ROME

CAESAR AND THE PIRATES

                When Julius Caesar was an up and coming politician, he made a trip to Rhodes to study rhetoric.  On the way, his ship was taken by pirates.  Yes, they had pirates in the Mediterranean Sea in the time of Ancient Rome.  As was common for noble captives, Caesar was held for ransom.  When Julius heard the amount they were demanding, he told the pirates they were not asking for enough!  As he waited for the ransom to be paid, Caesar would sit around talking with his captives.  He was charming and the pirates enjoyed his company.  The day before the ransom was to arrive, they were talking and one of his new friends asked him what his future plans were.  Caesar looked him in the eye and said:  “The first thing I’m going to do is raise a navy, return here, capture your harbor and fleet, and see all of you crucified.”  The pirates thought this joke was really funny, but he ended up doing exactly what he predicted.  As a post script, he did take pity on his “friends” by having their throats cut on their crosses so their deaths were not as long and painful.

                –  maroon 33

ONE NECK

                Roman emperor Caligula had a low opinion of the Roman public.  He sometimes would show the finger (that’s right, people were flipping the bird in ancient times) to people at banquets.  At the chariot races once, when he heard the crowd cheering for a chariot team that he did not support, he leaped up in his box and yelled:  “I wish all you Romans had but one neck!”  At a banquet, he suddenly started laughing.  When a diner nearby asked him what he was laughing about, Caligula told him he had just realized he could have everyone at the banquet executed if he wanted.  The diner lost his appetite.

                –  maroon 34  /  Fuller 355

AGRIPPINA – DEVOTED MOTHER

                Agrippina was the wife of Emperor Claudius.  She had a son named Nero from her first marriage.  She was determined that her son would be the next emperor.  When Claudius began to have second thoughts of his step-son succeeding him, she poisoned her husband.  Before she put her plan into effect, she visited a fortune-teller.  The seer told her that her son would be emperor some day, but that he would kill her.  Agrippina:  “Let him kill me, then.”  Sure enough, after a few years as emperor, with his mother as the power behind the throne, Nero wearied of her influence.  He tried poisoning her, but she had taken the antidote.  He tried a collapsible ceiling in the bedroom, but someone warned her.  Finally, he had a special ship built that was designed to fall apart in deep water.  He then convinced his mom to go on a cruise.  The ship collapsed, as designed, but his mother managed to swim ashore.  She sent him a note reassuring him that she was still alive.  Frustrated, Nero sent one of his guards to kill her with a sword.  Supposedly, when she saw the assassin approaching, she bared her breasts and proclaimed:  “Strike these, which nurtured so great a monster as Nero.”

                –  maroon 37

CRASSUS’ FIRE DEPARTMENT

                Marcus Crassus became the richest man in Rome partly through real estate.  He created the first fire department in Rome.  Sometimes he paid arsonists to set fire to a house and then he would wait around the corner with his fire fighters.  When the fire was underway, Crassus and his men would come running to the rescue.  But before they would put out the fire, Crassus would negotiate with the owner. How much was he willing to sell the house for?  If the owner found this unreasonable, Crassus would patiently wait as the fire consumed the building.  As time passed, the price for the house went down.  Usually, the owner would decide to get at least something for his house.  At that point, the fire department would put out the fire.  Then Crassus would have the lot cleared and a tenement building put up.

                –  Daily Life in Ancient Rome by Dupont  p.54

THE HIGHEST BIDDER

                In 193 A.D. in Ancient Rome, the Praetorian Guard assassinated the Emperor Pertinax and then auctioned off the throne to the highest bidder.  A wealthy senator named Didius Julianus offered the high bid – the equivalent of $1,000 per guard.  When word arrived of the death of Pertinax, a general named Septimus Severus decided he would like to be emperor. He didn’t have a lot of money, but he did have a loyal army.  He promised his men riches and they marched the 800 miles to Rome.  Severus met no opposition when he reached the capital.  Didius Julianus was found hiding in the palace and was beheaded.  He had been emperor for 66 days.  It had not been a good investment.

                –  maroon 66

REGULUS

                In the First Punic War, after victories in naval battles at Mylae and Ecnomus, the Romans decided to invade North Africa and attack the city of Carthage.  The army was led by Rome’s best general – Regulus.  Regulus defeated the Carthaginian army at Adys, but his peace terms were too harsh so the Carthaginians decided to fight on.  They brought in a Spartan general named Xanthippus.  He reorganized and trained the Carthaginian army.  He inspired them to victory over Regulus in the Battle of Tirnes.  Xanthippus used 100 war elephants in the battle and the Romans were literally and figuratively crushed.  Regulus was captured.  He was brought before the Carthaginian Senate and they decided to send him back to Rome with peace terms if he promised to return.  When Regulus arrived before the Roman Senate, he presented Carthage’s terms, but then he told the Senators not to accept them and continue the war.  He then returned to Carthage since he had given his word.  The Carthaginian’s were so infuriated by his action they tortured him to death.  The Romans went on to win the war.

                –  maroon 68

CATO’S STATUE

                Cato the Elder was a famous Senator in Rome.  His famous demand that “Carthage must be destroyed” led to the Third Punic War and the fulfillment of his dream.  One day a friend remarked to him:  “It’s a scandal that no statue has been erected to you in Rome!  I am going to form a committee to see that this is done.”  Cato:  “No.  I would rather have people ask ‘why is there no statue of Cato?’ than have them ask ‘why is there a statue of Cato?’”

                –  maroon 68 

A LUCKY FULLONE

                One of the worst jobs for Roman slaves was working in a laundromat (fullonica).  Human urine was used in the cleaning process.  The shops had big pots outside for people to contribute their urine.  In other words, men (and women?) would pee in them.  Urine has ammonia in it.   Clothes were put in a vat filled with pee and slaves would walk around in the vat to agitate the clothes.  (Similar to the making of wine by slaves crushing the grapes with their feet.)  One day a laundry slave (fullone) named Atesippus was thrown in as a free gift to a rich woman who had bought a candelabra from the laundromat owner.  He became the woman’s lover, was freed, and inherited her huge fortune when she died.  From pee rags to riches!

                –  maroon 68 &   http://www.cienciahistorica.com/articles-in-english/indeed-romans-used-urine-to-do-laundryand-worse-things/

NERO WAS NUTS

                Here are a few examples of how insane Nero was.   He fought in the arena as a gladiator against wild animals, but they were all drugged, so he was not in any danger and could not lose.  He hired a group of youths to follow him around and applaud.  The Bees made a loud humming sound, the Tiles clapped with cupped hands, and the Bricks clapped with flat hands.  When his wife was pregnant, she complained about being tired after a day at the chariot races.  He kicked her to death.  He then replaced her with a young boy who looked like her.

                –  maroon 69

ROMAN MARRIAGE

                The bride was dressed in her home by relatives.  She wore a fire-colored veil and simple white smock.  Her hair was separated into six tufts and arranged with a spearhead and held by ribbons.  A sacrifice of an animal was made.  The couple would sign the marriage contract and dowry tablets.  The bride would then reach out and take the hand of the groom.  The groom asks:  “Will you be my mater familias?”  Bride:  “Will you be my pater familias?”  They exchanged rings.  The ring was placed on the third finger of the left hand because the Romans believed there was a vein there that went straight to the heart.  The audience would shout congratulations.  There would be a banquet.  At the end of the banquet, the groom would pretend to abduct the bride by wrestling her away from her mother.  A procession would take the couple to their home.  The bride carried a spindle and a distaff to symbolize her job of spinning and weaving.  Along the way, the guests would laugh and tell obscene jokes.  The bride would have already decorated the door with strands of wool and smeared it with lard and oil.  The groom would carry her over the threshold.  They went into the bedroom, the guests continued to party in the other parts of the house.

                –  maroon 70

CICERO’S SIX MISTAKES OF MAN

1. The delusion that personal gain is made by crushing others.
2. The tendency to worry about things that can’t be changed or corrected.
3. Insisting that a thing is impossible because we can’t accomplish it.
4. Refusing to set aside trivial preferences.
5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study.
6. Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.

                –  maroon 70

THE LOST LEGION

                Somewhere between 108-180 A.D., one of the most famous Roman legions disappeared from history.  The Legio IX Hispania was recruited by Pompey the Great in Spain around 50 B.C.  It fought under Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars.  It served with Octavian in his civil war with Marc Antony.  In 43, it was part of Claudius invasion of Britain and was sent north.  It lost up to one-third of its strength in the Boudicca revolt, but it was reinforced after that and stationed in York to defend the northern border of Roman Britain.  The last record of it had it constructing a fortress in York in 108.  However, it does not appear on a list of legions from the reign of Marcus Aurelius (emperor from 161-180).  No historian has been able to decisively determine what happened to the 6,000 or so legionaries.  In 1902, German historian Theodor Mommsen published his book A History of Rome.  He theorized that the legion was wiped out by the Brigantes when they sacked York in 117.  The theory was popular until artifacts were found in Holland in the 1990’s indicating the legion was stationed there around 120.  Other archeological evidence suggests the legion may have been wiped out in the Jewish Revolt of 132 or eliminated while fighting along the Danube in 162.  However, these discoveries may have been smaller units detached from the legion.  It is unlikely we will ever find out what exactly happened to the IX Legion.  And why is there no record of what happened to it?

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/ancient-history/the-mystery-legio-ix-hispana.html?fbclid=IwAR3s398e-YKJKqcatBr3RBB0SW8IUxasI3ce2TXAb_VCviCL3N0mGvxucnE 

THE HIGHEST PAID ATHLETE IN HISTORY  

                In 2016, Forbes magazine did an article on the richest athletes.  It estimated that the richest athlete was Michael Jordan with accumulated earnings of $1.7 billion.  Tiger Woods was second with $1.67 and Arnold Palmer was third with $1.35.  However, a University of Pennsylvania historian named Peter Struck argued that the actual richest athlete was Gaius Appuleius Diocles.  Gaius was a Roman chariot racer who earned a total of 32,863,120 sesterces, which would be the equivalent of $15 billion dollars.  Chariot racing was the most popular sport in Ancient Rome.  More popular than gladiators.  Most days had chariot races in the Circus Maximus stadium that held 200,000 spectators.  The racers were usually slaves (who soon bought their freedom if they won races) or the very poor.  There were four teams of chariots:  Blue, Red, White, and Green.  Each had its fanatical supporters.  There was a lot of gambling on the races.  Successful drivers were idolized.  Usually the chariots were pulled by four horses, but sometimes it was 2, 3, 6, or 7.  The most prestigious were the six and seven horse chariots which were usually the ones that Gaius drove.  We know that he started at age 18 and an inscription commemorating his retirement mentions that he was 42 when he retired as the “champion of all charioteers.”  He must have been both good and lucky to survive 28 years in the very dangerous sport.  He won 1,462 of his 4,257 races.  (Pompeius Musclosus held the record with 3,559 wins). 

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/12/06/highest-paid-athlete/?fbclid=IwAR1mUH_15AgveWssC0SxYJTxmKgdeVvdv5ifjpPLqNd5t0XaDcZvEg5SrUo 

PUNISHMENT OF THE SACK 

                The Ancient Romans were very serious about discouraging patricide, murder of a father.  If a son (or daughter) killed his pater familias, he was subject to poena cullei –  “punishment of the sack”.  First, the murderer was beaten with blood-colored clubs while their head was covered by a wolf-hide bag.  Then he was placed in an ox-hide bag.  In the bag with him were placed a snake, a rooster, a dog, and a monkey.  The bag was sewn shut.  It was then beaten to agitate the creatures.  As though that was not unpleasant enough for the convicted, the bag was thrown in the Tiber River.  That bag must have been a very unpleasant place to be as it sank to the bottom.  One can imagine that this punishment was a deterrent to patricide in Ancient Rome.

https://historycollection.co/weird-and-surprising-facts-about-ancient-history-that-most-people-wouldnt-know/3/ 

ROMAN TOILETS

                The Ancient Romans were known for their relative cleanliness in comparison to other ancient peoples, and especially in comparison to medieval man.  They had the public baths for bathing.  These popular sites were cheap enough for even the poor to visit weekly, if not daily.  Plus the baths offered more than bathing to lure customers.  There were shops, steam rooms, and areas for socializing.  Ancient Rome also had an efficient sewer system.  The wealthy had flush toilets, but the poor could use public toilets located throughout the city.  These facilities may have been gender neutral.  There were no stalls.  Instead, you sat on a stone bench with holes in it.  In lieu of toilet paper, the patrons used a sponge on a stick.  The sponge, which was shared by everyone, was either cleaned in a gutter that had running water or was placed in a bucket with salt water in it.  The toilets emptied into an elaborate sewer system called the cloaca maxima (“greatest sewer”).  It emptied into the Tiber River.  This explains why the Romans went to so much trouble building aqueducts to bring fresh water into the city. Some archeologists question how hygienic the toilets and sewer system were considering the parasites and critters like lice that would have thrived where you sat.  Not to mention the possibility of something climbing up the hole while you sat.  There is even some evidence that the abundance of methane caused fires below the streets of Rome.  And possibly below your derriere. 

https://historycollection.co/weird-and-surprising-facts-about-ancient-history-that-most-people-wouldnt-know/3/ 

TARPEIA

                After the Romans kidnaped the Sabine women, the Sabine men laid siege to Rome.  The siege lasted for weeks and the Sabine men were concerned for the welfare of their women.  They allowed the Romans to send a woman each day to the Tiber to bring back water.  This woman was Tarpeia, the daughter of the Roman commander.  One of the Sabine men noticed that whenever she went, she would stare at them.  One day, he asked her why  and she admitted she was admiring those things they wore on their arms.  She meant their gold bracelets.  The man told her that the next day if she left the entrance to the city unlocked, they would give her those things they wore on their arms.  Next day, Tarpeia left the door unlocked and the Sabine army charged into the city.  There was Tarpeia with her hands up expecting those things they wore on their arms.  They gave her her reward by tossing her those things they wore on their arms – their shields!  She was killed by the avalanche of shields.  Despite the surprise attack, Rome did not fall and the Sabines went home.  Tarpeia’s body was throne from a cliff which became known as the Tarpeian Rock.  From then on, any other traitors to Rome were thrown from the Tarpeian Rock.

THE THREE HORATII

                During its early years, Rome conquered cities around it.  The wars were bloody.  To avoid more bloodshed, an agreement was made with the next foe.  It was agreed that instead of sending their armies to do battle, they would pick their three best warriors and the trios would fight to determine which city won the war.  The losing city would be conquered.  Rome chose the three Horatius brothers.  The two trios met in a field midway between the cities and dueled.  Things did not go well for the Horatii.  Two of them were killed, leaving only one.  The three enemy ganged up on him.  He was uninjured, but the other three were all wounded.  One had a cut on his arm, another had a bad stomach wound, and the third had a deep gash on his leg.  Given the situation, Horatius considered his odds and turned and ran away.  The three foes were astonished by this act of cowardice, but realized all they had to do was catch and kill this chicken in order to win the war for their city.  As they chased him, gaps opened up between them.  The man with the arm wound ran faster than the guy with the stomach wound, who ran faster than the man crippled by the leg wound.   As he ran, Horatius kept glancing back and when the gaps had opened up sufficiently, he turned to face the man with the arm wound.  They dueled and the Roman won.  He then faced the just-arriving stomach-wound soldier and defeated him.  He then waited for the limping foe to arrive and easily killed him, thus winning the war.  Horatius returned to Rome a hero with the crowd acclaiming him.  However, he was greeted in the middle of the road by his bawling sister.  She happened to be engaged to one of the men he had killed.  “Why did you do it?!”  He pulled out his sword and killed her saying:  “Thus be it to anyone who mourns for Rome’s enemies.”

SCAEVOLA

                When Rome was besieged by the Etruscans, Gaius Mucius Cordo volunteered to assassinate the Etruscan king Porsena.  Mucius snuck into the Etruscan camp in disguise and managed to enter the king’s tent.  Unfortunately, he mistook the king’s scribe for the king and killed the wrong man.  He was immediately captured.  When he was asked why he did it, he told the king that he was a brave Roman who was determined to kill his enemy and there were plenty more like him.  To emphasize his threat, he plunged his right hand into a fire pot that was providing light.  He did not flinch as his hand burned up and the sick smell filled the room.  The grossed-out king had the guards pull the hand out.  Mucius looked the king in the eye and said that all the other assassins were like him.  The king was so impressed, he set Mucius free and lifted the siege.  Mucius returned to Rome a hero.  From that day on he was called “Scaevola” which means “left-handed”.

THE OLD FLAMING OXEN TRICK

                After Hannibal destroyed a Roman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene, the Romans appointed Fabius Maximus as dictator.  Fabius became known as Fabius the Delayer because of his tactics.  These Fabian tactics involved avoiding battle with Hannibal.  Fabius’ army tailed Hannibal’s army and picked off small Carthaginian units that left the main body to forage, but Fabius refused to fight a pitched battle.  The idea was to wear Hannibal down.  Since the Romans refused to fight, Hannibal inflicted pain on the Romans by looting their territory.  His army had to move in order to feed itself off the Roman bounty.  In 217 B.C., his army moved into the fertile Falernum valley.  Fabius saw an opportunity and blocked all the passes out of the valley with his forces.  He figured that to exit the valley, Hannibal would have to attack uphill and the Romans would have an advantage that was the worth the risk of a battle.  Sure enough, one night the Carthaginian army marched by torchlight toward one of the passes.  Fabius, anticipating the battle he was hoping for, shifted forces to reinforce the pass.  As the Romans tensed for the contact, they heard weird noises coming from the torch-carrying enemy.  It turned out the noises were coming from oxen with torches attached to their horns.  It turns out that Hannibal had ordered that all the oxen in the valley be gathered and torches tied to their horns.  He then had them herded towards the pass to simulate an army on the march.  When Fabius shifted forces from one pass to reinforce the threatened pass, Hannibal’s army escaped through the undefended pass.

A HEAD OF A MESSAGE

                After the Battle of Cannae, Hannibal dominated Italy, but he was unable to capture the city of Rome.  His government was reluctant to send him reinforcements.  However, his brother Hasdrubal took it upon himself to help his brother out.  He marched his army from Spain, crossed the Alps like Hannibal, and invaded northern Italy.  The Romans, realizing the impact of the two brothers uniting, concentrated on defeating Hasdrubal.  They took some of the army watching Hannibal and secretly marched it to join the army facing Hasdrubal.  Hasdrubal was defeated in the Battle of Metaurus.  Hannibal found out the result of the battle and the fact that his brother would not be joining him when a Roman horseman rode up and tossed an object which rolled up to Hannibal’s feet.  It was Hasdrubal’s head.

DEATH TO GLADIATORS

                How you died was important to gladiators.  Part of the training at the gladiator school was how to die appropriately.  If you lost, you needed to make eye contact with the victor and offer your neck.  You put two fingers in the air in the direction of the editor (the head of the show) and the crowd.  They responded with thumbs down for life (indicating thrusting the victor’s sword in the ground) or thumbs up for death.  The editor usually went with the crowd’s wishes.  If you died poorly, your body was dragged out the arena by a slave that was sometimes dressed as Anubis (the Egyptian god of the underworld) or Hermes or Charun (the Etruscan demon of death).  The body would be thrown in the river or a trash dump.  If you died well you were carried on a stretcher to a death room where had your throat cut if there was any reason to believe you were faking it.  Your armor would be recycled to another gladiator.  The body was cremated and buried by fellow gladiators.

https://historycollection.co/17-facts-about-gladiators-that-make-us-cringe/

TYPES OF GLADIATORS

                Most gladiators were slaves, but some free men joined for the fame and fortune.  There were even some female gladiators.  They fought in loin cloths without helmets, so people could see they were women.  A bestiarus hunted wild animals in the arena.  The Romans imported exotic animals from throughout the empire and had them fight each other or be hunted.  So many animals were brought in that the hippo disappeared from the Nile and some species went extinct.  There were various types of gladiators.  The retarius fought with a trident and net.  He had little armor and relied on speed.  He was often matched up with a secutor who had a helmet, shield, armor, and a sword.  A murmillo was a classic gladiator armed with a gladius, scutum, and helmet with a grill.  The provacator had a sword, shield, full armor, and a helmet.  They usually fought each other.  A hoplomachus had a lance, dagger, and small shield.  The eques started on a horse, and then fought on foot.  An essedarius fought in a chariot with a lance and sword.  A dimacherius used two daggers and a saggitarius had a bow.  The weirdest was the andabatus who fought on horseback wearing a helmet that prevented them from seeing.  Some emperors, including Commodus, Hadrian, Titus, and Caligula, fought as gladiators.  They were never in danger as the opponents had blunt weapons or were drugged.

https://historycollection.co/17-facts-about-gladiators-that-make-us-cringe/

GLADIATOR FACTS

                Gladiators were celebrities in Ancient Rome.  Their blood was considered to be an aphrodisiac and was sold for high prices.  It was also believed that their blood cured epilepsy.  But you had to drink it from the wound.  Sometimes an epileptic would jump into the arena and suck on a dying gladiator.  Until their deaths, gladiators were treated well.  The training was harsh, but they were fed well and doctored when injured.  Death seemed inevitable and a decent burial was important.  Gladiators formed unions called collegia where for a fee, they would be given a decent burial with a tombstone by their mates.  There was also a little something for their wife and kids.  It was sure better than being thrown in the Tiber or fed to the beasts so they would develop a taste for human flesh.

https://historycollection.co/17-facts-about-gladiators-that-make-us-cringe/

DID NERO FIDDLE WHILE ROME BURNED

                  Rome was devastated by the Great Roman Fire of 64 AD.  The famous story of Nero’s role comes mainly from the historian Suetonius who wrote a history of the first twelve emperors.  Suetonius, no fan of Nero, wrote that Nero didn’t like the architecture and narrow streets of the city and wanted to redo the city.  He may not have started the fire, but he sure didn’t mind it.  He watched from the Tower of Maecenas and sang the song “The Fall of Troy” while strumming on his lyre.  For some reason, the lyre was replaced by a fiddle by later historians.  The great Roman historian had his own take on the tale.  He insists that Nero was not in Rome when the fire began.  He does add that some groups of men tried to prevent people from putting out the fires, but does not specifically blame Nero.  In fact, he opened his private gardens to refugees and cut the corn price to help the poor.  He states that the song was just a rumor.  Although Tacitus’ version is more boring, it is probably closer to the truth.

                –  https://historycollection.co/closer-look-10-historys-pervasive-myths/?fbclid=IwAR3KRVZsNKV5myBwwwnYk2PL5-D3SUiPB1-38yXJUP4qRQVcuFhuIKn4zKg

BOUDICCA

                When King Prasutagus of the Iceni tribe in Roman Britain died, he left half his kingdom to the Romans to pay off his debts to them.  The Romans, being greedy, decided they wanted the whole kingdom.  When Prastagus’ wife stood up to the Romans, she was flogged and her two daughters were raped.  It was on now!  Boudicca, standing six feet tall with flaming red hair, was a formidable opponent.  She united several tribes that had grievances against their Roman occupiers.  The 100,000 warrior army went on the rampage while the main Roman army was putting down a rebellion elsewhere.  Boudicca defeated a Roman legion and then sacked several cities, including Londinium (later London).  As many as 80,000 Roman citizens and British collaborators were killed.  However, when the main Roman army returned, she was decisively defeated by the Roman general Suetonius.  She fought in the final battle in a chariot using a spear, but her large army was unable to defeat the disciplined Roman legionaries.  At the end of the battle she committed suicide to avoid humiliation by the Romans.  She became a symbol of freedom for the British people.

                – Amazing 388  /  https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/british-and-irish-history-biographies/boadicea

DEATH BY TILE

                Pyrrhus of Epirus was one of the greatest generals of Ancient History.  A distant relative of Alexander the Great, he became a king in Macedonia.  He was invited to intervene in Italy to stop a rising power called Rome.  His generalship brought him success at first.  But his battles, while victories, came at a high cost in casualties.  This gave rise to the phrase “pyrrhic victory” which is defined as winning a battle but suffering such high losses that in the long run, you lose the war.  He was eventually forced to withdraw from Italy.  Back in Greece, he got involved in a minor civil conflict in the city of Argos.  His army stormed into the city, but was met by fierce opposition.  Pyrrhus himself was fighting for his life on horseback against an Argive warrior when the warriors mother came to her son’s aid.  She hurled a tile from her rooftop that knocked Pyrrhus from his horse.  Suffering a spinal injury, Pyrrhus was easy prey for a beheader. 

https://historycollection.co/20-historic-events-even-the-movies-wont-touch/9/

CALIGULA’S DEATH

                Caligula (12-41 A.D.) was one of the most evil Roman emperors.  Plus he was insane.  He made many peoples’ lives miserable.  For instance, he would go to bed with the wives of upper class Romans who came for banquets at the palace.  He would then critique his conquest to their husband.  At banquets, he would threaten to behead all his guests.  However, his death was not by a revolt by all the people he had offended.  It was one man.  Chaerea was one of the Praetorian Guards assigned to protect the emperor.  Caligula found Chaerea’s high voice to be effeminate and he was constantly making fun of him.  To torment him, Caligula would invent passwords that forced Chaerea to embarrass himself.  Words like “Venus” (which was slang for a male eunuch) and “Priapus” (“erection”).  When Chaerea was forced to kiss the imperial ring, Caligula would make sure it was on his middle finger and he would waggle it suggestively.  Finally, Chaerea had enough and with the aid of some co-conspirators, stabbed Caligula to death in a manner similar to Julius Caesar.

https://historycollection.co/20-historic-events-even-the-movies-wont-touch/15/

ZENOBIA

                Zenobia ruled the prosperous kingdom of Palmyra in Syria with her husband.  She wore the pants in the family and even went to battle at her husbands side.  It was said that she sometimes marched with her soldiers.  This would not have been unusual for a woman who was given military training along with the boys when she was growing up.  She also had the ability to drink most men under the table.  In 267, her husband was assassinated (possibly by her) and she became sole ruler.  Not content with just Palmyra, she conquered the rest of Syria, Egypt, and parts of Asia Minor.  Technically she was allied with Rome, but that changed when she declared independence.  And then she changed the minting of coins in Egypt, replacing the image of the emperor with her own.  That meant war!  The Roman army easily defeated her army, even though she was still marching with her troops.  They laid siege to Palmyra and sacked the city.  Although Zenobia managed to escape, she was soon captured and brought to Rome.  She was the main attraction in the victorious generals triumph.  The crowd got to see this Amazon walking in golden chains in the parade.  Normally, a defeated ruler would be put to death, but the Romans were impressed with her beauty and intellect.  She was pardoned and given a nice estate to live in.

–  Amazing p. 390-1

https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/ancient-history-middle-east-biographies/zenobia

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-civil-war-artillery

BURN, BOOKS, BURN

                One of the greatest disasters in human history occurred in 48 B.C. and Julius Caesar was partly to blame.  Caesar was in Alexandria, Egypt and had gotten involved in a power struggle between Cleopatra and her brother.  No surprise, Caesar sided with his paramour.  The brother laid siege to the capital and in the ensuing fighting Caesar’s men set fire to their ships in the harbor to hinder an enemy attack.  The fire got out of hand and spread to the famous Museum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  The Museum (“Temple of the Muses”) had been founded by one of Alexander the Great’s generals, Ptolemy.   The Museum complex included the most famous library of the Ancient World.  It attempted to accumulate all the books of the Hellenistic world.  Alexandria was a major producer of papyrus which was convenient for copying every scroll that came into the harbor via ships.  Agents were sent out to book markets to purchase more.  A Greek version of the Bible was translated.  Scholars at the Museum added their research. The collection was boosted when major rival Pergamum’s library was “donated” by Marc Antony to his lover Cleopatra when he conquered Pergamum.  By 48 B.C., the Library had 200,000 – 700,000 scrolls.  This included all the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripedes.  The fire’s blow to Greek tragedy alone was a catastrophe.  Of Aeschylus’ plays, only seven of his seventy plays survive.  Damned fire!

                –  Amazing 461-63

FACTS ABOUT CLEOPATRA

1. Her full name was Cleopatra VII Philopater. She was descended from the Macedonian Ptolemy Soter.  He was one of Alexander the Great’s generals and became pharaoh of Egypt after he died.
2. She and her brother succeeded their father Ptolemy XIII. Most likely, their father and mother were brother and sister.  She was married to her brother who became Ptolemy XIV when she was 18 and he was 10.  After his death, she married her other brother who became Ptolemy XIV when she was 22 and he was 12. 
3. She was the last of the Ptolemaic Dynasty which ruled Egypt from 305-30 B.C.
4. She was very intelligent and could speak at least 5 languages. She was knowledgeable about math, science, and philosophy.  She wrote a book called “Cosmetics” which included remedies for male baldness and dandruff.
5. She was not a beauty based on her image on coins. Her nose was large.  Her power to seduce men was based on her charm, not her looks.
6. She was living in Rome when Julius Caesar was assassinated. She and his son Caesarion returned to Egypt after.
7. She had three kids with Marc Antony. A son and twin boy and girl.

https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/egypt-history/facts-cleopatra-vii/

https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-cleopatra/?fbclid=IwAR1Q6t9K2ZVmCdR4KzdbLixvZSws0hFQzCA-TSyfltu87s4tu5UhGywbmSs

https://www.history.com/news/10-little-known-facts-about-cleopatra

DAILY LIFE OF A ROMAN LEGIONARY

Wake up at dawn in the barracks or tent you share with seven other soldiers.

Put on your tunic, belt, and sandals.

Breakfast of porridge or bread.

Don armor and go to morning muster.

Daily tasks – clean latrines, clean bathhouse, guard duty

Lunch –  more porridge or bread

Training –  marching (sometimes 20 miles), javelin throwing, mock combat using heavy wooden swords and wicker shields, jumping on and off a horse

Supper –  bread, vegetables, rarely meat, diluted wine or beer

Leisure time before bed – visit local town for gambling, drinking, or prostitute  /  playing music  /  talking with friends

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/ancient-history/day-life-roman-legionary-x.html

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/ancient-history/day-life-roman-legionary-x.html

ROMAN ROADS

                The Roman Empire constructed about 50,000 miles of paved roads.  Most of the construction was done by legionaries, not slaves.  This was appropriate because the main purpose for the roads was so the army could move quickly to trouble spots.  The roads also benefited the mail and travelers.  Letters could cover 100 miles per day, and if it was a vital dispatch, riders could cover twice that.  A letter from a homesick legionary at Hadrian’s Wall would reach Rome in 5 days.  A traveler could reach Rome from London in 13 days (about the same time as 2,000 years later).  Milestones told you how far you were away from your goal and inns were located along the roads.  There were 29 major roads radiating from Rome.  The most famous being the Appian Way.  They were constructed so well that even today, some stretches are still used.  The roads were 14-16 feet wide with wide stone embankments for drainage.  Sidewalks flanked each side.  The construction consisted of removing the topsoil, hand-fitting heavy stones for the lowest level, then layers of small stones, broken tile, brick, and chalk held together by mortar.  Finally, the surface was flat stones cemented together.

                –  Strange 153-4

MASADA

                Masada was a fortress on a plateau in the middle of a desert in what is today Israel.  It was built by Herod the Great and had everything necessary to withstand a long siege.  After the Romans put down the Jewish Rebellion (66-73 A.D.), some rebels held out.  A group called the Sicarii (from the Hebrew word for dagger) took refuge in the fort.  Their charismatic leader was Eleazar ben Ya’ir.  They used it as a base for raids that drew the attention of the Romans who sent the famed 10^th Legion to deal with the troublemakers.  Led by Flavius Silva, the legionaries constructed a wall around the plateau to keep the Jews from escaping.  Since the fortress had its own water and food supply, starving the rebels out was not doable.  Silva ordered the building of a massive ramp up to the wall of the fort.  He conscripted Jewish civilians for the construction.  When the ramp was completed, a siege tower was rolled up to the gate and a battering ram was used to break it down.  The Jews managed to set fire to the tower, but then the wind shifted and the gate caught on fire.  When it became apparent that the Romans were going to get in and death or slavery awaited the Jewish families, they decided to deprive the Romans of full victory.  Lots were drawn and ten of the men were chosen to kill the others.  Then they drew lots to see who would kill the other nine.  This avoided the sin of suicide, except for the last guy.  967 men, women, and kids died.  Two women and five kids survived by hiding. 

https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/anthropology-and-archaeology/archaeology-general/masada

AUGUSTUS’ SON

                This story is probably apochryphal, but its cute.

                One day a youth came to Rome and the crowds quickly noticed he looked just like the Emperor Augustus when he was the same age.  Word reached the palace and Augustus was intrigued so he had some guards bring the kid to see him.  Augustus was amazed at how spitting an image of himself as a boy the youth looked.  Jokingly, he asked if the boy’s mother had ever been to Rome.  “No”, said the young man, “but my dad has.”

                –  Fuller 117   

CHRISTMAS MYTHS AND FACTS

1. Jesus was born on Dec. 25. Very unlikely.  The date was proposed by the scholar Hippolytus of Rome in the early 3^rd Century.  He assumed Jesus was conceived on the spring equinox, March 25.  He then added nine months and came up with Dec. 25, which happened to coincide with pagan celebrations of the winter equinox.  The Gospels mention shepherds in their fields, which would not have happened in December.
2. Jesus was not born in year zero. When the BC/AD system was initiated, it was thought that Jesus was born 753 after the founding of Rome.  Subsequent research has shown that he was born before the death of Herod the Great in 4 B.C. which places his birth year between 6-4 B.C.  It’s also possible he was 30 years old at the time of his death in 33 A.D. which could make his birth in 3 A.D.
3. Early Christians started the Christmas tree tradition. False.  During the Renaissance, German Protestants began bringing evergreens into their homes and decorating them for Christmas.  When a German became King of England, the tradition reached England and German immigrants brought it to America.
4. X-Mas is non-Christian way of avoiding saying Christmas. This abbreviation goes back to the 12^th Century.  The first letter in the Greek for Christ is X.
5. St. Nicholas was a Turkish bishop in the 4^th Century. He gave money to the poor, sometimes by slipping it into their stockings.  In the 15^th Century, Protestants in England evolved the character into Father Christmas, a jolly gift-giver.  He was called Kris Kringle in America.  The image of Santa Claus was largely set by cartoonist Thomas Nast.  He depicted Santa as fat, white-bearded with a red suit.  He also came up with the idea of the sled pulled by reindeer.

https://www.ranker.com/list/christmas-myths/mike-rothschild?utm_source=sendgrid_newsletter&utm_medium=WeirdHistory&utm_campaign=Active

ROMAN NUMERALS

                I, II, and III look like three fingers.  V is the whole hand.  IV is one less than the whole hand.  VI, VII, VIII are the hand plus fingers of the other hand.  X is both hands.  IX is one less than both hands.

https://www.livescience.com/32052-roman-numerals.html

THE SACRED CHICKENS

In 249, the Romans sent a fleet to recapture Drepana on Sicily during the First Punic War.  It was being used as a base for raids on the Italian coast.  Consul Publius Claudius Pulcher tried to arrive at dawn to catch the Carthaginian fleet sleeping.  Unfortunately, the enemy admiral was alerted and had his fleet waiting.  Pulcher tried to form a line abreast, but his ships were poorly led and the morale of his seamen was low.  Possibly because they did not have the corvi to make their lives easier.  To make matters worse, the Roman fleet had its back to some shoals and had little room to maneuver.  Withdrawing to fight another day would have been a good idea, but an unRoman idea.  Rome did not get where it was by withdrawing without fighting.  In this case, however, even Mars seemed to sanction it.  Before naval battles, the Romans had the odd ritual of using sacred chickens determine if the day was propitious for a battle.  The sacred chickens would be brought out with appropriate pomp by the priests on the flagship.  Grain would be spread on the deck and if they ate, it was good day to fight.  Naturally, the priests could read their commander’s vibe and starve the chickens so they would eat and thus confirm his wishes.  For perhaps the only time in Roman history, the birds turned their beaks up at the feed.  That should have been a very powerful message not to fight that day, but Pulcher, who we can assume was not very devout, was incensed by this red light.  He proceeded to grab the pacifistic poultry and hurled them overboard saying:  “If they won’t eat, let’s see if they will drink”.  That was an admittedly great line, but it was not just the priests that were horrified by the sacrilege.  Word quickly spread through the fleet.  “Hey, did you hear what our jackass of a general did to the sacred chickens?!  We are doomed!”  Now, we’ll never know what might have happened if Pulcher had simply condemned the chickens as chickens, but his action definitely destroyed Roman morale that day.  That plus the shoals, the lack of corvi, and the inability to maneuver.  In the battle, Pulcher lost 24 ships sunk and 93 captured.  But at least he was not crucified.  He escaped capital punishment due to a technicality, but did have to pay a large amount for each ship that he had lost.  He dies soon after, possibly from suicide.  His sister joined him in infamy.  According to a popular story, when her carriage got caught in traffic on a crowded Roman street, she remarked that she wished her brother would lose another battle to drown some more plebeians.  Classy gal.   

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Drepana

“The Punic Wars” by Brian Craven  pp. 48-50

LUPERCALIA

                Valentine’s Day came from the Roman holiday called Lupercalia.  Goats and sheep were sacrificed.  Priests clad only in goat-skin girdles ran around praying to Faunus to drive away evil spirits.  They would strike women with thongs from the hides of sacrificed animals to purify them and encourage fertility.  Puppets of straw would be thrown in the Tiber to appease the river god.  In the 3^rd Century A.D., a Christian named Valentine defied the law by assisting persecuted Christians in marrying.  Emperor Claudius II demanded he desist and recant, but Valentine persisted and was beheaded.  In the 5^th Century, Pope Gelasius I declared the “patron of lovers” to be a saint and made his feast day Feb. 14.  As sometimes happened, the Christian holiday coopted the pagan holiday.

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/lupercalia

THE SEVEN DAY WEEK

The Ancient Babylonians were big on astronomy.  They developed the seven-day week in honor of the seven observed celestial bodies – the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.  They used a lunar month of 28 days which they divided into four seven-day weeks.  Since the Babylonians were the dominant culture of the Near East for a while, their system caught on.  The Jews adopted it after they were held captive by the Babylonians.  Alexander the Great spread it to the Hellenistic world.  Rome, which originally had an eight-day week, adopted it when they conquered eastward.  Emperor Constantine made it official and in 321 A.D. Sunday became a public holiday.  The concept of the weekend did not come until the 20^th Century.

https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/01/14/why-are-there-seven-days-in-a-week/?fbclid=IwAR0FYqGELopgayqWK1wbvS06sZiQFRvhOCiP0DW87uUAitMwjwDdeTK8UEA

THE MONTHS

 In 738 B.C., the Romans adopted the ten-month lunar calendar from the Greeks.  Those months were Martius (named for Mars – the god of war), Aprilius (named for aperio which means “to open” – a reference to flowers blooming in spring), Maius (named for the goddess who was in charge of the growth of plants), Junius (named for the goddess Juno), Quintilis (fifth), Sextilis (sixth), September (seventh), October (eighth), November (ninth), and December (tenth).  Around 700 B.C., Januarius (named after the Janus – the god of doorways) was put at the beginning and Februarius (from the Roman word “februa” which meant “to cleanse”;  Februalia was a festival of purification and atonement) at the end.  In 452 B.C., Februarius was moved to the second month.  In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar switched to a solar calendar with a leap year every four years.  All the months were given either 30 or 31 days, except Februarius with 29 (30 in a leap year).  After his death, Quintilis was named after him.  Augustus had Sextilis renamed after him.  In order to have the same number of days as July, August stole a day from Februarius.

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-dont-all-months-have-the-same-number-of-days

https://www.almanac.com/content/how-did-months-get-their-names

FACTS ABOUT POMPEII

1. The people of Pompeii and Herculaneum did not even know they were living near an active volcano. It had not erupted in 1,800 years.  They did not realize the reason why the soil was so fertile was because of previous deposits of volcanic ash.  They did not even have the word volcano (named after the Roman god Vulcan) until years later.
2. There had been a massive earthquake in 82 A.D. which destroyed some buildings but may have saved many lives because a lot of people moved away from Pompeii.
3. The first effect was a rain of pumice and ash. The pumice stones did not seem dangerous, but they gradually got larger.  Roofs collapsed under the weight of the stones.  Some were killed huddled in their homes.  It is believed that many inhabitants escaped during the pumice rain.  This would explain the relatively low death count of around 1,500 (out of a population of 20,000).   The death count would have been even lower, but the winds (which usually blew away from Pompeii) were blowing towards the city that day.
4. Hours later came the pyroclastic flow which was the flow of hot gas, ash, and molten rock. It was the heat that killed most, although there was also poison gas.  Being in a home made no difference.  The city was covered in up to 20 feet of ash and lava.
5. The volcanic explosion is estimated to have been 500 times greater than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. It threw debris 20 miles high.
6. Pompeii had been a popular resort city. It was in some ways a mini-Rome, but without the poverty.  It had an amphitheater for gladiators and other sports.  There were many homes of the wealthy that had walls decorated with beautiful murals.  25 houses of prostitution have been excavated.  Some have menus in the form of murals.
7. Much of our information about the eruption comes from the eye-witness account of Pliny the Elder. He lived across the bay from Pompeii.  His uncle, Pliny the Elder, was the most famous victim.  He took some ships to the site to try to rescue people and was killed by the pyroclastic flow.  Pliny the Younger, who was 17, wisely declined to accompany his uncle.
8. Pompeii remained undiscovered until 1748 when a man digging a water tunnel uncovered some of the buildings. He shut the digging down and did not tell anyone about the discovery.  It is believed that he was upset with sexual murals that were uncovered.
9. When Herculaneum was discovered in the 1740’s, the King of Naples commissioned the excavation of Pompeii to recover art treasures. It has been under continuous excavation since then.
10. The famous bodies of victims are actually plaster casts of the vacuums the bodies left in the ash that covered them. They died instantly when the pyroclastic flow washed over them.
11. August 24 may not actually be the date. Archeological evidence points to sometime in October.

https://www.pompeiitours.it/blog/11-amazing-facts-about-mount-vesuvius/

https://www.tours-italy.com/blog/10-mind-blowing-facts-about-pompeii

https://brightside.me/wonder-places/10-staggering-facts-about-pompeii-that-reveal-a-lot-about-the-eruption-of-vesuvius-793110/

https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-the-roman-city-of-pompeii-and-the-eruption-of-mount-vesuvius/

https://www.factinate.com/places/42-eruptive-facts-pompeii/

FACTS ABOUT CALIGULA

1. Gaius Caesar ruled Rome from 37-41 A.D. He is better known as Caligula.  The son of the famous general Germanicus, he went on campaign with him in Germany as a boy and was dressed in a little soldier’s uniform.  Including little boots (caligulae), so the legionaries called him “Caligula”. 
2. He succeeded the unpopular Tiberius. The story goes that when Tiberius died Caligula was proclaimed Emperor, it was a false alarm as Tiberius was soon reported to be still breathing.  Caligula went into the room and covered Tiberius’ mouth with a pillow.  Now he was Emperor.
3. At first the 25-year-old was a breath of fresh air. He lowered taxes, spent money on public improvements like temples, and kept the public entertained with chariot races, plays, and gladiators.  He released many of the political prisoners imprisoned by Tiberius.  But after six months, he suffered some serious illness that affected him mentally.
4. His mental instability led to many stories, some of which might have been made up by historians who disliked him. For instance, Suetonius was the originator of the incest story.  According to this historian, Caligula had incest with all three of his sisters.  His main squeeze got pregnant and when she bragged about their child being a god (because the father claimed to be one), he aborted the child because no family should have more than one god.  This  resulted in her death of mother and child.  Great story, but it was written 80 years after his death and earlier historians, who were not fans, never mentioned anything about incest.
5. Another story had him constructing a pontoon bridge across the Bay of Baiae to taunt an astrologer who had predicted he would be emperor when he could ride a horse across the bay. There is no archeological evidence for this, but there is proof for his construction of an elaborate barge for Lake Nemi.  It had mosaic floors, statues, heating, and plumbing.
6. He supposedly appointed his horse Incitatus consul. However, although Incitatus was a great race horse and lived in a marble stable with an ivory manger, it was probably just an idea Caligula batted around.
7. Another famous story had him contemplating the invasion of Britain. When this proved unfeasible, he had his men whip the English Channel to show the god Neptune who was boss.  He then had his soldiers collect sea shells as spoils to show off in Rome.
8. He was already unpopular when he made matters worse by claiming to be a living god. Previous emperors had been deified after death, but he was the first to insist on adoration while still alive.  He had statues of gods’ heads replaced with his head.  One statue was clothed with whatever he was wearing that day. 
9. As you might guess from his extravagant spending, he quickly went deeply in debt. The solution was to accuse the wealthy of treason, execute them, and confiscate their fortunes and property.  I suppose this was slightly better than him having sex with any noble’s wife that he took an interest in.
10. His assassination was just a matter of time. He had offended one of his Praetorian Guards by questioning his sexuality.  Caligula was constantly insulting Cassius Chaerea and would force him to use embarrassing passwords.  One day, Caligula was isolated in a corridor and Cassius and some confederates began stabbing in a scene similar to the death of Julius Caesar.  The mad emperor was stabbed thirty times.  Sadly, his wife and daughter were also killed.  Some may have mourned them, but few mourned Caligula.

https://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-may-not-know-about-caligula

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/caligula

https://www.biography.com/political-figure/caligula

https://www.factinate.com/people/42-disturbed-facts-caligula/

ARCHIMEDES’ SIEGE ENGINES

                Archimedes was one of the greatest minds of the Ancient World.  He lived in Syracuse on the island of Sicily.  In 215 BCE, Roman general Marcellus laid siege to the city.  Being a patriot, Archimedes aided the defense of the city with some amazing weapons.  He designed large catapults to hurl huge rocks on the Roman ships.  Smaller catapults called “scorpions” shot bolts.  The “claw” was a device that would be dropped on the deck of a wooden Roman galley.  The claw would dig into the wood and a crane-like arm would lift the ship off the water and drop it back down causing it to spring leaks and sink.  And then there was the “death ray”.  This may have involved the use of  mirrors or polished shields to focus the sun’s rays on the ships causing them to catch fire.  (There is still scientific dispute over the feasibility of the “death ray”.)  Marcellus did capture the city anyhow, but he recognized the brilliance of Archimedes and could see him working for the Romans.  He instructed his soldiers to enjoy themselves sacking the city, but not to harm Archimedes.  A Roman legionary found the scientist working on a geometry problem by sketching in the dirt.  When the soldier grabbed him roughly, he shouted “Don’t disturb my circles!”  The soldier was enraged and killed Archimedes.

https://sciencing.com/weapons-invented-by-archimedes-12756747.html

https://explorable.com/archimedes-war-machines

–  The Greatest War Stories Never Told  pp. 2-3

SCIPIO’S GIFT

                When Scipio (later Scipio Africanus) captured New Carthage in Spain, many children of Spanish chieftains (who had been held hostage to ensure the allegiance of their tribes) fell into his hands.  Scipio, in a shrewd public relations move, ordered the release of the hostages and their return to their families.  A very beautiful hostage was brought to Scipio by his officers.  Surely Scipio, who had a reputation as a ladies’ man, deserved this stunning beauty.  Scipio declined the gift and inquired about the woman’s background.  She was the daughter of an important chief and fiancé of an influential nobleman.  Scipio had the nobleman summoned and put the engaged couple’s hands together.  All he asked was for the nobleman to be an ally to Rome, which he immediately swore to.  Later, the parents arrived with a large amount of gold to ransom their daughter.  Scipio had the gold given to the couple as a wedding present. 

–  Hannibal by Ernle Bradford  pp. 160-161

HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE

                Here is a famous legend passed to us by Livy.  In the 6^th Century B.C., the Romans expelled their last Etruscan king.  Tarquin immediately sought an alliance with King Lars Porsena of Clusium.  Tarquin convinced Porsena that overthrowing kings was a trend that needed to be stopped.  Porsena agreed and marched on Rome with a large army.  It approached Rome on a road that crossed the Tiber River at the Sublician Bridge.  The Romans assigned to guard the bridge were surprised and panicked.  One of them, Horatius Cocles, stopped them from running away and insisted they defend the bridge.  He ordered his comrades to render the bridge unpassable while he kept the enemy off it.  Hortatius went to the enemy end of the bridge and backed by two others, fought to keep the enemy at bay.  He used his shield to block arrows and his sword to stab any foe who dared to face him.  When he heard the shout that the bridge had been demolished, he uttered a little prayer and leaped into the river.  With arrows chasing him, he swam to safety on the other shore.  The enemy army was stymied in its attempt to take Rome by surprise assault.  Horatius became a famous hero and parents would tell their children the story of “Horatius at the Bridge”.

THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA

                Lucretia was the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, a nobleman related to the fifth (and it would turn out, the last) king of Rome.  She was not a typical upper class wife.  While others would go out when their husbands were away, Lucretia always stayed home.   In 509 B.C., King Tarquin’s army was laying siege to a city.  Collatinus was off with the army.  One night, he and his comrades, who included Tarquin’s son Sextus, were having a drinking party.  Collatinus bet that he had the most virtuous wife in Rome.  The drunken men hopped on their horses to prove him wrong.  When they stopped at each of their houses, they found the other wives either partying or preparing to go out.  However, when they peeped in on Lucretia, they saw a woman sitting alone weaving.  Sextus was attracted to her.  The next night Sextus visited Lucretia. She showed hospitality to her husband’s friend.  After she went to bed, Sextus snuck into the bedroom and begged her to make love to her.  When she refused, he put a sword to her neck and threatened to kill her.  Not only that, he would put her dead body next to a dead nude slave to besmirch her reputation.  She acquiesced.  The next morning, she called for her husband and father.  They arrived with Collatinus’ friend Lucius Junius Brutus.  Lucretia tearfully told her story and then stabbed herself with a dagger.  The men vowed revenge and revolt over her dead body.  They carried the body to the Forum, which attracted a crowd.  Brutus gave a speech informed the Romans of the death of this paragon of virtue.  He went on to outline the abuses of King Tarquin and the need for a new government that would not be a monarchy.  The public rose up in rebellion.  Tarquin was forced to flee and Rome became a republic.  Sextus fled to a city where he hoped to find refuge, but his reputation proceeded himself and he was killed.   Centuries later, a descendent of Lucius Junius Brutus brought down another tyrant, or so he saw him.

https://museumfacts.co.uk/lucretia-the-woman-who-ended-the-roman-monarchy/?fbclid=IwAR0Q6bplREmtpCvpMCbIe9Yd6jUhc-M1aLKDND_3RBgCvYewLDQjYgcUMJM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucretia

FACTS ABOUT NERO

*** Take the most sensational of these facts with a grain of salt.  Roman historians tended to be very anti-Nero.

1. He was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. His father was a consul and his mother was Agrippina the Younger, sister of Caligula.  Supposedly when he was born, his father said:  “Nothing produced by me and Agrippina could possibly be good for the state or the people.”  He got that prediction right!
2. Agrippina had poisoned her husband so she could marry Emperor Claudius. Claudius adopted her son and he took the name Nero.  Being older than his biological son (and possibly under the influence of Agrippina), Nero was designated as his successor.  It is believed that Agrippina rushed the accession of her son by poisoning Claudius with mushrooms.  Nero became the youngest emperor up to then at age 16.  He soon had his step-brother Britannicus poisoned (or his mother did it).
3. At first, with the influence of the philosopher Seneca, Nero was a good ruler. He reduced corruption, ended capital punishment, decreased taxes, and reduced bloodshed in the arenas.  Something happened a few years into his reign that turned him into a hedonist.  He forced Seneca to commit suicide and began to rule only for his own pleasures.  It may have been mental illness due to some type of sickness.
4. He executed his first wife Octavia (a step-sister and daughter of Claudius) for adultery, although torture did not provide proof. He killed his second wife Poppea Sabina by kicking her in the stomach when she was pregnant.  He married Statilla Messalina after forcing her husband to commit suicide.  He took up with a slave named Sporus because he looked like Poppea.  He had Sporus castrated and dressed him like a woman.
5. When Nero got tired off his scheming mother’s nagging, he was determined to get her out of the way, like Seneca. He had a specially built boat constructed.  It was designed to sink in deep water.  Nero got his ma to take a cruise. When she didn’t drown, he sent guards to stab her.  Supposedly, when they approached she opened her cloak and said:  “Smite my womb”.
6. Nero considered himself a great singer, poet, and actor. He would perform in public to adoring crowds. They better adore!  He also considered himself a great chariot racer.  He raced in the Olympics in 67 A.D.  Even though his chariot crashed and didn’t finish, he was still declared the winner.  It was good to be the Emperor.
7. He was blamed for the Great Roman Fire of 64. Some believed he started the fire to clear space for his new palace complex.  Historians spread the legend that he “fiddled while Rome burned.”  Actually, it would have been a lyre (which he was proficient with).  The best evidence was that he was 35 miles away from Rome in Antium at the time of the fire.  Modern historians even believe that he organized efforts to provide relief for the victims.
8. He used the fire to start the persecution of a troublesome religious group – the Christians. He had Saints Peter and Paul executed.  He was creative in his atrocities.  Christians would be covered with animal skins and then dogs would be set on them.  More gruesomely, Christians would be coated with tar and set afire to provide lighting in his gardens for parties.
9. Partly due to excessive taxation to pay for his enormous palace complex, a revolt against his misrule developed. With the Senate breathing down his neck, he avoided execution by having a servant stab him.  His famous last words were:  “What an artist dies in me.”

https://learnodo-newtonic.com/emperor-nero-facts

https://www.factinate.com/people/42-scandalous-facts-nero-romes-infamous-emperor/

AUGUSTUS’ PILLOW

A wealthy Roman died and then people found out he had concealed enormous debts that he owed.  At the estate sale, Augustus instructed his agent to purchase the man’s pillow.  When asked why, Augustus responded that it must be a great pillow if the owner could sleep on it in spite of his debts.

•  Little, Brown  p. 28

HISTORY OF EASTER

            We do not know the date of the first Easter.  In fact, we are not even sure what year Jesus was crucified.  I used 30 A.D. in my Western Civ class, but I have also seen 33 A.D.  The idea of celebrating the Resurrection goes back to the early days of the Christian church.  Today’s dating of the “moveable feast” ( a Church holiday that varies on what day it is celebrated) goes back to 325 when Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea to formalize Church doctrines like the divinity of Christ.  It was decided that Easter would occur on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox.  This placed Easter as being between March 22 and April 25.  Note the spring equinox.  The equinox was associated by pagans with renewal.  Easter probably takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility, Eostre.  It was not unusual for Christianity to coopt pagan holidays and traditions.  Pagans considered eggs to symbolize fertility and birth.  Christians added decorating them to connect them to the rebirth of Christ.  They also added the idea that the broken egg symbolized the opened tomb.  Originally, the color red was most popular because it represented the blood of Christ.  In some areas of Europe eating eggs was forbidden during Lent, so people preserved them by boiling.  Come Easter Sunday, it was egg-gorging time!  Someone had the bright idea of using the eggs, decorated to represent the risen Christ for egg hunts.  And if you are thinking of fertility, who better than the rabbit.  The idea of the Easter bunny was brought to America by German immigrants in the 18^th Century.  Baby bunnies are commonly born in spring, around Easter time.  The holiday in America became associated mainly with Catholics as most Protestants found it too pagan.  It became associated with drinking and partying.  By adults, of course.  In the 19^th Century, as the country discovered childhood, it morphed into a more family-oriented holiday, partly to reduce the rowdiness.  And of course, businessmen discovered the marketing potential.

BONUS:  But what about the decidedly unreligious tradition of the White House Easter egg roll?  In the 1800’s, children in Washington, D.C. would bring their Easter baskets to hills in the city to roll eggs (and themselves) down to great merriment.  Capitol Hill was particularly popular.  In 1876, Congress got fed up with the damage done to the lawn and passed the Turf Protection Law (better known as the “Get Off My Yard!” Act).  Spoil-sport Pres. Grant signed it.  In 1877, police turned away the kids, but Pres. Hayes welcomed them to the White House grounds.  Future Republicans!  The Easter Bunny did not make an appearance until 1969 and no, it was not Nixon dressed in a bunny costume.

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/history-of-easter

https://theconversation.com/why-easter-is-called-easter-and-other-little-known-facts-about-the-holiday-75025

https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/easter-history-facts-meaning-origin-jesus-eggs-bunny-church-celebrate/

FACTS ABOUT THE CAESAR ASSASSINATION

1. Plotting began on Feb. 22 when Cassius and Brutus met to discuss getting rid of Caesar. It was decided to recruit as many reliable anti-Caesar as possible.  Cicero was considered for recruitment, but it was decided he was too cautious in his old age.  Marc Antony was mentioned until someone pointed out that he had been opposed to a previous assassination plot.  Subsequent meetings discussed the method of killing.  It was decided that an assassination in public would have more impact than an ambush in a back alley.  Suggestions included killing Caesar at a gladiator event or as we walked on the Via Sacra.  One discarded option was pushing Caesar off a bridge that he would be using to get to the election of new consuls.  Conspirators would be waiting in the water with daggers!
2. The soothsayers name was Spurinna. He was a haruspex which means his specialty was reading the entrails of sacrificed animals to divine the future.  On Feb. 15, 44 B.C., he sacrificed a bull that had no heart.  Something big was coming!  He did not warn Caesar specifically about March 15.  He did not say “Beware the Ides of March”.  That was a simplification by Shakespeare.  He actually warned Caesar that the next month would be dangerous.  That month ended on March 15.  It was more of a prediction than fortune-telling.  Spurinna did his research by way of his numerous contacts among the elite.  He knew that there was opposition to Caesar.  He also knew that Caesar was going on a military campaign to Persia on March 18, so something might happen before then.
3. There were about 60 conspirators. Not all of them were motivated by love of the Republic and fear of a dictatorship.  Some of the men were upper class men who were upset that Caesar had cut down on corruption in the running of the provinces.  He ended the gravy train.  Some did not like his shunning of the old nobility and his transferring of power to his family and friends.  Some joined because they felt Caesar had not rewarded them enough. 
4. The true Judas figure was Decimus (incorrectly identified by Shakespeare as Decius). He was more key than Brutus and Cassius.  Brutus and Cassius had been allies of Pompey in his civil war with Caesar.  He had pardoned them after that, so being assassins was ungrateful.  Decimus was more despicable because he had served under Caesar in the war and was one of his most trusted generals.  When Caesar moved on from the conquest of Gaul, he left Decimus there as governor.  He owed his success to Caesar.  Decimus had dinner with Caesar on March 14 and he was the one who convinced Caesar to disregard Calpurnia’s warning not to go to the Senate the next day.  Why did he turn on his friend?  One theory is that he was upset that Caesar had not allowed him a triumph after some of his victories.  (He had allowed lesser generals to have the parades.)  He may also have been influenced by his wife who was opposed to Caesar. 
5. Caesar was not killed in the Senate, but in the smaller Senate House of Pompey nearby. Ironically, Caesar fell at the foot of the statue of Pompey. Decimus’ personal force of gladiators provided security for the conspirators by guarding the entrance to the building.
6. Cimber approached Caesar with a petition for the return of his exiled brother. He then grabbed Caesar by the shoulders and Casca stabbed him in the back shoulder.  The others then joined in.  Caesar put up something of a fight.  He used his stylus to stab back.  Actually, the assassins did more damage to themselves as the frenzy led to some stabbing of other stabbers.
7. Caesar’s last words were not “Et tu, Brute”. That was Shakespeare.  Most likely Caesar did not say anything memorable.  His last act was to pull his toga over his face so he could die with some dignity.  Only one of the 23 wounds was fatal – a stab to the chest.  We know this from the first recorded autopsy in history.  
8. Brutus was not killing his own father. Caesar did have an affair with Brutus’ mother, but that relationship had ended long before Brutus was born.  The fact that Brutus wounded Caesar in the groin might indicate he was not happy that Caesar had slept with his mother.

https://www.vox.com/2015/3/15/8214921/ides-of-march-caesar-assassination

https://www.history.com/news/julius-caesar-assassin-ides-of-march

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Julius_Caesar

THE BATTLE OF LAKE TRASIMENE

                The greatest ambush in military history took place on June 21, 217 B.C.  Just one year earlier, Hannibal had crossed the Alps into Italy.  After winning the Battle of the Trebia, Hannibal continued south and bypassed a Roman army under Flaminius.  Scorching the earth as he marched, the Roman public demanded revenge.  Flaminius was determined to give it to them.  In hot pursuit, he pursued Hannibal into a valley with hills to his left and Lake Trasimene to his right.  He could see Hannibal’s camp up ahead.  No scouting necessary, right?  It was early morning and there was a mist coming off the lake.  Suddenly, trumpets were heard and the Romans turned worried eyes to the hills.  They saw a horde of very angry soldiers running toward them.  Many of them were Gauls who had vengeance on their minds due to Roman depredations.  How had the Romans gotten themselves caught in this dilemma?  Hannibal had laid a trap.  The night before, he had encamped at the end of the valley and maintained campfires while he took most of his army on a risky night march to hide in the forested hills.  He then waited for the Romans to march completely into the valley.  The amazing thing was that Hannibal’s army was a mixture of nationalities, including 17,000 Gauls.  Besides the language barrier, there was the fact that the Gauls were ill-disciplined warriors who could not wait to kill Romans.  And yet, such was the leadership of Hannibal that not one Gaul blew the ambush by rushing out early.  They all waited for the trumpets. That must have been tough when some of them were looking at the men who had killed their families.  When those trumpets sounded, the slaughter was on.  The Romans liked to fight in formation and were very difficult to defeat, but in this case they were taken by surprise and had the lake to their right.  There was no escape.  Flaminius, who was well-known as a Gaul oppressor (he supposedly had a Gaul scalp attached to his helmet), was Gaul Enemy #1.  He was one of the first to die and now the Romans were leaderless.  Not that it would have made much difference.  It was a rout from the start.  Only about 10,000 of the 25,000-man army survived.  Many drowned in the lake.  Hannibal lost about 2,000 men.

https://www.worldhistory.org/image/166/the-battle-of-lake-trasimene/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Trasimene