War Time Correspondents - The Battle of Gaugamela

Good Evening. Tonight we have a special report coming to you from our correspondent travelling with King Alexander of Macedon as he continues his march east in his war against the Persian's. Reports of extensive negotiations between the Macedonian and Persian diplomatic corps have filtered back to us over the last few months and now we go to our war correspondent, who is travelling with the Macedonian court.

Alexander and Darius

"Good evening. You join me on the open plain of Gaugamela. Opposite me the endless hordes of King Darius are lined up, while I am currently on the far right flank of the Macedonia army. A recent letter after the battle of Issus from Darius to Alexander has demand the withdrawal of the Greek forces from Asia. Shortly after these negotiations were rejected by Alexander, an offer of marriage to one of his daughters and an area of Asia was again rejected by the Macedonian king (1). A final attempt to appease Alexander has also fallen through, even with an offer of all land to the west of the Halys river, leading to these two armies facing each other here at Gaugamela.  

With Alexander unable to use the terrain to his advantage, like at Issus or Granicus the odds seem firmly in Darius's favour, their are reports of the Persian forces flattening the terrain around the proposed battle field to give better running to their two hundred war chariots.

My sources tell me that there are around a million Persian forces, comprising of horse, infantry and fifteen terrifying war elephants (2) against the Macedonian force of seven thousand cavalry and forty thousand infantry. I can just make out the Persian line across the field and they are formed up in their standard line, King Darius himself stands at the middle of the line. The Macedonian forces have been split in two, with Alexander in charge of the right and the left flank under the command of Parmenion.

A hush has fallen upon the Macedonian forces and the king himself has just ridden by, it looks like orders have been given. Yes the army is advancing, although the wings of the army are at an angle. It looks as if Alexander is trying to draw the Persian cavalry out. Yes, he has set off with the Companion cavalry on an extreme flanking move, taking off far to the right (3).

It looks as if Darius is responding now and in a thundering noise of hooves the Scythian cavalry have come crashing into the right flank of the Macedonian army. It looks as if a fresh supply of men are being moved up and an agreement seems to have been reached in using tactical charges to clear the Persians from our lines (4).

The battle has been going for around half an hour now and in the haze to my right I can see scythed chariots being despatched to intercept King Alexander on his wide out-ride. However the hidden javelin throwers among the cavalry are making short work of them and few are breaking through to the Macedonian front line. I was recently shown an example of a new tactic by the Macedonian forces and here it is in practice. The disciplined lines are opening up creating avenues which the enemy scythed chariots are simply passing through.

It looks as if King Alexander is preparing his final move. With his army engaged at the front and with reports that the left flank is suffering, a gap as formed in the Persian ranks as they have slowly moved around trying to flank the King and his cavalry. I can see he has formed his troops into a mighty wedge, and the sun glinting off his armour clearly shows me Alexander will be leading this charge himself (5).

They are lost to me in the dust of their horses hooves churning the plain, but I can hear the sound of the cavalry crashing into the Persian line.

A runner has just arrived from the left wing of the army requesting aid against the Persians. At the same time a man on a horse has just arrived from the charge. The wedge of the cavalry smashing into the weak Persian forces have scattered them, King Darius himself is in danger of being caught as his army is in full flight (6). Apparently runners have been sent to Alexander directly to request aid for the left flank and I can see the king is breaking off his pursuit of Darius and moving his troops to the left flank.

The battle seems far from over and the wounded and injured are being brought in to the camp, Hephaestion himself just passing me, however it is another stunning victory for the young King Alexander and one can only wonder where this man and his army will achieve next. Babylon seems a ripe target and it is my belief that my next report will be from beside the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates"

1. "wrote to Alexander advising his to bear his success as one who was only human and to release the captives in return for a large ransom. He added he would yield to Alexander the territory and cities of Asia west of the Halys river " Diodorus Siculus Book 17 Chapter 39.
2. "He marched against Darius, who was coming to meet him with a million men" Plutarch Life of Alexander Chapter 31.
3.

4. "The Macedonians sustained their assults, and assailing them violently squadron by squadron, they succeeded in pushing them out of rank" Arrian Book 3 Chapter 13
5. "the Macedonian cavalry, commanded by Alexander himself pressed on vigarously, thrusting against the Persians" Arrian Book 3 Chapter Fourteen
6. "the cavalry charged at full speed upon the enemy and the phalanx  rolled on after them like a flood. But before the foremost ranks were engaged the Barbarians gave way" Plutarch Life of Alexander Chapter 33

Thanks for Reading
James

20 Latin Phrases For The Modern World

Latin Inscription

There are times when you are lost for words. When all you can do is stare dumb-founded and slack jawed at the world around you. It's times like this that you need a catchy phrase. A pithy bon mot. The retort to end all retorts.

Several years ago I came across a little book, tucked away in the corner of an old, dusty, second hand book shop. The book in question is X-treme Latin by Henry Beard and all credit for this list goes to him and his wonderful books, well worth searching out. Please note several of these phrases are not suitable for young children or people of innocent dispositions, but despite being over two thousands years old they still apply to our twenty-first century lives.

1. "Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus!" - You want a part of me? Bring it on!
2. "Currus magnus, mentula minuscula" - Big car, little dick.
3. "Meditare de hoc, amice" - Meditate on this, pal.
4. "Te amat Iesus - ceteri te putant irrumatorem" - Jesus loves you - everyone else thinks you're an asshole.
5. "Stipator stulus es optimatum!" - You're a right-wing moron!
6. "Pedisequus parasiticus es popularium!" - You're a liberal stooge!
7. "Mande merdam et morere" - Eat shit and die.
8. "Omes paucis annis prosedae erunt" - In a few years they will all be hookers.
9.  "Mox corvos pasces" - You're toast.
10. "Mater tua tam obesa est ut cum Romae est, urbs habet octo colles" - Your mother is so fat, when she's in town, Rome has eight hills.
11. "Ascervus inutilium est!" -It's a hunk of junk!
12. "Recuso reverenter ne respondeam, quia quicquid dicam id sit mendacium impudens" - I respectfully decline to answer on the grounds that anything I might say would be a bald faced lie. 
13. "Tu tibi futuendus (futendave) es" - It is required of you to go fuck yourself.
14. "Coleus" - Bollocks!
15. "Illuc ivi, illud feci" - Been there, done that.
16. "Basia baliliscum meum" - Kiss my basilisk.
17. "Vomiturus sum!" - I'm going to throw up.
18. "Adloquere manum. facies nescit quid velis" - Talk to the hand, the face don't understand. 
19. "Quid nobis infeliciter fieri potest?" - What could possibly go wrong? 
20. "Eice id ex animo" - Fuhgeddaboutit.

Twenty phrases that when applied at the exact right moment will leave the object of your dislike completely flabbergasted. After all, quid nobis infeliciter fieri potest?

Thanks for Reading

James

Curing the Common Cold the Ancient Greek Way

I have a cold. It happened when someone at work caught a cold and quickly gave it to someone else who commenced sneezing every five minutes, which then resulted in someone else coughing on the alternate five minutes and before I knew it I was sat in the middle of a triptych of sneezing, coughing, germ spewing colleagues.

Hippocrates from the floor of the Asclepieion at Kos

Having suffered through my cold with a brave face and eschewing any paracetamol or the like, my mind turned to how I might of faired in Ancient Greece, perhaps under the care of the mighty Hippocrates or within the walls of the Temple of Asclepius.

It's highly likely however that my soar throat, headache and general state of illness wouldn't of warranted too much worry in ancient Greece. A journey to the Temple of Asclepius might have been in order and would have no doubt soon sorted out the problem. There is record of a lady scoffing at the "incredible or impossible" cures that the healing God offered within his temple. However falling asleep she was visited by the god in a dream who told her he would cure her, but she owed him a silver pig as recompense for her stupidity in not believing

"after saying this he operated on her diseased eye and poured a drug into it. And when day came she left the temple cured"

A Record of Cures from the Temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus from the Late 4th Century

The Culture of Athens CA 393 IG IV 121.4

This fragment describes how a treatment would occur at a Temple of Asclepius. The patient would enter an induced sleep, where upon they would have a dream in which the god would come to them and tell them the cure for their illness or perform an operation. If the treatment failed it was merely a case of asking the god to impart his wisdom again. 

In an attempt to cure my cold, it might have been better to visit the great father of medicine, Hippocrates. Famously a man who drank the urine of his patients to detect an imbalance in the body (as well as smelled their excrement and all other manner of bodily functions) he is seen as the founder of modern medicine.

"The body of man contains in itself, blood and phlegm and yellow and black bile, and these are the constituents of the nature of the body, and the cause of pain and good health"

Hippocrates On the Nature of Man 4

The Culture of Athens CA 389

A man was in the best health when all these composite parts, what he named "humours", were in perfect balance with each other and suffered a pain when one was in deficiency or not mixing with the others. Hippocrates also believed that through prognosis and the use of previous knowledge in the whole of the body, he would be able to cure someone.

"His treatment would be most effective if based on foreknowledge of the consequences of the present symptoms"

Hippocrates Prognostic 1

Culture of Athens CA 387

Colossal Head of Asclepius from the British Museum

Perhaps I would of been safer still to visit Galen. Practising medicine in the early 2nd Century AD, he added a great deal to the teachings of Hippocrates. Galen rose to be the doctor to the emperors, men like Lucius Verus, Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus were all his patients. He was in Rome for the time of the Antonine Plague and is revered for his diagnostic skills and how particular he was in the writing out and prescribing of his medicines.

Whether a visit from Asclepius in my dreams, Hippocrates tasting my urine for an imbalance or the careful prescribing of medicine by Galen would of had more affect on curing my cold than the very hot bath and long nap that I prescribed myself, is a question never to be answered. 

However medicine, operations and specialists did exist in the ancient Greek world. The temples of Asclepius specialised in different areas of the body, Hippocrates was so famous and successful that doctors still swear his oath today and Galen influenced knowledge of the human body, more than few others. 

So next time you reach for the paracetamol, perhaps a silver pig as payment to the god and a dream inspired cure in the Temple of Asclepius would be a better option.

Thanks for Reading

James 

Sex in the Forum

In 2 BC a scandal hit Rome. There in the civic heart of the eternal city, a woman was found by her father to be indulging in every form of vice and revelling in immorality. The old man having the rights of Patria Potestas, dealt with his daughter in a swift and decisive manner, exiling her to a harsh life on a small island. 

A simple tale of Roman law punishing immoral behaviour. However the players in the tale are not simple citizens of the ancient city. They are Julia and her father Augustus, the Princeps of Rome. The very first Emperor. Suddenly this isn't a simple case of a father exercising his Pater Familias power over his family, but a scandal that would rock the city. 

The Roman Forum

Julia had led a structured life, being married off by her father to various allies to help secure his position of power. Married to a cousin Marcus Claudius Marcellus, he had died when she was sixteen. At the age of eighteen she was married to Augustus' great ally, trusted friend and general, Agrippa. Agrippa passed away in 12 BC (and after the birth of their child named Agrippa Postumus, who Julia was pregnant with at the time) she was betrothed and immediately married to Tiberius, her step-brother and for all intents and purposes Augustus' new heir. 

Their's was not a happy marriage, blighted by the death of their child in its infancy. By 6 BC Tiberius had withdrawn from Rome, public life and his wife to Rhodes, giving Julia free reign of the city.

"He [Augustus] at length discovered that his daughter Julia was so dissolute in her conduct as actually to take part in revels and drinking bouts at night in the Forum and on the very rostra"

Cassius Dio Roman History Book 55

Augustus's response to his daughter can be seen as both harsh and lenient. At the time of the scandal breaking Augustus had been imposing laws to promote traditional Roman values. The shame of Julia's activities becoming public knowledge would have been highly embarrassing. It seems unlikely that Augustus wouldn't of already known of his daughters activities, it is hard to think of anything happening in Rome without his knowledge, but it is the public shaming of a man presenting himself as a model Pater Familias that probably resulted in her punishment. 

"He informed the Senate of his daughters fall through a letter read in his absence by a quaestor, and for every shame would meet no one for a long time, and even thought of putting her to death"

Suetonius Life of Caesar Chapter 65

A Marble Statue Identified as Julia the Elder

In any event, Julia was banished to the island of Pandetria to live a spartan and harsh lifestyle. She was forbidden to drink wine and there were no men on the island. No visitors were allowed to visit without Augustus's express permission. Five years after her initial exile, Augustus relented a little and allowed her to return to the mainland, but not Rome. A divorce was directly sent to Tiberius, her husband, in his own self imposed exile.

"He learned that his wife Julia had been banished because of her immorality and adulteries and that a bill of divorce has been sent her in his name by authority of Augustus"

Suetonius Life of Tiberius Chapter 11

The case of Julia and Augustus is an interesting one. In many ways Augustus acts exactly within his powers as the traditional Pater Familias of his family. This gave him the power of punishment over his children, even as far as to sentence them to death legally. But there are also signs that this is no normal Roman family. A speech was delivered to the Roman senate to explain what was happening. It is possible that Augustus' imposing of a divorce upon Tiberius indicate a wish to keep a possible future heir in place and relatively untainted from scandal. The situation is handled both within the family and as part of public business. 

The women of the Julio-Claudian family show up throughout the reign of the first emperors and it must be noted usually involved in some sort of scandal. Livia, Agrippina the Elder, Messalina and Agrippina the Younger are all fine examples. Perhaps it was due to Augustus' attempts to pass laws on morality that saw Julia punished so? Perhaps it was the public embarrassment of her father? However this first scandal is unique as being one involving a father and a daughter. A real family affair. 

Thanks for Reading

James

 

Perseus's Meteors

If you have been looking up at the sky the last few nights you may have noticed points of lights cartwheeling graceful parabolas across the heavens. They are meteors, the sons of Perseus streaking across the blackness of space to tell his tale.

Perseus and his Surrounding Constellations

They are named the Perseid Meteors because they originate from an area of space within the constellation of Perseus, and every August this prolific meteor shower lights up the night sky with its pyrotechnic display. However what few people may realise is that the myth of Perseus and his great deeds are written right there in the night sky.

A story in the stars, Perseus is visible in the northern skies, saving Andromeda from her terrible fate at the hands of the dreadful sea monster Cetus, while her parents Cepheus and Cassiopeia lie nearby.

Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini

The Constellation of Perseus, shows him in full heroic pose, sword thrust forward while the head of the gorgon, Medusa in his other hand, in the act of saving Andromeda. Andromeda herself lies to the right of Perseus in the night sky, chained to her rock, ready to be sacrificed to the dreadful sea monster Cetus, who eternally chases her across the night sky.

Above Andromeda sit her parents, Cassiopeia and Cepheus. Cassiopeia however did not escape punishment from the god Poseidon, for boasting to be more beautiful than all the nymphs of the ocean. She was placed high in the night sky, permanently spinning around the pole star, spending half her time upside down. Cepheus, her husband resides in the sky next to her, permanently reminded of his guilt and shame by the stars around him.

But how do these stories tell the myth of Perseus? Well they don't tell the whole myth that's true, but they do show one of the most exciting parts. Ridiculed by the king of Seriphos for liking his mothers company when he should be out doing daring deeds, Perseus was tasked with proving his courage by killing the gorgon Medusa.

With the aid of the gods, a shining shield from Athena, the winged shoes and sickle of Hermes and Hades helmet of invisibility, Perseus completed his quest to kill Medusa. Avoiding her gaze that turned a man to stone by looking in the reflection of his shield, Perseus set off home on his winged sandals.

Black Glaze Mug Showing Perseus Beheading Medusa
from the British Museum

Flying over the land of Aethiopi the hero came across the beautiful Andromeda in the act of being sacrificed to the sea monster Cetus, an attempt by her parents to appease Poseidon. Her mother Andromeda had claimed that the she and her daughter were more beautiful than the nymphs of the sea and Poseidon had flooded the kingdom at this boasting. The Orcale of Ammon had announced that the only way to assuage Poseidon was to sacrifice their daughter to the monster Cetus and that is where Perseus finds her.

Using either his sword to kill the monster or the Medua's head to turn Cetus to stone, Perseus was victorious and claimed Andromeda's hand in marriage. Returning home Perseus stopped the wicked advances of the king towards his mother, by turning him to stone with Medusa's head.

There is of course more to the tale of Perseus, there always is with the heroes of ancient Greece, but each year, in the early weeks of August small darts of light call you to look up into the night sky and see the hero in his greatest moment, saving a pretty damsel from a terrifying monster. A story in the stars.


Thanks for Reading
James

The Flavian Amphitheatre - Nero's Greatest Legacy

At the heart of the Rome, in the very centre of the Eternal City, stood a temple to its people. A place where 50,000 Romans could come together to worship their own empire and power. An icon, and one of the tallest buildings within the city. The Flavian Amphitheatre was started by the Emperor Vespasian, upon his rise to power after the chaos and civil war of the Year of the Four Emperor's, in AD 72. It was finished eight years later by Vespasian's son the Emperor Titus, and it's opening games were said to have been some of the biggest ever held, involving animal hunts, gladiatorial combat and even saw the theatre flooded.

 "Animals both tame and wild were slain to the numbers of nine thousand"

Cassius Dio Roman History Book 66 Chapter 25

So why is it, that this imposing and impressive building is not more widely called the Flavian Amphitheatre, but by the name it is known by all over the world, the Colosseum.

The Flavian Amphitheatre or the Colosseum?

In AD 64 the centre of Rome was swept clear by one of the most devastating fires to ever savage the city. Fire was common in Rome, over population, timber buildings one on top of the other and a population using oil lamps for lighting, meant fire was a continual problem. Despite the popular apocryphal tale that Nero fiddled while Rome burnt, Tacitus records that he was not even in the city at the time. However Nero seized upon a "golden" opportunity when it came along. 

"The report had spread that, at the very moment when Rome was aflame,

he had mounted his private stage, and typifying the ills of the present by the calamities of the past,

had sung the destruction of Troy"

Tactitus Annals Book 15 Chapter 39

The Emperor wasted no time in finally building himself a home right in the centre of the city, worthy of his stature, the Domus Aurea. His Golden House. The Golden House covered the slopes of three of Rome's seven hills, the Palatine, Esquilline and Caelian hills and is estimated to have covered an area of 300 acres. Within these grounds were groves and vineyards, fields of pasture on which flocks were kept and most imposingly an artificially dug lake. 

The house itself was no less impressive, with the huge amount of gold leaf used giving the buildings its name, pools and fountains, rooms individually decorated with frescos and semi-precious stones and most famously a supposed dining room with a revolving roof from which flower petals could be showered upon its guests. 

"He deigned to say nothing more in the way of approval that he was at last beginning to be housed like a human being"

Suetonius Life of Nero Chapter 31

As you might expect this opulence and excess didn't go down well with the people or the historians of Rome. Which is why, after the death of Nero, the chaos of civil war and the rise of the Flavian's as the new ruling dynasty of Rome, one of Vespasian's first actions was to build his temple for the people on the site of Nero's golden house. 

Colossal State of Nero outside the Colosseum

So why is it that the Flavian Amphitheatre is Nero's lasting legacy? Well, arguably its very construction was a response to the whole of Nero's "tyrannical" reign. Vespasian took the heart of the Roman's city and returned it too them. The Flavian Amphitheatre, was a visible symbol of what had been taken from them, and what had been returned. 

Secondly is the very name of the building itself. Part of Nero's great Domus Aurea complex was a colossal statue of himself within the grounds, a Colossus Neronis. Originally in the vestibule to his mighty palace complex, after his death, the statue was changed with a solar crown to a statue of the god Sol. 

"Its vestibule was large enough to contain a colossal statue of the emperor a hundred and twenty feet high"

Suetonius Life of Nero Chapter 31

During the reign of Emperor Hadrian, probably around AD 128, the statue was moved to just outside the Flavian Amphitheatre in order to create space for a temple. The proximity of this colossal statue to the Amphitheatre is one of the popular theory as to how the building got its nickname, the Colosseum. So, Nero's legacy lived on, even if it was in negative connotations, the Colosseum is just as much Nero's building and legacy as it was Vespasian's and the Flavians. 

Thanks for Reading

James

Numbers of the Trojan War

The Trojan War was the war that lasted TEN years and was caused by ONE face that launched a THOUSAND ships. It was the battlefield of Achilles and Hector, the stage for great kings such as Priam and Agamemnon and the location of what was possibly sly Odysseus's greatest triumph.

Aeneas Flees Fallen Troy

But there are lots of numbers in the story of the Trojan War, told in Homer's great work of poetry and the first western story, the Iliad. Below are some of these numbers and their significance to the story of ancient Greece's greatest victory.

1. THREE - The judgement of Paris is often used to explain the causes of the Trojan War. In the myth, Eris, goddess of strife and discord, after not being invited to the wedding of Achilles parents, bought a golden apple to the event and said it should only be awarded to the most beautiful goddess there. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite all claimed the apple, Zeus not wishing to offend any of them, declared that Paris, a trojan prince, should judge. After various inducements, he gave the apple to Aphrodite after she promised him the love of the most beautiful women in the world, Helen, the wife of Spartan King Menelaus. 
2. ONE - When the suitors of Helen could not describe who should be awarded her hand in marriage, it was clever Odysseus alone that came up with the idea that all her suitors should swear an oath to support and defend the marriage, regardless of which suitor was chosen. 
3. TWENTY EIGHT - The number of contingents from mainland Greece that sent ships to the war in support of Agamemnon and Menelaus. 
4. ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED - The number of ships that Thucydides records as making up the Greek army in his History of the Peloponnesian War Book One Chapter Ten.
5. FIFTEEN - The number of Trojan allies listed in the second book of the Iliad, ultimately led by Hector the Prince of Troy.
6. NINE - The number of years that the Greeks besieged Troy for. This period is little recorded in myth or tales in favour of the exciting and bloody final year of the war. 
7. ELEVEN and TWELVE - The number of cities and islands that Homer records as Achilles conquering in the first book of the Iliad.
8. TWELVE - The number of days that Achilles abused the body of Hector after he had killed him in single combat. It was only after the gods intervened and only after Priam, led by Hermes, came to recover his son's body personally, that Achilles relented and returned the body. 
9. TWO - The number of people who advised against keeping the gift of the Trojan Horse. Cassandra, who had the gift of prophesy but was cursed never to be believed, and Laocoon who along with his two sons was eaten by serpents from the sea. 
10. EIGHT - The number of years it took for Menelaus to return home from Troy, with Helen in tow completely forgiven, his wife and queen again. 

The Laocoon from The Vatican Museum

It seems a shame after TEN years and a THOUSAND ships, that the story should end with Helen returning home to Sparta, the ONE wife and queen of the very man she had run away from in the first place. But, who doesn't love a happy ending?

Thanks for Reading

James

An Emperor, A Fisherman and a Crab

There are some days when you wonder why you even bothered to get out of bed. Times when you try to do the right thing only for it to fail, or occasions where a simple attempt at kindness, results in a huge fish being rubbed all over your face.

Bust of Tiberius fromThe British Museum

Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti Filus Augustus was the second Emperor/Princeps of Rome and the cruelty and capricious nature of the later years of his rule, are what have come to define his time in power. The Step-son of Augustus after his mother Livia married him, Tiberius was a faithful, if not occasionally reluctant lieutenant of the burgeoning Roman Empire and to Augustus. Inheriting power in 14 AD after Augustus' death, his rule was marked with events like the controversial death of the beloved Germanicus, and tiring of the politics of Rome he retired to Capri.

"Yet conceived so intense a loathing for the municipalities, the colonies, and all things situated on the mainland, that he vanished into the Isle of Capreae"

Tacitus Annals Book 4 Chapter 67

It is during his time on the island, in his palace on the cliffs that many of his debauched and depraved activities are recorded. The swimming in pools with small children he named "minnows" nibbling at him, the throwing of guilty men from the cliffs to be beaten with paddles as they fell and finished off if they survived and many more are recorded. 

"When the restraints of shame and fear were gone, and nothing remained but to follow his own bent, he plunged impartially into crime and ignominy"

Tacitus Annals Book 6 Chapter 51

A possible apocryphal tale from Suetonius tells the tales of an unfortunate man who tried to present the gift of a large mullet he had caught to the Princeps. Suetonius was a historian from nearly a hundred years after the time of Tiberius during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, and his Twelve Caesar's is one of the main sources we have for the period, especially wonderful for its particular focus on gossip, hearsay and tall tales. 

"A fisherman appeared unexpectedly and offered him a huge mullet; whereupon in his alarm that the man had clambered up to him from the back of the island over rough and pathless rocks, he had the poor fellow's face scrubbed with the fish"

Suetonius The Life of Tiberius Chapter 60

There are several things remarkable about this tale. Firstly that the old client system of presenting yourself to your patron no longer applied to the Emperor, arguably a patron to the whole empire. The Emperor was no longer an approachable man, He was hidden by guards and gates from the very people he patronised. 

Secondly that the power of the Princeps had grown in under a hundred years to the point where he could command that someone be tortured with a fish and it happened with the fisherman being ex-foliated with a fish being able to do nothing about it.

Tiberius' Villa on Capri

"And because in the midst of his torture the man thanked his stars that he had not given the Emperor an enormous crab that he had caught, Tiberius had his face torn with the Crab also"

Suetonius The Life of Tiberius Chapter 60

The tale of the the fisherman is perhaps a warning to us all then, to not merely present ourselves to an Emperor. However, it shows an Empire in evolution. Clearly the fisherman of the tale still viewed himself in a world where the client/patron system was working, where he could merely arrive at the house of the Princep and give him a gift. But by this time, the subtle consolidating of power through the control of access was already being established. 

At this point in the early empire was the Princeps already seeing himself as a "king", higher and more important than those he ruled, even if his kingdom covered the whole of the Mediterranean? Unfortunately for our brave fisherman, Tiberius, through either superiority or paranoia was not the sort of Emperor you could walk up to with a fish. Let alone a crab. 

Thanks for Reading

James

Rome's City of Skyscrapers - Insulae and the Pomererium

Cities around the world throughout history have often come across the same problem, space. New York and Hong Kong for example are both geographically limited by space and as a result have built upwards. Their skylines are famous and iconic around the globe and yet are inimitably practical.

But where did this need to go vertical come from? In the city of Rome, perhaps the first city of skyscrapers, the insulae (apartment buildings housing all levels of class and some standing as much as nine storeys high) came about for a very simple and highly religious reason, the Pomerium.

Insulae

The Pomerium was a religious boundary around Rome. Everything within the Pomerium was Rome, everything outside was not. Myth says that the path of the Pomerium followed the line that Romulus, the legendary founder of the city, ploughed while laying the foundations for the cities original walls.

"Remus leaped over the new walls in mockery of his brother, whereupon Romulus in great anger slew him, and in menacing wise added these words withal "So perish whoever else shall leap over my walls!"

Livy Ab Urbe Condita Book 1 Chapter 7

The area of the Pomerium was extended by the Dictator Sulla in 80 BC to aid the growing city, as well as no doubt showing off his own immense power at a time of civil war among the Roman Senate. Augustus enlarged the city during his reign and finally the Emperor Claudius also extended the Pomerium during his reign, making the "sacred" city larger again.

"The Caesar also enlarged the pomerium, in consonance with the old custom, by which an expansion of the empire confers the right to extend similarly the boundaries of the city"

Tacitus Annals Book 12 Chapter 23

Insulae at Ostia

The Pomerium brought with it certain rules and regulations. No dead bodies could be buried within the sacred boundary. magistrates with imperium power had to resign their powers before crossing the threshold, with the exception of the day he celebrated a Triumph, when he and his soldiers would march through Rome in a great procession. Weapons were prohibited within the Pomerium, the Praetorian Guard under the times of the Emperors were the only soldiers allowed to carry weapons withing the sacred city.

The constraints the Pomerium put upon the city had the effect of limiting the space of the sacred city and as with cities throughout history, when you cant build out, you build up.

The word Insulae is Latin for island and these individual buildings were incredibly similar to the New York apartment building. The ground floor would be a shop or tavern, while the first floor would be lived in by the wealthiest residence with the poorer living in the floors as you go higher.

"Timber and stones for the building of houses, which goes on unceasingly in consequence of the collapses and fires and repeated sales (these last, too, going on unceasingly); and indeed the sales are intentional collapses, as it were, since the purchasers keep on tearing down the houses and build new ones"

Strabo Geography Book 5 Chapter 3

The reason that the best flats were on the lower floors were due to the general cheap and shoddy nature of the construction. Due to this, the closer you lived to the ground the better in a building prone to fire and collapse. The height of Insulae were restricted by the Emperors Augustus and Nero, in an attempt to limit dangerous nature of these buildings being six or seven (or even eight or nine) storeys high.

However, despite the limitations on height, it was always invariable that Rome would build upwards. The Pomerium put limitations upon a city on seven hills, that without it, could of theoretically spread outwards indefinitely over the surrounding area, creating a wide spaced city as opposed to a confined city of Roman skyscrapers.

Insulae point to the highly social, densely populated nature of the city of Rome. People lived one on top of each other right in the centre of an Empire of power stretching over the Mediterranean and the reason for this dense population is the Pomerium. Of course as Rome grew it spilled over the edges of the Pomerium, but that was not Rome, that was not the Sacred City.


Thanks for Reading
James

Lesson Learned - Greek Morals and Aesop

There is a point, where after you are served with trumped up charges of temple theft and thrown from a cliff, that you might wonder if you will leave any sort of legacy behind at all? Apparently moralising wasn't big in Deplhi and Aesop's valiant efforts as part of an envoy from King Creosus of Lydia, met with a decidedly unwelcome response.

"Fables are suitable for public speaking, and they have this advantage that, while it is difficult to find similar things that have really happened in the past, it is easier to invent fables"

Aristotle Rhetoric Book 2 Chapter 20

Aesop

"Aesop's Fables", the words alone conjuring vivid stories of right and wrong, anthropomorphic animals and lessons learned. These three tales of Aesop, the same way that the myths of wicked men and malicious women did, vividly show us not only what was considered "right" by ancient Greece, but also individually give little insights into their world. 

Fable 65 - The Astronomer

"An astronomer was in the habit of going out every evening to look at the stars. Then, one night when in the suburbs absorbed in contemplating the sky, he accidentally fell into a well. A passer-by heard him moaning and calling out. When the man realised what had happened, he called down to him:

'Hey, you there! You are so keen to see what is up in the sky that you don't see what is down here on the ground'".

This fable could be a message against boastful men who are incapable of doing everyday tasks, or a warning against that most Greek of all fears, Hubris, or excessive pride. Achilles, the great warrior of the Trojan War, is the most famous offender of hubris. 

"Let the Acheans be hemmed in at the sterns of their ships and perish on the sea shore, that they may reap what joy they may of their king, and that Agamemnon may rue his derangement in offering insult to the best of the Acheans"

The Iliad Book 1 Lines 410

The repeated warnings against hubris shows up all over Greek myth and stories. It is clear that in many ways, no man was viewed as being "above" the Polis or his fellow men and believing yourself to be, would result in being "trapped in a well".

Fable 32 - The Fox and the Bunch of Grapes

"A famished fox, seeing some bunches of grapes hanging from a vine which had grown in a tree, wanted to take some, but could not reach them. So he went away saying to himself "Those are unripe".

This famous fable gave way to the phrase "sour grapes" and its meaning is a simple one, people regularly blame circumstance over their own inefficiency. This is an interesting fable as it hints at an ancient world complex and involved, where individuals moved up and down a social scale. This short fable alludes to the intricate nature of many of the Poleis and lives of ancient Greeks in a few short lines. 

Fable 118 - Zeus and Shame

Body of a Youth "Kouros" from the British Museum

"When Zeus fashioned man he gave him certain inclinations, but he forgot about shame. Not knowing how to introduce her, he ordered her to enter through the rectum. Shame baulked at this and was highly indignant. Finally she said to Zeus; "All right! I'll go in, but on the condition that Eros doesn't come in the same way; if he does, I will leave immediately". Ever since then all homosexuals are without shame"

This fable has a simple message, those who are prey to homosexual lust lose all shame. Although for its simple message, it is more complicated than that. Mentor relationships, with an educational as well as sexual aspect, between an elder and and a young male in his teenage years was common through classical Greece. However there was great shame to be seen as an elder man besotted or at the beck of a younger man and there are few to no references of elder homosexual relationships. This fable must be a warning against these elder homosexual relationships. 

With the myths of ancient Greece, especially the tales of mortal men, there is a moral that go with the story. What those tales, along with the fables of Aesop show us is a complex society, with its own views of right and wrong. The underlying themes of avoiding hubris and not insulting the Gods run throughout Greek stories, Aesop himself has a fable for nearly every aspect of life and each one gives an insight into ancient life, be it the travelling merchant on the Mediterranean or washer woman by the beach. 

Whatever moral or teaching you take away from Aesop, it's lesson learned.

Thanks for Reading

James

Malicious Women and Vindictive Gods

Wickedness in Greek myth wasn't merely the purview of men. Plenty of evil women show up throughout myth and legend and are punished by the gods for plenty of similar sins; wickedness, greed, pride and stupidity.

Jason and the Golden Fleece

Perhaps the most famous of evil women was the "witch" Medea. Meeting and aiding Jason on his quest to acquire the golden fleece of Colchis, her actions speak for the malicious streak running through her. Marrying Jason upon obtaining the fleece, they were chased from Colchis. To escape Medea killed her half-brother and threw his limbs overboard one by one, knowing her father would stop to collect them.

Equally, upon returning to Jason's home town of Iolcus she tricked the kings daughter into killing him making way for Jason to take the thron, by telling her that she could restore his youth by boiling him in a cauldron. Medea was a malicious women, who was eternally on the run, from the last people that she had outraged.

What follows are tales of some equally evil woman and there end.

Phaedra

Phaedra was the hero Theseus's second wife. Jealous of his son by his first wife, Hippolytus, she lied and told her husband that Hippolytus has attacked her. Disgusted by this, Theseus asked the god Poseidon to punish his evil son.

While driving his chariot along the sea shore, Poseidon used a giant wave to spook Hippolytus' horses, resulting in a terrific crash and the death of the driver. Ashamed of what had happened, Phaedra not intending Hippolytus to die told Theseus the truth and then hung herself to avoid her husband's anger.

The Daughters of Danaus

Poseidon had two grandsons, Danaus and Aegyptus. Danaus had fifty daughters while Aegyptus had fifty sons. After their father dies the two brothers quarrelled over their inheritence, until finally to keep the peace Aegyptus suggested this his sons marry Danaus' daughters.

An oracle warned Danaus that his brother intended to kill him and his daughters. Running away they were trapped in a Argos and besieged into consenting to the marriages. The marriages duly took place, but Danaus gave each of his daughters one huge sharp hair-pin and told them to kill their husbands. All but one carried out their wicked crime.

The daughters survived, but upon their deaths they went to Tartarus where they were made to carry water back and forth in leaking jars, so their task would never end.

Scylla

The city of Megara was underattack from King Minos of Crete. King Nisus' daughter Scylla, watched King Minos from the safety of her city walls and fell in love with him. King Nisus' had a magic lock of hair, which as long as it was in his possession his city was safe.

Scylla stole this magic lock of hair and escaping the city gave it to King Minos. With the lock of hair in his possession, King Minos won war and killed Nisus, but being so disgusted with how Scylla had betrayed her own father, sailed for home without her. Throwing herself into the sea she swam after him, but her fathers ghost fell on her from the sky as an eagle and she drowned.

Malicious women invariably end up being wicked to gain the approval of a loved one or at the behest of a man. What there is no denying is that in the world of ancient Greek myth and legend, woman are just as capable of being evil as men.


Thanks for Reading
James

Wicked Men and Vengeful Gods

Greek myths are abound with wicked men, doing wicked things and being punished for their wicked ways. Invariably in their tales these men incur the wrath of the gods and are doomed to a punishment that while cruel, has some sort of ironic twist to it.

Dionysus fromBritish Museum

Everyone knows of the tale of King Midas who upon winning a favour from Dionysus for looking after Silenus, one of his companions, wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. However no longer able to drink or eat as "everything he touched turned to gold" it was only after he embraced his daughter and she turned into a gold statue that he pleaded for the wish to be removed. While not necessarily wicked, the tale of Midas is a cautionary one on being careful what you wish for. 

However, here are three tales of wicked men, who were punished for their actions in three unique ways. 

Tantalus

Tantalus was a friend of Zeus and dined with the gods, however he abused the honour by stealing ambrosia and nectar, the food of the gods, and giving it to his friends on earth. He then pushed the gods further by testing their all knowing nature. 

Tantalus killed his own son, Pelops, and served him for dinner. It was forbidden for gods to eat human flesh, however they knew at once it was human flesh on their plates and for his crimes, Tantalus was sent to Tartarus by Zeus.

His punishment was fitting to his crime. Tantalus was forced to stand in a pool of water with fruit hanging just out of reach. If he tried to slake his thirst the water of the pool lowered and if he tried to reach for the fruit, the branch would lift the fruit away from him.

As such he was doomed to stand there, eternally tormented by hunger and thirst. 

Sisyphus

Sisyphus by Titian

Sisyphus was a particularly wicked man. Seducing his niece, he stole his brothers throne and betrayed Zeus's secrets. For his crime Zeus ordered Hades to take Sisyphus to Tartarus. Sisyphus slyly asked Hades to show him how the chains worked. Sisyphus quickly bound Hades in his own chains and took him prisoner. 

This created all sorts of problems as none of the dead could move to the underworld without Hades as a guide. Ares swiftly rescued Hades and Sisyphus was taken to Tartarus. There he was made to roll a boulder up a steep hill, upon reaching the top the boulder would roll back to the bottom. 

As such he was doomed to an endless task.

Ixion

Ixion was a murderer, having killed his future father-in-law. Zeus in a moment of generosity was prepared to forgive him, but instead of being grateful for a second chance, Ixion planned to carry off Hera, Zeus's wife. 

Zeus was not prepared to believe that one man could be so wicked and so made a cloud double of his wife. To his dismay Ixion stole this cloud double woman proving how wicked he really was. 

As punishment Zeus ordered Hermes to tie Ixion to a wheel of fire and sent him spinning around the sky. 

As such he was doomed to endless torment of pain for having angered the gods. 

These tales are of course tales told to teach a morale, no matter how clever you think you are, you will always get your comeuppance in the end. It's the gods will. 

If you have a favourite Greek myth of a wicked man being punished for his crimes why not tell it to us in the comments below. 

Thanks for Reading

James

Qualis Artifex Pereo - Nero The Last Emperor

A warm Mediterranean wind blows through the hills around Rome, bringing with it the smell of warmed earth from the days sun and the faintest sound of hooves through the encroaching night. Glittering in the dark, lamp light shines off the blade of a dagger held high, ready to be thrust downwards and so snuff out the light of Rome's "brightest star", Nero Claudius Ceasar Augustus Germanicus. The last of the Julio-Claudian Emperors.

The events that led to the suicide of the last member of the great Julio-Claudian dynasty are no less dramatic then the Emperor himself perhaps could of wished for. AD 68 saw Nero facing rebellion against his rule from the province of Gallia Lugdunensis, in response to his tax policies.

"This Vindex called together the Gauls, who had suffered much by the numerous forced levies of money and were still suffering at Nero's hands."

Cassius Dio Book 63 Chapter 22

The legions on the Rhine were sent into suppress the rebellion, which has recently gained support from the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, Galba. The rebellion in Gaul was defeated at the Battle of Vesontio, however the spark had been applied to the powder keg and the German legions declared there own general, Verginius emperor. Verginius declined the offer, but despite momentarily regaining control of the situation, things were starting to slip away from Nero. 

Marble bust of Nero fromThe British Museum

Galba's popularity grew and the leader of the Praetorian Guard declared his loyalty to him. Perhaps learning from the history of his own family, Nero decided it was time to leave Rome. First heading to Ostia to sail for the loyal eastern provinces, Nero abandoned the idea,

"Whereupon he turned over various plans in his mind, whether to go as a suppliant to the Parthians or Galba, or to appear to the people on the rostra, dressed in black and beg as pathetically as he could for pardon for his past offences"

Suetonius Life of Nero Chapter 47

That night Nero slept in the palace. Indecisive he awakened to find the palace abandoned, Nero called for a gladiator to kill him. When no one answered, Nero with some of his freedmen, fled to a villa located in the hills outside Rome. 

At the same time the Senate were debating what course of action to take. Nero was the last member of the great Julio-Claudian dynasty founded over one hundred years ago by the best and greatest, Augustus the first emperor of Rome. There was no one in the Senate who had lived outside of the Julio-Claudian rule and some who questioned what would happen in the event of the fall of Nero. The threat and fear of civil war were ever present in the minds of all Romans. 

A courier arriving to Nero brought the news that he had been declared a public enemy and that it was the Senates intention to execute him. Demanding a grave be dug, Nero murmured his famous line,

"Qualis artifex pereo" or "What an artist the world is losing"

Suetonius Life of Nero Chapter 49

 Losing his nerve Nero asked one of his companions to kill himself to set him the example, however hearing the sound of hooves in the night, Nero steeled himself to face his end. Still unable to commit the act himself, he commanded his secretary, Epaphroditos to kill him. When the horsemen finally reached the villa they found Nero on the cusp of death. Attempting to stem the bleeding Nero's final words came from his lips "Too late. This is fidelity!".

Coin from AD 62 depicting Nero
from the British Museum 

Nero died on the 9th June AD 68 and with him the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The Senate declared him a public enemy after his death to win support from the future Emperor Galba, who was at that time bearing down on Rome. 

It is often said that it was Nero himself who lost the Empire, through his indecision and doubting his own support. It was Nero alone who threw his position away. After suppressing the rebellion in Gaul, the German legions remained loyal, if not completely content and you can only surmise that a less dramatic and more level headed Emperor could of easily equally crushed Galba's rebellion. After all it was only one governor out of the whole empire who had risen in revolt. Nero's resources, wealth and access to legions remained in tact. 

The end of AD 68 saw the fears of the Senate realised, with a return to civil war and what has become to be known as the Year of the 4 Emperors. The passing of Nero marks one of those watershed moments in Roman history, it paved the way for new dynasties and elected men to take the top job on the emperor of Rome. Tacitus says it best

"For the secret of empire was now revealed, that an emperor could be made elsewhere than at Rome"

Tacitus Histories Book 1 Chapter 4

Thanks for Reading

James

A Dinner Date with Scipio Africanus and Hannibal

In 193 BC the Roman general Scipio Africanus, the subduer of Carthage due to his victory at the Battle of Zama, after a period outside of the Roman political spotlight was part of a delegation sent to help settle a dispute that was brewing with Antiochus III of Syria.

Scipio Africanus

Seven years after the Battle of Zama saw Roman power finally destroy Carthage in the second Punic War, Hannibal Barca, the great terror of Rome, went into voluntary exile after the Romans requested his surrender, seeing Carthaginian power growing again under his leadership. Travelling the Mediterranean in 193 BC he ended up at the court of Antiochus III preparing for war with Rome and offered his help in his war.

Livy in his Ab Urbe Condita writes of a legendary meeting between these two great and influential men at the court of Antiochus III and a conversation that followed

"When Africanus asked who, in Hannibal's opinion, was the greatest general, Hannibal named Alexander, the king of the Macedonians because with a small force he has routed armies innumerable and because he has traversed the most distant regions, even to see which transcended human hopes. To the next request, as to whom he would rank second, Hannibal selected Pyrrhus, saying that he had been the first to teach the art of castrametation, besides no one had chosen his ground or placed his troops more discriminatingly; he possessed also the art of winning men over to him, so that the Italian people preferred the lordship of a foreign king to that of the Roman people, so long the master in that land. When he continued, asking whom Hannibal considered third, he named himself without hesitation"

Livy Ab Urbe Condita Book 35 Chapter 14

It's fairly safe to say that Scipio was angling for a compliment of his own military acumen from a man he had beaten in war, and also to have a little dig at Hannibal no doubt. But let us analyse the three men Hannibal chose as the greatest generals.

Ingot showing elephants from the army of Pyrrhus
from the British Museum

Alexander the Great is without doubt one of the greatest generals and kings the world has ever seen. In the space of a decade Alexander conquered the Persian empire destroying great armies with his Macedonian forces, travelled as far as and into the Hindu Kush and it was only a mutiny of his men that saw him turn back. His slowly emerging empire saw a homogenisation of Greek and Persian ideals and it was only his sudden illness and death in 323 BC that saw his plans fail.

Pyrrhus was an enemy of early Rome. King of Epirus, Pyrrhus was persuaded to aid the Italian Tarentines in their struggle against the Romans. In 280 BC he landed in Italy with the intention of aiding the city of Tarentium and no doubt carving out his own little empire on Italian soil too. Pyrrhus won many victories over the armies of Rome, and his placing and positioning of military camps is often sited as the first example of tactical placement, but he lost so many of his own men in the battles he had to withdraw from Italy, causing it to be named a Pyrrhic victory,

" If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined"

Plutarch Life of Pyrrhus

Finally, Hannibal named himself. The scourge of Rome for many years, Hannibal had crossed the Alps, defeated the Romans in three stunning battles at Trebia, Trasimene and Cannae and came the closest anyone has ever come to destroying Roman power. It was only Rome's complete refusal to surrender and repeated raising of new armies that wore down Hannibal's power in Italy.

Hannibal Barca

There is little to argue with Hannibal in his choices. Alexander the Great was universally recognised throughout the Greek and Roman world as the pinnacle of what it meant to be a general, conqueror and great man, Roman Emperors of the 1st century AD, like Augustus and Gaius Caligula were still trying to link themselves with him.  His choice of Pyrrhus is no doubt due to his developing the tactical art of the placement of military camps and troops, something which Hannibal learnt from himself in his own wars with Rome. Pyrrhus might have eventually lost against Rome, but he laid the ground work for future military tacticians. Hannibal's own achievements in warfare are well known, no more so then his great victory at Cannae and his clever tactics to almost completely wipe out the Roman legions. 

Hannibal's choice of himself for the final slot, led Scipio to break into a laugh and ask,

"What would you say if you had defeated me?"

"Then, beyond doubt" he replied,

"I should place myself both before Alexander and before Pyrrhus and before all other generals"

Livy Ab Urbe Condita Book 35 Chapter 14

Flattery will get you everywhere it seems, as it is reported that Scipio was stirred deeply as "Hannibal had segregated him from all other commanders as one beyond estimation"

Of course if you actually analyse what Hannibal says he is still back-handedly complimenting Scipio. In a nuanced sentence Hannibal recognises the fact that Scipio is the man that defeated him and Carthage, but still doesn't fully accept it outright as ranking as great as his own achievements. 

Opposing generals meeting to trade witty barbs is rare, especially when it is two generals of Scipio's and Hannibal's stature. In a war that spanned the Mediterranean and saw Carthage within reach of destroying Roman power before their own eventual demise, it is nice to think that at the end of it, Hannibal with his little witticism won the final blow in the long bloody Second Punic War for his city, Carthage.

Thanks for Reading

James