I am so glad so many of you are enjoying this area!
Joyce, thank you for the Lupercalia information, most timely!
That was a first for me, too, Mary, I doubt slaves or women particularly would be on the list, but to tell the truth it was so startling one wonders if they have made a mistake.
What an exciting time to be studying the Romans, it seems that daily some new find completely changes our perceptions and there are a LOT of new finds out there. The latest issue of Archaeology Magazine for January/ February 2009 has gigantic photos of the new finds of Colossi at Sagalassos in central Turkey, where in 2007 they discovered a colossal head of Hadrian, which once stood in the Roman baths there. Here they just found a colossal head of Faustina the Elder, wife of Antoninus Pius, and the legs arms and head of a statue of Marcus Aurelius (August, 2008). These depictions of Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius are among the best ever seen, but their season ended before the final niche was investigated.
They expect it to contain a statue of Faustina the Younger, Marcus Aurelius's wife when they dig there this year.
Don't you wish we could be there! I'd KILL to dig something up and would dig a LOT if I lived anywhere there were Roman ruins.
Love the Dickens! And the bookmark, Dana!
Janet thank you for the cookbook mention, you are one of the few people I know of who has tried the actual recipes, and you liked them! Must have that one!
Thank you Cathy for that review, that book is so new when you look it up on Amazon UK you can only see the uncorrected proof. I love Mary Beard's books and writing, thank you for telling us about her blog also. I had to pay for the article but it was worth it.
The History Channel International for those of you in the US tomorrow, Tuesday, February 17, will air:
8-9pm -- Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire - The First Barbarian War
It is 113 BC. Rome is a republic, a small empire clinging to the rim of the Mediterranean. Though it is a democracy in name and spirit, a man there still must be rich and from the noble class to hold the highest offices, both political and military. The system has worked well for three centuries. But now a barbarian horde known as the Cimbri smashes through the northern imperial border. One humiliating defeat follows another, with losses of hundreds of thousands of Roman legionaries. Terror grips Rome and drives her into the arms of General Marius. Though a commoner, Marius has a brilliant military mind. To defeat the Cimbri, he will transform the Roman army and shake the Republic's political foundations to the core. It is a turning point for the Republic. Faced with the savage Cimbri, Rome must decide between dictatorship and annihilation.
9-10pm -- Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire - Spartacus
When Roman generals Pompey and Crassus, lead their mighty legions of soldiers and mercenaries into the lands surrounding Italy, neither could anticipate the turmoil caused by one bold mercenary: a Thracian warrior named Spartacus. Spartacus deserts the Roman army, but is captured and enslaved, forced to fight as a gladiator. Then in 73 BC, the untamable barbarian leads a slave revolt of 70,000 gladiators against the Roman Republic. Though the brutal and conniving Roman General Crassus is finally able to suppress the revolt, his rival, the more popular Pompey, takes all the credit, sparking a division within the Republic itself that will ultimately spell its demise.
10-11pm -- Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire - Julius Caesar
It is 60 BC. Over-powerful generals and money corrupt the Roman Republic. The empire churns with civil war, and violence and murder run rampant. Julius Caesar, desperate for fame and honor, embarks on a brutal decade-long campaign to annex Gaul and build his own reputation. His aristocratic rivals try to stop him, but he is an expert manipulator. His propaganda and extravagant victories against bloodthirsty barbarians thrill the public. In 49 BC, he crosses the Rubicon intending to claim his rightful place as the chief man of Rome. It sparks a new civil war that pits him against Pompey the Great and sounds the final death knell for the Republic.
Obviously this treatment of Caesar is not going to be flattering, and may be a tad dated, but it might make good viewing in the light of March 15, coming up!
The regular History Channel will air also this week stuff on the Gladiators but it looks a bit dated, so will pass on those, but if interested see the History Channel's online site, they will send emails of their coming programs.