it can fix? The religion and its tenants are seldom the problem because if it was unworkable, no one would follow it. The problems come from when some yahoo comes in and sticks on their stamp of "how it should be done." Such yahoos would cause problems without religion. Is it a positive influence in society? Usually, yes...if for no other reason than becoming a focal point for increased cooperation within a society. See the yahoo problem above for what may happen later. What is religion to you? A personal thing that is reaffirmed with others of your like mind. Hope this helps and sparks responses.

My 1,2,3- Paulus, Gaius Marius, Q. Horatius Flaccus. Quite the three, aren't they? Strange bed fellows, some common threads but really? How are these answers related to each other I wonder...

I've heard the last line tranlated as: Beware all you Romans and your wives, we bring a lecher bald! All your gold lent [now] graces Gallic tarts untold! Who says Latin class has to be boring? Oh, and if Suetonius was writing today...would it be People magazine or the World Weekly News?