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Gladiators did actually start fights by issuing paid endorsements. "Eat at Clodius' Bread and Circuses. True Roman bread for true Romans!"
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Mar 4, 2014 17:38
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MrNemo posted:Gladiators did actually start fights by issuing paid endorsements. "Eat at Clodius' Bread and Circuses. True Roman bread for true Romans!" Hey kid, thanks. *throws you a bloody tunic*
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Mar 4, 2014 22:05
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Friends, Ukrainians, countrymen, lend me your ears: Viktor Pshonka, the former Prosecutor General of Ukraine (from November 4, 2010 until February 22, 2014) living like a true Roman politician :cryingeagle:
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Mar 4, 2014 22:16
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Guess where the base for that picture was taken from? Asterix at the Olympic Games
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Mar 4, 2014 22:34
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Autocrats. 
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Mar 4, 2014 22:53
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my dad posted:Guess where the base for that picture was taken from? So it was just his entry in the Ukrainian equivalent of a Photoshop thread.
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Mar 4, 2014 23:43
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Seoinin posted:Hey kid, thanks. *throws you a bloody tunic* It's even more modern than that. Chariot teams had hardcore fans that would riot if their team won, or if their team lost. There wasn't even any cultural baggage assigned to the teams. They just liked to riot.
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Mar 5, 2014 10:59
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Those interested in the disintegration period of the western empire might get something from Chris Wickham's The Inheritance of Rome, which I'm currently reading. It explores how different parts of Europe adapted to the loss of the imperial administration, keeping some imperial institutions (such as church councils), discarding others, and later readopting some under papal influence. I've found it mostly readable, although at times (as when discussing Ireland and Wales) it lapses into "chronology of kings" tedium.
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Mar 5, 2014 20:41
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e. eh, stupid post. n/m
paranoid randroid fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Mar 5, 2014 |
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Mar 5, 2014 21:46
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Sorry if this has been asked before, but, whats the deal with greek fire? The wikipedia page on it is pretty informative (I think) but why is that we really don't know what it is? Was it a state secret that got lost in time? Did the knowledge slowly fade away? I just don't understand how something that was such a game changer just disappear?
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Mar 5, 2014 23:23
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Titan posted:Sorry if this has been asked before, but, whats the deal with greek fire? The wikipedia page on it is pretty informative (I think) but why is that we really don't know what it is? Was it a state secret that got lost in time? Did the knowledge slowly fade away? I just don't understand how something that was such a game changer just disappear? We don't know the romans recipe for concrete either, ours is quite inferior *edit* alright I stand corrected it seems we learned the makeup of it quite recently? Al Harrington fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Mar 6, 2014 |
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Mar 5, 2014 23:59
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Al Harrington posted:We don't know the romans recipe for concrete either, ours is quite inferior I thought we did; the secret ingredient being pozzolanic volcanic ash
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Mar 6, 2014 00:38
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Al Harrington posted:We don't know the romans recipe for concrete either, ours is quite inferior Haha nope. You can build 1000 feet high without rebar with modern concrete, it's just a bitch and a half to pour. The stronger the concrete, the faster it sets, so transport is a serious problem. "Inferior" concrete is much cheaper to work with, that's why we use it for most stuff.
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Mar 6, 2014 01:21
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Titan posted:Sorry if this has been asked before, but, whats the deal with greek fire? The wikipedia page on it is pretty informative (I think) but why is that we really don't know what it is? Was it a state secret that got lost in time? Did the knowledge slowly fade away? I just don't understand how something that was such a game changer just disappear? It was a state secret so the recipe doesn't exist. The various attempts to re-create it are probably pretty accurate, but there's no way to know for sure. I think the two sticking points are that it is consistently described to keep burning underwater, and it's mentioned that urine will extinguish it.
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Mar 6, 2014 02:00
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Grand Fromage posted:It was a state secret so the recipe doesn't exist. The various attempts to re-create it are probably pretty accurate, but there's no way to know for sure. I think the two sticking points are that it is consistently described to keep burning underwater, and it's mentioned that urine will extinguish it. Are those accounts on the giving or the taking end? I can totally see the "piss it out, boys, quick!" part being a devilishly clever bit of psychological warfare.
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Mar 6, 2014 03:10
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Volmarias posted:Are those accounts on the giving or the taking end? I can totally see the "piss it out, boys, quick!" part being a devilishly clever bit of psychological warfare. I dunno, there's lots of urban legends about urine solving problem X (where X =/= tanning hides) that are generally false. Like jellyfish stings and chlorine gas attacks. So that might just be a Russian legend about what to do when your raiding ship got squirted with napalm because people who tried it probably didn't get a chance to report its failure.
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Mar 6, 2014 04:07
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Volmarias posted:Are those accounts on the giving or the taking end? I can totally see the "piss it out, boys, quick!" part being a devilishly clever bit of psychological warfare. I'm not sure about that, it's just something I've read in the attempts to re-create Greek fire.
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Mar 6, 2014 12:04
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Volmarias posted:Are those accounts on the giving or the taking end? I can totally see the "piss it out, boys, quick!" part being a devilishly clever bit of psychological warfare. Note thread title.
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Mar 6, 2014 18:35
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The Landmark series has been mentioned a few times in the thread for its editions of ancient Greek literature. Does the Landmark series cover Roman history as well? If it doesn't, are there translations/editions of medieval Roman literature, like Anna Comnena or Psellus, similar to the Landmark series?
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Mar 6, 2014 19:34
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brozozo posted:The Landmark series has been mentioned a few times in the thread for its editions of ancient Greek literature. Does the Landmark series cover Roman history as well? If it doesn't, are there translations/editions of medieval Roman literature, like Anna Comnena or Psellus, similar to the Landmark series? It looks like they have Caesar coming to print soon, but right now it's Herodotus, Thucy, the Hellenika, and Polybius.
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Mar 6, 2014 19:55
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brozozo posted:The Landmark series has been mentioned a few times in the thread for its editions of ancient Greek literature. Does the Landmark series cover Roman history as well? If it doesn't, are there translations/editions of medieval Roman literature, like Anna Comnena or Psellus, similar to the Landmark series? I haven't checked it in regards to medieval Roman literature, but Perseus is a great resource for translations of ancient Greek and Roman literature. Most of the translations are circa early 20th century, but it's still perfectly readable. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/collections
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Mar 6, 2014 21:51
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Zopotantor posted:Note thread title. As I don't know Latin and automatic translation isn't that helpful ("assent that burns cock sodomized") I'd love a less opaque explanation.
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Mar 6, 2014 23:53
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If you gently caress fire, you're gonna get burned.
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Mar 6, 2014 23:54
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Ynglaur posted:Not quite correct. The Secretary of Defense is only authorized to do so by an act of Congress. Historically it's been a very pro forma exercise, generally bundled with other administrative items, but it technically takes an act of Congress to make a Second Lieutenant/Ensign/etc. If we're gonna get into this level of detail, Congress creates the office, the executive nominates an appointee, Congress approves him/her, and the executive commissions him/her. For most ranks, this is done en masse, while for senior officers it's generally (no pun intended) done individually. For the most part, O-1s are nominated and approved in a list of thousands as college/OTS/OCS/etc graduation dates approach. The Secretary of Defense's authority comes directly from the President...his authority to delegate may be spelled out in a law somewhere, I'm not sure about that part. But such authority is also delegated to the service secretaries as well. Sec Roche's signature is stamped on mine. Edit: We are really off-topic at this point. Godholio fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Mar 7, 2014 |
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Mar 7, 2014 03:13
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Excellent (and accurate) summary. Thank you. Back on topic: while Centurions were elected by their centuries, how were they promoted? Did the entire century get promoted at once? Likewise, cohorts: did an entire cohort go from being Cohort IX to Cohort VIII, or did individuals transfer to more senior/prestigious cohorts?
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Mar 7, 2014 03:31
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Jeoh posted:If you gently caress fire, you're gonna get burned. Thanks!
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Mar 7, 2014 04:25
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Ynglaur posted:Back on topic: while Centurions were elected by their centuries, how were they promoted? Did the entire century get promoted at once? Likewise, cohorts: did an entire cohort go from being Cohort IX to Cohort VIII, or did individuals transfer to more senior/prestigious cohorts? Any and all of these probably happened at one point. Centurions were a thousand-year old institution and a great deal of their internal mechanism is lost. Some armies promoted on commander recognition, others on seniority, or popularity, or what have you. Centuries/cohorts probably moved depending on casualties, Romans were fond of just slapping half-strength units together and calling them "gemina" at the legionary size so I wouldn't be surprised if that was the rule all the way down. These guys liked to put names and numbers on poo poo just like modern armies do, so it's a really good bet that no one was in much of a hurry to re-label a hundred shields because some REMF decided 5th cohort was moving to 4th, etc.
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Mar 7, 2014 19:47
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Reading a prosopographical text is kind of fun, and you get to learn a whole bunch about the thousands of people who lived and died in the Roman empire, like this guy:quote:Aedesius, Pagan seer, son of Chrysanthius of Sardis, delivered infallible oracles merely by placing a garland on his head and looking up at the sun, died aged 20.
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Mar 9, 2014 02:27
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So is there any word on whether or not his habit of staring at the sun played a role in his death?
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Mar 9, 2014 04:15
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Fucker is spot on INFALLIBLE. Dead at 20 though, you'd think he'd see that coming, sun-staring or no.
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Mar 9, 2014 04:31
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Agean90 posted:So is there any word on whether or not his habit of staring at the sun played a role in his death? Sadly, I think that will remain forever one of the great mysteries of history.
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Mar 9, 2014 04:52
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And thus, breatharianism was born.
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Mar 9, 2014 05:31
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I remember seeing a show about everyday life for the "regular' Romans, and the host reading a surviving plaque for a gravesite that basically said (after a brief rundown of his life, family and interests),"This is so sweet, now I'm dead and I don't have to pay the bills anymore."
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Mar 9, 2014 08:01
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Jerusalem posted:I remember seeing a show about everyday life for the "regular' Romans, and the host reading a surviving plaque for a gravesite that basically said (after a brief rundown of his life, family and interests),"This is so sweet, now I'm dead and I don't have to pay the bills anymore." That's what I want my gravestone to say, only in the original Latin.
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Mar 9, 2014 08:58
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I was quite surprised that I was able to find an online copy of the documentary just based on my vague memory of a dead guy pleased not to have to worry about his bills. It's from Mary Beard's 3 part series "Meet The Romans" which I found quite an enjoyable watch. The section wasn't quite as I remembered it but it was pretty close and you see can the original Latin too. No more aching feet, I don't have to worry about food, and I get to live rent free forever!
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Mar 9, 2014 12:08
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Found a few more. One sweet, the others mostly funny. quote:Eugenius, usurper. Commander of 500 infantry engaged on harbour work at Seleucia. His men proclaimed him emperor and marched on Antioch where they were defeated. It must have been lovely to be a commander in this period. I've seen lots of inscriptions where the troops proclaimed their commander emperor and the commander seems more or less obliged to along with it. quote:Heliodorus. Fishmonger, took up oratory and became a very successful and rich advocate... Libanius speaks of him with disdain as a successful upstart. quote:Iniuriosus, senator. Rich, an only child, married a wealthy bride but at her request never consummated the marriage; after their death they were known as the 'Dui Amantes' quote:Macedonius, Mag. Off. ...After Gratian's death he was apparently accused of official misconduct and fled to a church in Milan, but failing to find the door was arrested.
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Mar 11, 2014 07:52
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Was the notion of "Born into Purple" basically a plot by Byzantine nobles to weaken the Emperor?
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Mar 11, 2014 21:45
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Octy posted:It must have been lovely to be a commander in this period. I've seen lots of inscriptions where the troops proclaimed their commander emperor and the commander seems more or less obliged to along with it. Read about Constantine III's elevation. More specifically, read about the two poor bastards who preceded him.
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Mar 12, 2014 01:53
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Shbobdb posted:Was the notion of "Born into Purple" basically a plot by Byzantine nobles to weaken the Emperor? I think it was a plot by Paradox to generate unrest in the empire. There was one ”born in the purple” emperor and it was mostly a ”gently caress you” to the Patriarch.
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Mar 12, 2014 01:58
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Octy posted:It must have been lovely to be a commander in this period. I've seen lots of inscriptions where the troops proclaimed their commander emperor and the commander seems more or less obliged to along with it. Read up on Gordian I & II. The second worst day of their lives was the day the local garrison and people of Carthage proclaimed them co-emperors. Gordian I begged the crowds to not go through with it. The worst day? The one when the Senate recognized them as the true Emperors and painted huge targets on their backs for Maximinus Thrax and anybody else who could see which way the wind was blowing.
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Mar 12, 2014 02:03
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